Raising PH
- Thread starter ganjero
- Start date
Throw some crushed coral into the substrate or into a stocking in the filter. Give at least a good handful of it. Or fake coral skeletons work too, or crushed shell, etc etc. Anything coral.
Or you could get some limestone rocks.... those'll raise the pH too.
Or you could manually add some baking soda (the amount depends on how big your tank is). That also raises the pH instantly, but you need to add more to buffer the water each time you do a water change.
The pH for africans should be 7.8 up, i usually stay between 8.0 and 8.2
-Diana
Or you could get some limestone rocks.... those'll raise the pH too.
Or you could manually add some baking soda (the amount depends on how big your tank is). That also raises the pH instantly, but you need to add more to buffer the water each time you do a water change.
The pH for africans should be 7.8 up, i usually stay between 8.0 and 8.2
-Diana
I fully concur with this.~*LuvMyKribs*~ said:Throw some crushed coral into the substrate or into a stocking in the filter. Give at least a good handful of it. Or fake coral skeletons work too, or crushed shell, etc etc. Anything coral.
Or you could get some limestone rocks.... those'll raise the pH too.
Or you could manually add some baking soda (the amount depends on how big your tank is). That also raises the pH instantly, but you need to add more to buffer the water each time you do a water change.
The pH for africans should be 7.8 up, i usually stay between 8.0 and 8.2
-Diana
I use bagged CC in all my filters due to my local waters very low PH.
It works like a charm, especially if used inconjunction with ProperPH 8.0, start off with a small amount of CC, 1/2cup per 10gals and monitor for atleast two weeks before adding more if necessary.
what is the ph of your local water? if it is near the required figures then I wouldn't mess with it with additives or baking soda. crushed coral or limestone rocks are good. if you are buying the fish from your LFS chances are they are acclimated to the local water conditions at any rate, shouldn't make much of a difference unless your water is really soft/acidic or your fish are wild caught
I question whether raising the ph is needed also. Most Yellow labs are tank raised, and very hardy. If there is any African that should not need ph adjustment, the yellow lab is it. The crushed coral in the filter is easy and effective however. It certainly couldn't hurt.
In my particular case our local tapwaters are very soft and acidic with a tap PH of aprox -6.0PH, 1'/17.9ppm dKH or less and 2'/35.8ppm dGH. When in the aquarium the KH was insufficient to hold a steady PH and it would plumment to -5.0PH...yellowlab said:
I mean it was off the lower end of the scale and incredibly acidic :rant2:
It was sooooooooo acidic it was killing off nitrifying bacteria, this led to a rollercoaster ride of ammonia spikes and mini-cycles. It took us awhile to figure out exactly what was happening and address the issue.
Our solution was to add bagged CC to our filters and later supplement that with ProperPH 7.0. After a couple of months monitoring PH, KH and GH levels with only CC so as to ascertain the needed amount, we then added the ProperPH7.0 for good measure. We attained a steady average of 7.-7.5PH, 2-3'/17.9-35.8ppm dKH and 4-6'/71.6-107.4ppm dGH.
We then recycled our tanks and haven't had a problem to date, over a year now and counting!
The amount of CC necessary to achieve desired results will depend on your particular water chemistry, start with small amounts, monitor closely and be patient...
It can take a week+ to see any results and a month+ for the results to level off and maintain a steady average test result.
Water chemistry is not something to be messed with lightly, it can lead to nightmares.
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