Ph

[johnny70]

Hi

My pH has bottomed out at somewhere near 6. its stalled my cycle, how can I raise the pH in the tank without adding chamicals, i have plenty of bogwood(which is causing the drop, I believe), slate caves and planting, what can i add to balance it out???

Cheers
J

 

[rdd1952]

The best way to raise it naturally is to add something that buffers the water such as crushed coral in your filter or some tufa rock.

 

[johnny70]

any idea where i may find these?

How much would i need for a 180ltr tank?

Cheers
JOHNNY

 

[rdd1952]

Most fish stores should have them. For the crushed coral, you would only need a tablespoonful. You may be able to find someone hear you that keeps cichlids or has a reef tank that can give you a small amount rather than having to buy a whole bag.

 

[celaeno]

you can also add the appropriate amount of pure baking soda to raise ph.

 

[johnny70]

Do you have a formula for how much to add

Cheers
J

 

[screamingdonkey]

The best way to raise it naturally is to add something that buffers the water such as crushed coral in your filter or some tufa rock.

I'm no expert on this, so please correct me if I'm wrong - but I heard somewhere that aragonite (a calcium carbonate based mineral) is THE best thing to use. It dissolves at a lower pH than most corals etc.
I'm not sure where you can get it from though - but may be worth you while researching on the internet.

 

[JackoUK]

I have only just experimented with Crushed Coral in a bag in my tank and it seems to be doing the job. My pH was originally around 5 and i've now got it upto around 6.4 and i'm still going.

 

[johnny70]

Crushed coral seems like a good idea, what sort of quantity in what size tank did you use?

Will bogwood start to turn more neutral the longer its in the tank or is it like it is?

Cheers
J

 

[rdd1952]

The best way to raise it naturally is to add something that buffers the water such as crushed coral in your filter or some tufa rock.

I'm no expert on this, so please correct me if I'm wrong - but I heard somewhere that aragonite (a calcium carbonate based mineral) is THE best thing to use. It dissolves at a lower pH than most corals etc.
I'm not sure where you can get it from though - but may be worth you while researching on the internet.

Aragonite sand is used in a lot of cichlid tanks too. For the purpose of raising the pH a small amount and adding buffering, I'm not sure it would work too well but have never tried it so I can't say for sure. I do know that a small amount of crushed coral in the filter will do a good job.

Crushed coral seems like a good idea, what sort of quantity in what size tank did you use?

Will bogwood start to turn more neutral the longer its in the tank or is it like it is?

Cheers
J

For your tank, you could probably put a tablespoonful in the filter and that should be all you need. You can try that and see what it does. If it doesn't go up enough, add a little more. If it rises too much, take some out. On the bogwood, if you mean the color of the wood, then it is probably what it will be. If you mean the water color from leeching, then the water should become more clear over time as the tannins leech out.

 

[johnny70]

Sorry the bogwood I meant will it keep lowering my pH, it must be sligtly acidic to bring the pH down, will it remain that way or will it turn to neutral (7pH) over time?

Cheers
JOHNNY

 

[Maxta]

Over time it stops leaching tannin's, which is acidic, this can take months to years from what iv heard.

On a side note, RDD or anyone who knows there business, how much tufa rock would you need to add, or how many? Based on this size:

http/www.petsathome.com/invt/12890

And what would my pH go up to approximately do you have any idea?

Oh and Johnny, if you want tufa rock and live in the UK, i believe Pets at Home sell it.

 

[shrimply]

Hey johnny.

If you haven't sorted anything out yet PM me you address and I will dry out a small amount of my substrate and post it to.

If you want it that is.

If you are in the UK as well.

 

[rdd1952]

The bogwood will continue to lower our pH. The effect may lessen (or worsen) over time but I'm not really sure about that. As for the tufa rock, it's hard to say how much you need. Most of the time, adjusting the pH is trial and error.

 

[Maxta]

Oh right. Guess thats why people use Crushed Coral because you can easily take some out or put more in depending on what the levels go to, whereas with a rock you cant, unless you smash it. Hopefully i can get my hands on both. I want to put my other bit of bogwood in, but dont want to add it yet since my pH is already low to start off with. Thanks