PH/KH fix

[Joe Fish]

What can be used to raise PH and KH?

Is KH the same as alkalinity? After I got all my fish out of the tank my xenia stopped pulsing and just looked weird. Could this just be stress? I ran a PH test and KH test. I think my PH is a tad low maybe 8.1 or 8.2. The KH was about 7 degrees.

Will a water change help?

 

[nealio]

You can raise KH with baking soda (NaHC03) and it won’t have as much affect on the PH. PH and KH go together basically, you raise one, you will raise the other.

You can use crushed coral to raise the PH as well, but that would raise the KH too.

Water changes always help

 

[Joe Fish]

Will dosing with Kalk raise them both to proper levels? I just made 30 gallons of saltwater today but one it's very cold water yet, two it's too soon to use it. I have a heater in the bucket and a air stone. If Kalk won't help both what will?

I have about a 3 to 4 in sand bed of argonite sand. That will help buffer PH right? My test kit was hard to tell what the PH was at, but since my xenia isn't pulsing I think it may be low. This week is water change week so I might do it sooner. Again what additive can I use for both. How much of the baking soda should i use?

 

[nealio]

I think it was 1/2 teaspoon of Baking Soda to raise 50L 4 deg from what I have read. I haven't used either method so I would wait for some better advice from a sw pro. There is no need for a kaulk reactor in freshwater.

I had to raise the PH in my discus tank because my water wouldn't keep a solid ph level. From the time I poured out of the tap to water change time it dropped drastically. It would come out of my tap 8.5 and drop to 6.8 two days later so the crushed coral worked great. My discus breeder gave me some as he maintains a tank down the street from me so he knows how to combat the water for my specific area.

 

[Joe Fish]

I have a saltwater tank. After testing again it looks like my PH is 8.0 or 8.1. It took 13 drops of the KH reagent to turn the water from blue to yellow, which would be 6.5 dKH. That needs to come up as well as my PH. I don't feel right changing the water right now because it's not ready. I am trying to find the right measurements for adding baking soda.

 

[nealio]

Do you have any crushed coral in the tank?

That can help the situation without putting baking soda in there.

 

[Lorna]

WHOA......don't use crushed coral, unless you are going to use it in a calcium reactor. Your dsb works the same way without all the horrors that come with crushed coral. Go to the store and buy some Kents Superbuffer. That is what I use. It will buffer your ph to 8.3 and will raise your alk at the same time. Test for alk as by raising this you are also raising the alk. Kalkwasser will raise your ph but sometimes too quickly....it is used more for the addition of calcium than as a ph buffer. Baking soda is fine but you can raise the alk to high that is why a buffer such as the kent is good as it won't take it over the ph 8.3 while raising your alk to the level you want. If raising your alk watch your ca as these two work in unison.

 

[Joe Fish]

Thanks a lot. I just did a 10 gallon water change to see if that helps. I will retest later tonight to check all parameters. I will get some of that superbuffer tomorrow if I can. My xenia does not look very good at all, but the bubble looks just fine. When I stired the system up removing rocks and getting the fish everything seems to go down hill. I'm expecting to loose some fish in QT as well. I don't think I can get a 20g unless santa makes an unexpected visit. I might give the firefish to a friend to help the bio load. I got some test strips to test the QT daily.

Should I use a dosing system with that superbuffer stuff? Or can I just add it manually after premixing it. I tried some baking soda as a temp solution today and it seemed to help, but I just have to wait and see.

 

[Joe Fish]

Just rechecked my parameters. I gave it a couple hours after I retested. My params are perfect right now.

Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 12.5
PH - 8.5ish
dKH - 9

Should I still get the superbuffer stuff? I just started using reef crystals which should have more of the good stuff than instant ocean had. Maybe I should just do a weekly water change instead of every other. Should I now be testing for calcium? Magnesium? Phospates?

 

[Lorna]

Yes I would be buying some superbuffer or some other sort of buffering agent. I use it every couple days mixed with a cup of fresh r.o water.....to maintain alk. You should be testing for ca, alk and then figure out what your usage daily usage is. To do this.....test your ca/alk on day one then check it 4 days later. Divide the difference by 4 and you have your daily usage. You can then adjust what you need to maintain it and mix it into the make up water. You should also test for magnesium(monthly?) and phosphates bi-weekly.....ph is something you want to monitor closely with the ca and alk YOu want to keep these things in check as once you start getting more corals you will start using more ca. etc I wouldn't give the fire fish to anyone unless they have an empty quarantine tank to put him in as he has been exposed to ich hasn't he?

 

[Joe Fish]

If I do give them away I will wait until the formalin 3 stuff has done it's job. I'm looking at various test kits now to see what I need. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get the test kits, they are a bit expensive. I hope I can get at least the CA one. Are alk and dKH the same? Or is alk a different test? So I don't really need one of those dosing systems?

 

[TheFool]

Alk and kH are the same. I would use commercial buffer. I sometimes use baking soda, but the commercial buffers contain borates and some other useful stuff. Crush coral won't do jack in salt water as it's solubility at high pH is very, very low in reality

 

[Joe Fish]

Yeah, I knew not to put crushed coral. I'm looking into a buffer now.