Baking powder instead of soda?

[Steven valentine]

My wife put baking powder in the fish tank instead of baking soda, 1 teaspoon into a 25ltr tank. Is this going to harm the fish? We don't have any in yet.

 

[Essjay]

Yes it will. It does contain baking soda but has other things as well. Since there are no fish, just empty the tank and refill.

Can I ask why you are adding baking soda to the tank?
Baking soda is not good for fish either. Fish don't cope well with high levels of sodium.

 

[Steven valentine]

Was worried about the ph in the tank, was sitting about 6.4, so empty the tank and start the cycle again... Wait about 5days before putting fish in the tank?

 

[Essjay]

Have you cycled the tank - in other words, have you added ammonia and waited until ammonia and nitrite dropped to zero? https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/
If you have not done this, I'm afraid the tank will not be ready for fish until it has been cycled.

You do not need to raise the pH if you keep fish that need this pH. Do you know how hard your water is? It should be somewhere on your water provider's website - you need a number, rather than some vague words, and the unit as there are several they could use.

Hardness - called GH - is important as fish need to be kept in the same hardness as the river or lake that they come from. A low pH suggests you have soft water, and there are many soft water fish to choose from. Although with 25 litres, you will be restricted to the so-called nano fish, or a betta (Siamese fighting fish)

If you could let us know your tap water hardness, we can suggest fish that would suit your water, and the tank size.

 

[Colin_T]

It depends on what brand of baking soda you used. In Australia we have baking soda that contains sodium bicarbonate and that is fine. We have other brands of baking soda that also contain sodium bicarbonate but they also contain a couple of other items and they should not be used. But if it's just sodium bicarbonate and nothing else, it's fine.

 

[Steven valentine]

Thank you for that link, it was very helpful. Yeah I have added ammonia to the tank, I also did add a couple of fish flakes aswell. I don't know if that is old school and by the sounds of things it should no longer be done is this right? Everything in the tank seems to be good according to the testing kits I have. Yeah the idea was just nano fish.

 

[Silencedogood]

I agree with Colin. I use baking soda (pure sodium bicarbonate) in my tank whenever my ph is too low.

 

[FishGuest5123]

The OP is asking about baking POWDER, not baking SODA. Two different things. Be careful. I would not use baking powder.

 

[Byron]

I agree with Colin. I use baking soda (pure sodium bicarbonate) in my tank whenever my ph is too low.

This is not good for the fish nor the system. First on the latter, baking soda is not a permanent buffer (which is why you have to keep adding it, it does not do what you are thinking you need to do). But second, obviously you have a fluctuating pH and this is hard on the fish.

The pH is part of the GH/KH triangle, and you should first allow the biological system to establish and settle on its own without additives. Once it does this--and sometimes knowing the GH, KH and pH of your source water can suggest the outcome beforehand--it was be stable. Select fish that are suited to this water and you're home free, with just a weekly significant partial water change.

 

[Silencedogood]

This is not good for the fish nor the system. First on the latter, baking soda is not a permanent buffer (which is why you have to keep adding it, it does not do what you are thinking you need to do). But second, obviously you have a fluctuating pH and this is hard on the fish.

My ph doesn't really fluctuate unless I skip water changes for a while or something in the tank becomes acidic. The baking soda just gives a little boost to the system.

 

[Byron]

My ph doesn't really fluctuate unless I skip water changes for a while or something in the tank becomes acidic. The baking soda just gives a little boost to the system.

The baking soda is not beneficial to the fish. And if the pH is fluctuating for any reason you have a problem, be it inadequate water changes, or whatever.