Matthew Posted July 21, 2003 Report Share Posted July 21, 2003 I want to increase the hardness of my water, by putting lime in CaCO3 I am guessing this will do the trick. The only hassle is will it be detrimental to my fish? I have seen water hardener in the LFS but it was dupla and they wanted $41 for it. I'm not that keen to increase hardness. I know some people use oyster grit, but I would prefer to add something that I know the results of sooner rather than later. Any help would be appreciated. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 21, 2003 Report Share Posted July 21, 2003 It depends on the fish. Some need acidic water and others won't mind. We have limestone readily available on the Kaikoura Coast so I just dumped (carefully of course) a few rocks picked up from the Ure River into my Malawi tank to raise the pH a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted July 21, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2003 Thanks Caryl, My next question would be is lime available from the garden store suitable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted July 21, 2003 Report Share Posted July 21, 2003 Balancing the pH in a tank is something that should be done slowly and carefully, with constant monitoring in case you overdo things. Garden lime was never meant for aquariums, besides the fact that it would rocket the pH in a matter of minutes, which is not good for the fish, so by adding a lime based rock (as Caryl suggests) you will 'slowly raise your pH and you will be able to keep track of it. This is why they add shell or oyster grit or dolomite to the filter, as it acts in a slow manner and will not stress the fish unduly. These will increase the pH, whereas adding peat will lower the pH. You should of course check that 'all' your fish will be happy at the higher hardness and pH before you add anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted July 21, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2003 Thanks Pegasus, It's not so much the pH that I am worried about, it is the buffering capacity of the water. By increasing the hardness I increase the buffering capacity. I'm just trying to find a cheap way to do that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 21, 2003 Report Share Posted July 21, 2003 Baking soda is cheap and definitely raises the PH, I'm not sure how much of an effect it has on hardness though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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