KH buffer

[alsbeth]

Hi all,just wonder which of these kh buffers has the least impact on ph, bicarb of soda or calcium carbonate.I am trying to raise my kh which is 1 dh,but leave my ph at 7,conductivity is 220 us.Is this possible ? How is it that some folk can have a ph 7 and kh of 5-6 dh? Thanks Alsbeth

[steve s]

Am having same problem, Kh is 1-2 , gh is the same.
Ph out of the tap is 6.8- 7.3 , but after 24 hours in heated
holding tank with air , PH falls to 5. 5-5 . Tank ph is 6.5
Need sugg. on what buffer to use and if I need to increase
gh to 6-8 for 2-4 inch discus for proper growth?

Steve

Hi Alsbeth and steve s,

I also have extreme low KH. 0.5-1 dKH
In the plated Tank it is not a problem the pH stays at 6.4-6.5

The BB tank starts to fluctuate drastically 6.5-5.5 or lower in 12 hrs.
There I use Crushed Coral (about a handful) and the pH stays stable at around 6.5-6.3

I have used sodium bicarbonate (backing soda) but it did not stabilize. The problem could have been because it is only active 24 hrs, which made it a problem for me to figure out when and how much to add to the preparation water.

HTH
Ronald

[Mick M]

There are many products on the market that will raise gh and kh, the most cost effective is to pop down to the local drug store and save a couple hundred $ a year for fish. :)

Sodium bi-carb (baking powder) will raise kh
Magnesium sulphate (Epsom salts) will raise gh

Either are required in a minute quantity but will differ for each set of water conditions.
Both tend to raise the ph up as well.
Trial and error is required in a water butt/container to maintain constant conditions.
Remember the ph will rise therefore changes to the fish tank should be made slowly over a period of weeks.

Be careful. Baking soda only lasts 24 hours, so the dose must be repeated every day. I know there are other things that will raise the alkilinity, but I do not know the names. I think the way to go would be to go down to your LFS and look on the ingredients of their Alkilinity buffer. Then whatever the largest ingridient is, you should buy some of it.

Hi all,

I have tried many products such as Discus Buffer (pH), KH plus, Backing Powder/Soda, pH stable.
All products I have tested had one thing in common.
No I am not talking about KH, I am referring to TDS/Conductivity. All have raised the cond. more or less to unacceptable levels. I had as far as over 600 at a time with a tap water conductance of around 340-450 depending on what was done at the waterplant.

Many products sold are just plain backing soda with a catching name to make a few $ off us. Please consider that also.

HTH Ronald