Raising Ph

[pseud]

The bogwood in my tank has lowered my Ph a considerable amount. I'd like to raise it by about 0.5 . I'm reluctant to use Ph Up as I've heard that it can be kinda tricky to get it right, and I don't wanna screw it up and end up with a crisis. So is there a more natural way to raise the Ph?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Is there any particular reason why you want to raise it?
Im not sure about other alternative ways, but i'd stay away from Ph Up as i've heard its very difficult to use accuratly in the long term and usually just causes more complications than it solves.

 

[CFC]

Adding a handfull of coral sand or crushed coral to your substrate or in a mesh bag in a filter should raise the pH the desired ammount.

 

[LoachLover]

Adding a handfull of coral sand or crushed coral to your substrate or in a mesh bag in a filter should raise the pH the desired ammount.

You took the sand right out of my mouth

 

[loafybones]

Put a bit of Tufa rock in there, that will buffer it up a bit. It's only dead cheap too.

How come you want to raise the Ph anyway?

Loaf

 

[rdd1952]

Adding a handfull of coral sand or crushed coral to your substrate or in a mesh bag in a filter should raise the pH the desired ammount.

It works great. My tap pH is 6.8 with KH/GH at 1 so I have no buffering capacity. My tanks generally fell to around 6.2 or 6.4. My new 75 gallonwas going to be heavily planted so I wanted to use CO2 and also wanted driftwood. I have both now along with a Whisper Bio-Bag of crushed coral hanging (about 1/3 full) in the tank. My pH stays around 7.0. I haven't added any more crushed coral since I set it up about 7 weeks ago. I guess I just got lucky on how much to put in since it was just a guess (there were no fish in the tank at the time (fishless cycle) so I wasn't afraid of causing a huge swing). I also use it in two 2.5 gallon and one 5 gallon betta tanks that used to get so low that the test were the lowest color on the chart (about 6.0). They now stay right around 7.0 to 7.2.

Edit: I understand limestone will do the same thing (haven't tried it personally) but be careful as it may raise it quite a bit. I think a lot of people use it to get the pH they need for african cichlids.

 

[penguinpimp1990]

where can you get crushed coral? or do you buy a real piece of coral and crush it yourself?

 

[rdd1952]

where can you get crushed coral? or do you buy a real piece of coral and crush it yourself?

You can buy bags of crushed coral just like gravel at most LFS. I don't know if you can get small packages or not.

 

[pseud]

Thanks guys.

I wanna raise it, because right now it's at about 6.2

 

[rdd1952]

Depending on the fish you have, 6.2 may be quite fine. Most fish can handle a wide range of pH as long as it is stable and not bouncing all over. If your fish are healthy, I wouldn't worry too much. Maybe try to find a little crushed coral and add it.

 

[chishnfips]

I thought bog wood rose the ph?
or am I getting conused.

 

[CFC]

Getting a bit confused there, bogwood can lower pH in water with a low hardness (KH)

 

[chishnfips]

It was pets at home that told me that when I bought some bog wood.

 

[pseud]

Depending on the fish you have, 6.2 may be quite fine. Most fish can handle a wide range of pH as long as it is stable and not bouncing all over. If your fish are healthy, I wouldn't worry too much. Maybe try to find a little crushed coral and add it.

All of my fish are healthy, except one. My male dwarf gourami. Recently, I added a bunch more pieces of bogwood, shifted some plants around. Ever since then he's been turning darker and darker. (He did this before when I had two males in the tank and one was bullying him). All my water parameters are good, (except the Ph which has lowered). I can't think of anything else that would make him sick or upset him. There's no obvious signs of disease. I'm stumped.