Raise PH?????????

Question

in my african cichlid tank, my ph is at about 7.8 and i need it at at 8-8.2 ph.
i have alkaline buffer which is what my fish store told me to use. it worked fine and all when i first set my tank up, and raised my ph from 7.4 to 8-8.2 after about 2 or 3 doses. its directions say, add 1 teaspoon full to each ten gallons daily until desired ph is reached, preferientially buffers at 7.8 but can manage any ph from that to 8.6
how much should i add to bring my 29 gallon african tank up from a 7.8 to 8-8.2?

also, someone at my fish store told me that they used a pinch of baking soda to raise there ph...any one ever done this before? is it harmfull to fish, and how much to add?

thanks a lot.

Answer 1

One thing I think the other two missed out on, is you already have a populated tank. While cichilds prefer to have the higher ph, you really don't HAVE to have it is the real answer here. It's not always necessary to have that set ph in the tank for them to live. If ph is going to be adjusted, it should be done so prior to populating the tank. Adjusting your ph at this point you run more of a risk stressing or possibly killing your fish then the good it will do to make it perfectly as it supposed to be. Minor changes in your ph aren't as damaging as shifts over half a point, but I think the thing here is, if your fish aren't showing problems, just leave it be. I've asked 8 in the corner, the person I feel knows the most about cichild care in the fish section about this, and his advice to me when wanting to combine the cichilds with Arowana, who by text supposedly need a much lower ph, was not to worry about it. It's more likely then not, not going to cause any deaths to your cichilds at the ph you have it at now.

JV

Answer 2

Two good points here so far, one is the basic idea that if the fish are happy, don't complain and mess with it.

However, if you do want to raise the pH, using limestone or crushed coral as a substrate is the way to go. It will hold the pH in the range you want and hold it there. That does leave you needing to adjust the water for each water change though.

Baking soda will work, but you will have to figure out the proper amount for your tap water. Contrary to popular belief, carbon will not affect the use of baking soda in a tank, nor will it affect the pH changes made by baking soda of any other common method.

Hats off to the guys above me for covering everything.

MM

Answer 3

You can change your substrate to a reef sand. It supports a ph of 8.2. like CaribSea® Aragonite Seaflor Special Grade Reef Sand is what I have in my cichlid tank have no problems with the ph. You can also add some little pieces of coral to the tank. This raises the hardness of the water too, which can help with ph stability.

Answer 4

try some sedimentary rock. it will help keep the ph higher. have you ever noticed african cichlid tanks are often full of rocks? most things you add are temporary -- your water ph flucutates and if you put things in it to raise it the results are only temporary and its hard on your fish to have their ph going up and down all the time. if you find a better store they will help you with a more permanent soulution. i have found a few stores that sell mostly saltwater where i live (orlando, fl) but also do african cichlids.

Answer 5

you will just have to add a little at a time, i would say about 1/4 tsp per gallon, trade out one gallon a day. that was for the baking soda, yes i have used it. but i would agree, if there ok i wouldnt worry to much about it. as for rock some base rock, or limestone would work too

just test the water every day before you add more baking soda water and dont mix it directly to the tank, mix it lout side and pour kinda slowly

Answer 6

DO NOT USE BAKING SODA IN YOUR TANK.

The property of water to resist changes in pH is known as buffering capacity. You can determine the capacity of your buffering system by measuring total hardness. A reading of 4-6 dH or higher is usually adequate to keep the buffering system in place and maintain a stable pH. A reading under 4 dH means there isn't enough of a buffering system and the pH is likely to drop. For higher pH levels, you will probably want to aim for 6-12 dH. Many hobbyists choose to measure only Carbonate Hardness (KH), which is a measure of the calcium carbonates in your water. This test is also effective in maintaining a proper buffer system. When testing for Carbonate Hardness, a reading of 75-100 mg/L is adequate for most aquariums, while a reading of 100-200 mg/L would be desired for higher pH levels. For the purpose of freshwater aquariums, measuring either total hardness or carbonate hardness is necessary, but measuring both independently would not be needed.

You need to know that anywhere in your aquarium where detritus (a fancy term for dirt) accumulates is a source of Phosphate production. As detritus accumulates in your gravel bed and on your filter pads, the Phosphate levels in your aquarium rise. Free Phosphate ions may bond with calcareous buffering material, precipitating calcium from your aquarium, and reducing your aquariums ability to keep pH stable. This is why it is so very important to clean your filter pads regularly and vacuum the aquarium gravel with each water change. In addition, your tap water contains buffering ions. Doing regular partial water changes will help to replenish the buffers which have been lost. This is important in all aquariums, because fish respiration and organic wastes alone will cause a gradual drop in the ability of your aquarium to buffer against pH swings.

Now the question becomes what to do if the fish you want to keep have very special pH requirements. If your fish prefer a pH level which is reasonably close to the pH your aquarium water is naturally buffered to, then I do not recommend you make any changes at all. Unless you are keeping an extremely specialized fish your fish will be fine. On the other hand, if your fish have pH requirements which are far from the values in your tank, then you have work to do.

Let us consider methods of raising the pH of your tap water. There are many additives on the market today which claim to raise your pH. Most of the liquid products on the market today are a 50/50 success at best when used alone only to find the ph will soon return to the normal level of 6. You also need to use a product to increase the buffering ability of your aquarium. To maintain a stable pH in the upper levels of the pH scale for fishkeeping, I would recommend using a buffering substrate such as crushed coral. You can add crushed coral to your existing aquarium. You can place larger amounts of shells or chrushed coral beneath the substraight in the tank. I personally place the crushed coral in a mesh bag and place the bag in my filter. You will want about 1 kg of crushed coral per 40 liters of water to buffer the water to hold a pH around 7.6. This method does not allow for the use of large quantities of crushed coral, but can be effective if you only need to make small adjustments to your aquariums buffering ability. This is why ocean items such as shells and ocean sand should not be used in a fresh water aquarium. It does raise the PH level.

Be assured that attempting to control pH is the most frustrating experience for a fish hobbyist. I would guess that 50% of the problems encountered in new aquariums are a result of the aquarist attempting to change the pH level. Few fish keepers actually need to adjust their pH. For the majority of aquarists your tap water pH will be adequate. The dangers of adjusting the pH incorrectly far outweigh any benefit you may receive by moving your pH a few points on the scale.

Remember, when it comes to adjusting your pH, less is more! Stability is most important. Routine maintenance is the key to keeping your pH stable and your fish healthy!

Also, do not use baking soda in your tank. Over doing the ph plus adding additional salt is not going to do your tank any good. It will also revert back to 6 when the carbon filters pull the Soda out.
Hope this helps

Answer 7

baking soda is a good buffer but don't know the doses