Raising pH

[Ags11]

My pH is a bit low right now, it is trending down to 6 and i would like moderate it to closer to 7. I have looked at Tetra PH/KH Plus, but would rather go for a natural solution like adding some kind of small stones. Would rather not add gravel as I may want to remove the rocks afterwards! Would this work, and which stones should i look at?

I think if I go down the Tetra PH/KH Plus I will end up in an endless cycle of pH tweaks.

 

[Nick potts]

If you don't want to use an off the shelf liquid, you could try coral sand in a media bag or similar. Coral sand is a good buffer but will also raise KH.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Would this work, and which stones should i look at?

<"Oyster shell chick grit? or Cockle shell">? Just pop them in some tights etc in the filter. Sticking with the caged bird theme a <"Cuttle "bone"> also works.

What is your tap water like? I have hard tap water so just cut my rainwater <"with some tap">.

cheers Darrel

 

[Zeus.]

I think if I go down the Tetra PH/KH Plus I will end up in an endless cycle of pH tweaks.

Or do a DIY remineralizer

for the dose of 5ml per 20L of the Tetra PH/KH Plus with your own salts would have the same effect and save some money

 

[Ags11]

I only have a small sponge filter, so I think the real problem is exposing the carbonate to enough flow. I think I will go for the Tetra product and look at mixing my own salts down the line.

 

[Zeus.]

K2CO3 is very soluble so cant see that being an issue - thats all the Tetra product probably is

make you own 250ml bottle and dose the same

For £0.50p per litre the tetra product is just another example off expensive water

 

[Zeus.]

Was think about 'Tetra PH/KH' Plus last night and at first I though was cant clone it as we don't know what they used, then the penny dropped

Ions are ions and it doesn't matter where they come from, as to get the dKH increase in this case its all about [CO3] in the tank, they don't tell us the [CO3] on the product or the CO3% but they do tell us the dKH change with a certain dose and that's all we need to clone it.

So will have another re-mineralising agent on the 'clone' list on release

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Was think about 'Tetra PH/KH' Plus last night and at first I though was cant clone it as we don't know what they used....

Sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) or sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) would be my guess, just because they are likely to be cheaper than their potassium (K) equivalents, even if they are less suitable for the planted tank.

It will definitely be sodium or potassium, because only the group one (alkali metals) <"form soluble carbonate salts">.

Ions are ions and it doesn't matter where they come from, as to get the dKH increase in this case its all about [CO3] in the tank, they don't tell us the [CO3] on the product or the CO3% but they do tell us the dKH change with a certain dose and that's all we need to clone it.

Yes, exactly that, it doesn't matter what the original salt was, it is only the change in dKH value that is important.

Because K+ is a much more useful/less harmful ion for us (than Na+) you really only need to give weights for KHCO3 and K2CO3.

cheers Darrel

 

[Zeus.]

Because K+ is a much more useful/less harmful ion for us (than Na+) you really only need to give weights for KHCO3 and K2CO3.

Think we could do with adding Potassium bicarbonate as it would also be handy, think CaCO3 is still useful even though its solubility is low as its a nice way to get a bit more Ca ions in the tank.

The only 'headache' calculator side is deciding whether to let CO3 or K drive the 'headshot' in the calculator, the 'Headshot' is the maths that sorts the grams out from a weekly target yield in ppm. Will need to have a think on it as we are trying to stop more to the calculator ATM unless its straight forward otherwise we will never get it done.

 

[Ags11]

As an experiment I have tried adding a small piece of limestone.