oneeyedfrog Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 I set up DDs 4 ft goldfish tank last week. I couldn't be bothered going back into town ( 1 hr 20 min drive) so ordered Bio noodles off TM. Seeded the foam inserts in my cycled tank then packed the canister filter with the bio noodles After reading the threads here about PH and Imsmiths story of losing his fish thru using bricks thought Id better check the PH. I found it was steadily rising. Thinking it was my local sourced gravel I removed it only to find the PH was up again the next day. nearly 8. I soaked some noodles overnight in a bucket the ph in the morning was at the top of the scale 8.8! I am not impressed at all! :evil: I am so grateful that others had written here about their experiences as otherwise I wouldn't have checked PH and could have lost all our fish ( coz I put the leftover noodles into the filters on the other tanks) I guess they would be good if you wanted to raise the PH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 oh that doesn't sound good. i bought some noodles of TM as well but only have a few in my tank to supplement the ones I already had. I struggle to keep pH down but that is because of the water supply. Anybody else had high pH after adding new noodles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaVitamins Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 Oh man, i've just put some in. I brought mine of TM about 2 weeks ago and have been in the tank since. I think i might go check the Ph lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 Can you give us a brand for these noodles, or are they pre-used and the brand unknown? I have added AquaOne noodles to a few of my filters and have not noticed any change in PH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 Are these ceramic, plastic or other noodles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 To my knowledge I have never had ceramic noodles affect the pH. I thought they were all inert :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneeyedfrog Posted September 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 They were listed as Bio Noodles and are brand new. They look just like the aquaone noodles except they are white not creamy coloured and maybe more brittle looking. They came in plain plastic bags. Perhaps they aren't even ceramic. I thought they were inert too which is why it took me a couple of days to figure out what was happening. The guys feedback was good. I have emailed him but haven't heard back. I guess you get what you paid for. Since removing all the noodles and giving a small water change the pH has dropped and stayed down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 sounds like the same ones I got.. hmmm, worried about adding any more now. I've still got most of an icecream container full which will go to waste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 oh that's not good. ive never heard of media raising the pH. (not counting the cocnrete i use). can you post the tm link for it please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneeyedfrog Posted September 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =236268710 Bik Bok stick them in a bucket of water overnight and check the PH in the morning. I would be interested to see if it's happening with yours too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 my ones look the same but from a different seller who doesn't have any currently listed. They were said to be Inert ceramic noodles. my current pH test kit doesn't go above 7.4 so not sure whether testing after a night in a bucket will show anything of use. .. plus our tap water is high to start with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 Oooh I bought some of these a while ago from the same trader but just put them in my filter last week! I will go and check the pH immediately. Thanks for the warning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supasi Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 Someone go put one in a glass of vinegar and see what happens. If it fizzes then they will definately raise the PH. let us know You get what you pay for. These are probably made as cheap alternatives to the good stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 Someone go put one in a glass of vinegar and see what happens. If it fizzes then they will definately raise the PH. let us know You get what you pay for. These are probably made as cheap alternatives to the good stuff. I just tried that, air bubbles came out for about 1/2 minute but it didn't really fizz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 Someone go put one in a glass of vinegar and see what happens. If it fizzes then they will definately raise the PH. let us know You get what you pay for. These are probably made as cheap alternatives to the good stuff. Good thinking, supasi. I put one in a glass of vinegar and there was no fizzing. I even broke it open to expose a new surface & still no fizz. Looks like it's all good. whew! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneeyedfrog Posted September 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 Well this is weird I tried putting some in vinegar the other day and no fizzing. I am testing again by putting a few in a bowl with some water and a couple of hours later the ph is up from the control bowl. Will check it again in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 it could be raising the KH of the water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 I've got a question. If noodles were left to soak for several weeks before using, would this stabilise them so they dom't have so much affect on pH? I wouldn't need to throw them away then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 the only problem is if the pH starts becoming volatile. if it is steady at a certain level just leave it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneeyedfrog Posted September 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 I put six bio noodles in a breakfast bowl of water yesterday and this morning the ph was 8.2. The ph in the control bowl was 7.4 . Bik Bok I thought that about soaking them for a while too but I wonder what they are made of and what nasties they could be leaching out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 proper ceramic bio-noodles should be inert and not change anything. sounds like hes got a cheap deal on some bulk from asia or something and is trying to pass them as bio-noodles. they could be designed for use in anything, gardening or something like that to raise soil ph, you never know. but by the sounds of it they are not designed or tested for aquaria use... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 the ones I bought look exactly the same and were also packaged in plain plastic bags. They were advertised as "INERT ceramic noodles" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie841 Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 It might be safer to just go and buy some noodles from your LFS they are not expensive. We got a tub of them for $20 which was enough to do 2-3 filters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 proper ceramic bio-noodles should be inert and not change anything. sounds like hes got a cheap deal on some bulk from asia or something and is trying to pass them as bio-noodles. they could be designed for use in anything, gardening or something like that to raise soil ph, you never know. but by the sounds of it they are not designed or tested for aquaria use... Yes, he brought them in from Asia very cheap. I went and picked them up from the TM seller myself and saw his fish tanks that he uses them in, so I know at least he trusts them enough to use in his own system! He scooped them out of a huge sack and into the plastic bags that he uses when he sends them off to buyers. In my tank they do seem to be inert. They have not raised the pH, and did not fizz when I poured vinegar on one to test. I agree that if you want to be absolutely certain about what you're getting, you should buy a branded item from a fish store that comes with all the assurances and guarantees from many years of aquarium use. On the other hand I got these very cheaply and they seem to be working just fine for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 branded item from a fish store that comes with all the assurances and guarantees from many years of aquarium use. Actually the manufacturers want people to use the media for only six months, chuck it away and then get new media :lol: They would probably have a heart attack if they knew that my eheim pro media was running on 4 years now. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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