Raising Kh And Ph

[Spooky76]

Hey - I need to raise my Kh levels in my tank, I have been using c02 but stopped due to Ph drop.

From what I read if I can raise my Kh levels this will act as a buffer and reduce the Ph drop when I add c02...

Can someone tell me how to raise the Kh...I read adding bicarbonate of soda will do it, but I cant get a fix on how much to add per L to raise it a set ammount.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[celaeno]

adding baking soda will probably raise the kh. it definitely raises the ph. only a tiny amount is needed to raise the ph if you have a low kh. when i had declining ph problems, i used around 1/4 tsp pure baking soda per 10 gallons.

however, for a permanent solution (ph will start to decline again a few days after adding baking soda), use a small amount of crushed coral in your filter. i have some in my hob filter and it's doing a good job of holding the ph at 7 and the kh/gh at 3.

 

[rdd1952]

What is your pH and KH for your tap water and your tank water? A more permanent method of raising Kh is to add some crushed coral to your filter or hand a small pack (probably only need a teaspoonful or 2) in the tank or to add a small piece of tufa rock. Both will raise the KH but you don't have to worry after water changes like you do with bicarb of soda. It has to be added back each time you do a water change (for the water you add only, not the full tank). Unless you are seeing a large drop in pH in the tank, I wouldn't go to too great a length to raise it though.

 

[Mr._Fishy]

The baking soda and the crushed coral are great ideas. I would go with the crushed coral in the filter, as you don't have to keep adding the baking soda to the tank. But unless your pH is really swinging, I wouldn't bother with it. It is not as hard as trying to lower it, but still, it is usually not required.

Ryan

 

[Tobigara]

This is important for me too. My ph/kh swing pretty badly on a week to week basis.

Crushed coral didn't work all that great for me. the kh of my tap is 0 and ph is 7. i put crushed coral in the hob and a little in the substrate and i still get the swings. any other options for keeping kh and ph steady?

 

[rdd1952]

How much did you use and what size tank was it (or maybe all of them)?

 

[Tobigara]

i have some crushed coral in all my tanks. In the 10, 20 and 60 it's pretty steady. never moving more than
.1-.2 per week but my 55 might swing as much as 1.5 in a week tho more offten it moves +/- .5 in a week. i added the coral slowly til i have quite a bit in all of them it doesn't seem to make much difference.