how to keep CO2, PH, and KH in balance

[hurricanejedi]

I got my coral at Petco. He first told me baking soda. I told him I wanted something more permanant. He told me to buy a lime formation. I told him I couldn't adjust the amount if it went up to high. He finally said, well I suppose we can give you some coral. Just had to talk him into it .

I"m not sure how fast to add it. I'm still doing a fishless cycle. But When I added enough to raise 1 degree my pH went from 6.4 to 6.9. I'm not sure how much a fish can take.

Is it safe to sprinkle it directly in the aquarium? The fish won't try and eat it? It dissolves super fast especially with a little prompting.

 

[loaches r cool]

I took a look into the link to the KH calculator posted above and noticed it also told you how much a said KH change would affect PH. A very useful page! I added the specified amount to raise KH about 1* and PH by around .6, thats about as fart as I would want to go in 1 day. I probably should have done it in smaller doses throughout the day but I already dumped it in.

So what is the ideal balance here? What should I shoot for on KH?

And how long will the effects of the baking soda remain? Will it slowly shift back / will I have to monitor and add more on a regular basis?

 

[hurricanejedi]

It will remain in your water until your next water change as I've been told. So every water change plan on adding a certain amount (thats my plan anyway) plus the coral. I like the idea of the coral being sort of an insurance when pH drops.