ph stabilizing

ok heres what i've got from the tap water.

ph - is over 7.6
gh - is really soft under 60
kh - is at about 20

the kh of my tank is below 10.

Should i use baking soda to stabilize my kh? how often and how much should i add?
 
There is a new product made by KENT....

i just started using it.. it works very well.. its called

PH-STABLE.... it raises KH with little effect on PH...

the problem with baking soda is it will blast your PH to the sky..

i recomend getting some of this stuff... it realy works well.
 
Originally posted by PeacockBass
<snip> PH-STABLE.... it raises KH with little effect on PH...

the problem with baking soda is it will blast your PH to the sky <snip>
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KH tests actually measure alkalinity by means of acid titration. Raising your KH will raise your pH in a proportion thereof, with the exceptions of adding CO2 and such to displace hydrogen (I believe it's displacement but I may be way off in left field somewhere.).

Baking soda will raise your pH dramatically if you add more than you require. Dependant upon the species you keep and water conditions, more or less may be appropriate. However, I usually say around 1/4tsp per 10g on very soft water is a fair starting point at each water change. From there add or subtract to get the desired effects as you continue with your testing over time.

JayCreek - Do you have a water softener system for a well, or city run water supply? Also, I'm curious as to how long you allowed your water sample to sit uncovered before testing for pH?

One of my concerns is the substrate of your aquarium. You mention the tank going through another cycle, was the substrate removed and rinsed, or left go in the aquarium? Also, do you vaccuum the gravel with a water siphon of some sort from time to time?

As aforementioned by another, the life cycle in aquaria produces organics that at a later stage produce acids that can drive down your pH. KH (carbonate hardness) acts as a buffer zone with acids.

Regards,
Raithan O. Ellis
 
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Originally posted by Raithan Ellis



KH tests actually measure alkalinity by means of acid titration. Raising your KH will raise your pH in a proportion thereof, with the exceptions of adding CO2 and such to displace hydrogen (I believe it's displacement but I may be way off in left field somewhere.).

Baking soda will raise your pH dramatically if you add more than you require. Dependant upon the species you keep and water conditions, more or less may be appropriate. However, I usually say around 1/4tsp per 10g on very soft water is a fair starting point at each water change. From there add or subtract to get the desired effects as you continue with your testing over time.
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Titration measures the total [H+] ion concentration.... PH measures the concentration of H+........ so How would measuring the H+ help you with finding out the Carbonate and Bicarbonate Ions?

KH or Carbonate hardness measures the amount of Carbonate and Bi-carbonate ions in a solution. KH represents the main 'buffering capacity'(also known as alkilinity) of the water, i.e. its ability to resist pH changes.

Also... You can raise KH or lower KH without effecting the PH of the water.. thats why you can have a solution with a PH of 8.0 and a KH of 2 and another PH of 7.0 with a KH of 7.
 
Originally posted by JayCreek
help! Im so confused.
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Still confused? :D I might add that having driftwood in a tank will also lower your ph by leaching tannic acid in the water. Fish also will sometime lower the ph of a tank with low buffering capacity by the process of respiration.
 
In regards to your questions Raithan, I get my water straght from a city run water supply. And I dont have a water softener system. Before I tested the water I let it sit for about 6-8 hours.

When I recycled my tank I did not remove the gravel. I had an extremely hard time keep the ammonia levels down and had never actually cycled the tank before that. I do clean the gravel every sunday when Im doing my water change. I take about 15% of the water out and "vaccum" half of the gravel. I was worried that if I cleaned all of the gravel I would remove all of my benefitial bacteria.

I hope this information helps, and I really appreciate all the help this forum is giving me to help solve this problem. Thanks.
 
From what I've read so far, it sounds like everything is fine aside from the soft water supply. My primary concern was that your tank might have been starting to have pH crashes, something not too uncommon on mature tanks or ones that aren't taken care of properly, however that does not seem to be the case here.

You can raise your KH and pH with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), or just your KH with epsom salts (magnesium sulfate). Take your pick and things should begin to stabilize for you. A little goes a long way in smaller tanks, so do it bit by bit and wait a several hours between testing to let things mix well.

Cheers,
Raithan O. Ellis
 
One thing that I haven't heard is what, besides fish, is actually in your tank and what sort of filtration you are using. Having a high ammonia level would seem to indicate a biological short comming in your filtration. As for your ph level if you are not keeping live plants using a phospate buffer from your LFS should help increase your buffering capacity and keep your ph near 7.0. Baking soda does work also, but too liberal a use and you'll have a ph of something like 7.6 that will be hard to lower.
 
Besides fish i dont have anything else organic in my tank. I took out my drift wood and instead aquascaped with rocks and plastic plants. I do eventually want to switch over to live plants but until I get a better handle on how things chemically function i'll just have to settle for the fake ones.

The ammonia problem I had simply came from overfeeding. I had never actually cycled my tank until only about a month ago, and in that time I've also gotten a better grip on how much to feed. I run an Eheim 2213 Canister filter, and other than the fluctuating Ph, I havent had any further problems. And thanks to everyones help here I should be able to get that problem under control aswell.
 
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