What is a low Buffer?

[Skittyfish]

My LFS keeps telling my that my buffer is low (didn't say what it is, thought). My Gh is 60 ppm or 3.36 degrees. my Kh is 30 ppm or1.68 degrees. Ph is 6.8. The LFS guy says that low buffer may be causing any new fish I get to die (not sure I buy that)
Anyway he suggested I increase my buffer, but really didn't know how to do that.

Any ideas or opinions welcome.. and TIA

[Faramir]

He means your KH, and he's right, it is low.

However, this would only be causing fish deaths if it was leading to pH fluctuations.

[Skittyfish]

I haven't noticed any fluctuations, with a test that works (dig at Hagen). It seems to be remaining pretty steady . I added 5 Angels on Wednesday (floated them for 15 min. and then added a small cup of tank water and took a cup out of the bag, did this every 5- 7 min for about 30 min) i don't think that it was a sudden shock, no ammonia. So far three had died, maybe they just weren't good fish. But the deaths are somewhat sudden. They may be fine now and be dead by tonight.

[Skittyfish]

Can you raise the buffer without raising the PH? I have Angels and three different Tetra sp.

[carpguy]

Raising the KH will also raise the pH. This is what folks are referring to when they say that certain rocks, like limestone, will raise your pH. It actually raises your KH, which raises your pH.

Like Faramir said, low KH won't harm your fish but pH swings (or crashes) can. If you're not seeing changes in the pH then its not the problem. The problem comes when your 1.5 KH starts handling the acids that are being produced as a side effect all the biological activity and it slowly gets eaten away until suddenly its all gone and your pH plummets rapidly. Waterchanges help replenish the buffer.

I have almost no natural buffer in my tap. I use some crushed coral in the filter to raise it to a level I'm more comfortable with. Others use baking soda to do this, but it seems less stable to me (and its more work -- crushed coral is very low maintenance :cool: ).

I could be wrong on this, but with the crushed coral I feel like a balance is set up where an increase in acidity will dissolve the coral more quickly, thereby neutralizing the extra acid. Sort of a buffer for the buffer. You could use a small amount to act as a safeguard without driving your pH much higher. I'm using 5 tblspns in a small mesh bag on my 30g and it raised my KH from < 1 to somewhere between 2 and 3, and my pH from 6.2 to around 6.9. It took a little over a week to creep up and now has been stable at those levels for maybe a month.

[Faramir]

I could be wrong on this, but with the crushed coral I feel like a balance is set up where an increase in acidity will dissolve the coral more quickly, thereby neutralizing the extra acid. Sort of a buffer for the buffer. You could use a small amount to act as a safeguard without driving your pH much higher. I'm using 5 tblspns in a small mesh bag on my 30g and it raised my KH from < 1 to somewhere between 2 and 3, and my pH from 6.2 to around 6.9. It took a little over a week to creep up and now has been stable at those levels for maybe a month.

Funny you should mention this. Our tap water is soft but slightly alkaline. This is a right royal pain in the @rse because it means that the coral gravel and limestone in the Malawi tank achieves virtually bugger all and I've resorted to (shock horror!) commercial Malawi Cichlid salts.

[Skittyfish]

So, a small bit of crushed coral in my canister should raise the Kh and the ph slightly? I have to admit that limestone is alot more readily available in this area, but I am sure my LFS has coral they will be glad to sell me. I suppose that getting my Ph stable even at a bit higher will be better than leaving it and taking the chance of it changing daily. I am sure that with my tap water lower than my tank that it is getting a bit lower at water changes before bouncing up a couple of notches.

Thanks for your insights:)

[JSchmidt]

Yes, you can add a tablespoon of crushed coral (in a filter bag or nylon stocking) to you filter and it will slowly dissolve, raising KH (and possible). The trick is to check for both regularly after you add the coral. If KH rises and pulls pH up too, far, take a bit of coral out. If KH rises but plateaus before reaching a target level (I'd want 80 to 100 ppm KH), you can add a bit more.

If you keep an eye on things, you can bump up KH a bit without dramatically increasing pH. Some rise in pH will likely occur, but if you keep KH at 80-100 ppm, pH shouldn't get out of control.

HTH,
Jim

[Skittyfish]

I will certainly give it a try. I have an eheim 2026 canister, should I put the coral in the last basket with the ehfisubstrat?
Sorry, I am a person who needs explicit directions:D

[Faramir]

Doesn't matter too much where it is in the filtration series. Might be inclined to put it after the mechanical stage (so it doesn't get clogged) but before the biofiltration (so that the bacteria don't get washed on to it and create a biofilm that might inhibit solution).

This could be complete bollocks, as it's purely based on thought experimentation.

[Skittyfish]

Or, could I put it inside the quickfilter on my powerhead? that would circulate it nearly as much as the canister will. Hmmm..

[JSchmidt]

I think you can safely put it anywhere it will be exposed to significant current.

Jim

[RTR]

But it is affected by biofilm build-up, such that it may become less effective with time. Trading it out for fresh while rinsing and drying the old, thus alternating the two, will maintain indefinitely. Until the material actually dissolves - then you will need to add a bit more, but that is very, very slow.

[Wulfy]

What about products like KH+ from AZOO.

Is it kool to use that.

I had a couple of bad experiences with the stuff.
First time I added the recommended dose, I had
an ammonia spike (I was still live cycling)
and I lost one cardinal (that tought me not to
mess with chemicals when youre cycling).

Second time I added the recommended dose.
my PH was allready pretty high and it went into
alkaline. My cardinals started to VOMIT.
Yeah, I didnt know fish could vomit.

I compensated quickly with Acid Buffer
the fish were stressed for a while but they are fine now.

Big question is. How the hell do I rise KH (Its under 1)
without going Alkaline (high PH). Am I asking for
the impossible. Or should I just use Coral.

[Skittyfish]

according to Tom Barr in a different post of mine in the plant section, he suggested using baking soda to raise Kh and using Co2 to lower Ph. This is what I am planning on doing since my tank is planted.

[JSchmidt]

Baking soda will work in a tank whether it is planted or not. My preference for crushed coral in the tank is that it's effects are more gradual and it replenishes KH constantly without need to add anything. But baking soda will work, too.

Jim