Raising pH Mechanically

jasonG75

jasonG75

AC Members
Jun 1, 2010
1,644
0
0
50
Memphis, TN
This morning I did my weekly test and my pH was as far as I could tell 6.0 (lowest on the chart) I am dosing Co2, now more effectively than before so I am assuming this is why it is low.

How can I Mechanically raise my pH?




:help2:
 
raise your kh... baking soda in your w/c water.
 
jasonG75 said:
This morning I did my weekly test and my pH was as far as I could tell 6.0 (lowest on the chart) I am dosing Co2, now more effectively than before so I am assuming this is why it is low.

How can I Mechanically raise my pH?




:help2:
Click to expand...

Oh boy! Raising/lowering yoru PH causes all sorts of issues.

What is your pH out of the tap?
What is your pH after it sits out for a day to 'degas'?

What kind of co2 are you doing? DIY or Pressurized?
What is your average pH drop when you are dosing co2?

Do you know that dosing co2 lowers yoru pH?

co2 induced pH swings are not bad for your fish because the TDS and other things in the tank are basically all staying the same.

Enjoy!
-Chris
 
coach_z said:
-Chris
Click to expand...

Oh boy! Raising/lowering yoru PH causes all sorts of issues. Agreed

What is your pH out of the tap? 7.0-7.8 not real sure, never tested it
What is your pH after it sits out for a day to 'degas'? I don't do this.

What kind of co2 are you doing? DIY or Pressurized? DIY
What is your average pH drop when you are dosing co2? I have a monitor but it has never changed colors really, however I noticed it has gone from dark green to a very light green,

Do you know that dosing co2 lowers yoru pH? Yes I do.


I was told some time ago I could place some crushed coral in one of my canister baskets but I didnt have a canister then...now I do. Is this something I can do?
 
Crushed coral works well, but with every water change there comes a sudden ph shift before equilibration is reached and this can really stress the fish. Often the stress from the water change pH shift is more stressful than having the fish living outside of its optimal pH range.

It is in most cases (IMO) a bad idea to start playing with the ph.
 
tharsis said:
But with every water change there comes a sudden ph shift before equilibration is reached and this can really stress the fish.
Click to expand...


I am not one of those that does this as much as others. ONCE a month is my general rule of thumb. 30%

Now I will say that right now I am doing 30% a week because of the new driftwood. I let it soak for a week before I added it, but it is still leaching a little.
 
you should be okay with that pH. most fish will live with it just fine and they get used to it. however when the pH starts fluctuating all the time, it really stresses them out.
 
Keep in mind that with injecting CO2 you are not getting large fluctuations in TDS (which is what matters) compared to the pH. Problems can arise for some fish and bacteria once you dip too far below 6.0, however. If it stays there pretty steadily I wouldn't be worrying too much.
 
my only concern and the reason why i posted baking soda instead of saying it's a bad idea is he doesn't know his ph. he just knows it's reading as low as the test goes. i agree that it's usually not the best thing to do, however if you simply have no kh where does that put you? i've had to add kh just to have any before... but i know that's not usual.

i would not use c/c, personally because with b/s i can know what's going in and therefore somewhat what's coming out as well... and changes can be made as gradual as one likes... as opposed to spiking too high and finding out when you need or what a w/c is going to result in. others prefer it, though....

at any rate... if you have at least 2* kh you're most likely fine with your current ph. what was your ph before you started dosing? if it was over 7 you're likely close to gassing your fish anyway and you may want to throttle back on your co2 instead of altering water chemistry.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom