Using limestone to increase pH

[jesusjones]

I was trying to determine how, peat moss and wood, effect water chemistry and went over a lot of this in detail some years ago. Tricky subject, I don't gurantee I'm 100% right by any means. But I wanna understand

Back to the OP, limestone doesn't readily dissolve as easily as baking soda. Limestone needs some H+ (acid) to break down into HCO3 which buffers your water around a PH of 8. Baking soda readily dissolved and gives you instant HCO3 and some salt

I would think between 7-8 pH is as far as limestone could push/buffer it to. Curious to hear what others have done and seen

 

[Alice B]

I haven't seen it a lot higher than 8. I work on some ponds with a pH near 9 and zero calcium (the calcium/magnesium on test strips is gh?). But where limestone or concrete is the issue I'm pretty sure it tops out around 8.5. If I want to clear a concrete pond, I clean it with a pressure washer and coat the concrete with an aqueous silicone solution - gets me clear water for 5 years anyway if it's not pressure washed, doesn't interfere with normal plant growth