need to raise ph

[penguinpimp1990]

is there anyway to raise your pH level without using chemicals? i heard crushed coral would do the trick but is there any type of rock/wood that would raise pH without any other effects on the water?

 

[Torrean]

I asked this same question and the only response I got was baking soda I believe... I am going to try a sea shell to see if that does the trick. Hopefully you'll get some more responses. Here is a pinned thread on that topic.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=59467

Here is the usefull info I found from it.

pH. This is an extent of the acidity of water. The scale is pH0 (very acidic) to pH14 (very alkaline) pH7 is neutral.

Some ways to lower pH.
Filtering water over peat, Adding bogwood to the tank (both have a limited effect),
Inject carbon dioxide (CO²), perform water changes with RO (Reverse Osmosis) water or use a commercially available acid buffer.

Some ways to raise pH.
Aerate the water, driving off the carbon dioxide (CO²), add crushed coral or seashells to the filter, Add rocks containing limestone, use a coral sand substrate or use a commercially available alkaline buffer.

kH. This is an extent of the, temporary, hardness of water. This is derived mainly from carbonate and bicarbonate ions and directly reflects the buffering capacity of the water. It can be removed by boiling the water. (This is why lime-scale builds up on heater elements.)

Some ways to raise kH.
Aerate the water, driving off the carbon dioxide (CO²), add a commercially available product to increase buffering capacity or add NaHCO3 (baking soda) Note; 5ml (1 teaspoon) of baking soda added to 50 litres of water can raise the kH by approx 4 OdH without effecting the pH greatly.

Some ways to lower kH
Injecting carbon dioxide (CO²), add a commercially available product to decrease the buffering capacity or perform water changes with RO (Reverse Osmosis) water.
Note: You can mix tap water with reverse osmosis water to attain the desired kH level.

gH. This is an extent of the hardness of water. This is derived mainly from the concentration of magnesium and calcium ions. (Other ions can add to water hardness but are usually irrelevant and not easy to measure.)
Note; It is gH, not kH that is being referred to when talking about fish that prefer soft or hard water. gH will not directly affect pH although "hard" water is generally alkaline due to some interaction of gH and kH.

0 to 4 OdH or 0 to 70 ppm = very soft
4 to 8 OdH or 70 to 140 ppm = soft
8 to 12 OdH or 140 to 210 ppm = medium hard
12 to 18 OdH or 210 to 320 ppm = fairly hard
18 to 30 OdH or 320 to 530 ppm = hard
Anything above this is very hard
OdH = German degrees hardness (the standard measurement), which is equal to 17.9 mg/L or ppm.

gH & kH range for aquatic life
0°-3° (0-50 ppm)..........................discus, arowanas, elephantnoses, neon & cardinal tetras and live plants.
3°-6° (50-100 ppm).............most tropical fish including angelfish, cichlids, most tetras, botias and live plants.
6°-11° (100-200 ppm)..................most tropical fish including swordtails, guppies, mollies and goldfish.
11°-22° (200-400 ppm)...............Rift lake cichlids, goldfish and brackish water fish.

Some ways to raise gH
Adding limestone to the aquarium (this will also increase kH which in turn will increase pH)
Adding CaCO2 (calcium carbonate) will raise gH and kH

Some ways to lower gH
Add peat to your filter, use a commercially available water softening product or mix tap water with reverse osmosis (RO) water

 

[penguinpimp1990]

i believe there are some gravels that raise the pH level.........there used in cichilds tanks and stuff but i havent seen it around

 

[pnyklr3]

Why do you want to raise the pH? Just make sure that you don't use any chempicals or powders from the lfs, because the effect could be temporary. In most cases, your fish will be OK in your local tap water pH (esp if you got the fish locally, they will already be acclimated). The best way to raise your pH will be to add crushed coral sand. I believe that there are also types of rocks that will raise your pH, but I'll double check on that. I think that the "cichlid cave" rocks (usually white and have natural holes in them) raise pH. I think that bogwood or driftwood will lower your pH. I'll edit my reply when I am more certain about this.

Post what types of fish you have/would like to have. You probably won't have to worry about raising your pH.

EDIT: Rocks

 

[penguinpimp1990]

i need to raise my pH because im going to buy an apple snail and if the pH is below 7.2 the shell will start to erode or something because the water is too acidic

 

[penguinpimp1990]

hmmmmmmmm limestone is supposed to raise the pH..... maybe ill buy a limestone rock and put it in the tank, the rock should be ok with platies and guppies right?

 

[Torrean]

anybody know anything about shells? How many I should use. My Ph is below 6 (that's as low as the test goes)

 

[fishyfeet]

I breed applesnails and my tapwater ph is 7.6 to start with, i used coral gravel in the tank and cuttlefish, i add calcuim supplement to the water and feed high calcuim food such as spinach, ive also some shells and corals in there too.
I think my ph is 8.2 or above, dont have plants or wood, di