Hi there --
I had a post a few weeks ago in the newbie forum wondering how to raise the kH in my tank (from near-zero/undetectable levels) while avoiding pH bounces, and carpguy suggested adding a bit of crushed coral. So I took a tablespoon of the stuff, put it in the toe of some old pantyhose and made a little baggie out of it. Then I dropped the baggie in the filter and waited. And waited...
I've read all the previous posts on crushed coral, and one of the recurring themes is to be patient, so when I started to get fed up on day 10 with my still-undetectable kH, I told myself to "simmer down now" and let things work. But it's been about three weeks now, and it seems that I should have seen some effect.
I'm guessing that the placement or the bag medium (pantyhose, as previously mentioned) might be the problem, but I have no idea. I have a Penguin Bio-Wheel Mini filter, so there isn't much space for "extra" stuff in the first place. Maybe the water isn't flowing well over the baggie. I thought of just putting the crushed coral in the filter box by itself, but most recommendations include some sort of "media bag," so I didn't chance it.
Thinking my kH test might be defective, I squeezed the bag of crushed coral over a test tube and ran the test on the few drops that came out -- the kH read 10, so the test is OK.
I'm getting frustrated -- I think justifiably so this time. The tank is healthy; I'm just trying to safeguard against a pH crash.
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance,
John
I had a post a few weeks ago in the newbie forum wondering how to raise the kH in my tank (from near-zero/undetectable levels) while avoiding pH bounces, and carpguy suggested adding a bit of crushed coral. So I took a tablespoon of the stuff, put it in the toe of some old pantyhose and made a little baggie out of it. Then I dropped the baggie in the filter and waited. And waited...
I've read all the previous posts on crushed coral, and one of the recurring themes is to be patient, so when I started to get fed up on day 10 with my still-undetectable kH, I told myself to "simmer down now" and let things work. But it's been about three weeks now, and it seems that I should have seen some effect.
I'm guessing that the placement or the bag medium (pantyhose, as previously mentioned) might be the problem, but I have no idea. I have a Penguin Bio-Wheel Mini filter, so there isn't much space for "extra" stuff in the first place. Maybe the water isn't flowing well over the baggie. I thought of just putting the crushed coral in the filter box by itself, but most recommendations include some sort of "media bag," so I didn't chance it.
Thinking my kH test might be defective, I squeezed the bag of crushed coral over a test tube and ran the test on the few drops that came out -- the kH read 10, so the test is OK.
I'm getting frustrated -- I think justifiably so this time. The tank is healthy; I'm just trying to safeguard against a pH crash.
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance,
John