Baking Soda

[andyt_uk]

ok so my water really is up the creek at the moment
high nitrates
low pH
zero KH

repeated water change doesnt seem to change the stats
tap water has zero nitrate
low KH (maybe 3)
neutral pH

the tank nitrates have always been higher than most would recommend, and whilst it would seem natural some of the current problems (death by parasite suspected) may have been aggravated by water i havnt had problems before now.

my main concern at the momen is the low pH (around 6ish) and zero KH
i still have some living fish - 2 clown loach, 3 zebra danio, 1 platty, 2 black ruby barb, 1 male molly (i think) who just flashes his magic wand at everything; so need to be careful...

my thought is to slowly add some baking soda to fresh water when doing water changes - if this is best bet, where do i get some? the stuff i see in a supermarket has unspeficied 'agents' as well as NaHCO3
is that OK to buy & use

should i use a different method to stabilise my water?

thanks

 

[Anita]

Your water has similar readings to mine, no measurable kH

Bicarbonate of soda will bring up your pH, but I'm 99% sure it doesn't alter the kH. So unless it's added regularly, your tank can still 'crash' because there isn't adequate kH there to hold the water stable.

I use coral gravel in one of my filter baskets (about a pound in weight) this has given me a kH of 3 and a pH of around 6.4 which is ideal for my discus tank.
It's quite slow to work so it's easy to monitor, so one can add a little and more if necessary. Once you get the amount right, your readings will stay the same for ages. Mine has been in the tank for over a year.

Anita

 

[woogrl]

Here is some information I looked up for you to help.

"How do I make changes?

To raise KH and pH, add baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). A baseline recommendation is 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons of water (dissolve in a cup of aquarium water if adding directly to the tank). For an established aquarium, remember to take this slowly as fish are highly sensitive to pH changes. Incidentally, there are off-the-shelf products available for this purpose, but baking soda is cheaper and most people already have it on hand. Wardley’s product Raise pH® is sodium bicarbonate, whereas Aquarium Pharmaceuticals’ pH Up® is sodium hydroxide.

Instead of relying solely on additives for buffering, you can use crushed coral, crushed oyster shell, crushed limestone, aragonite or dolomite as a substrate. Seashells, limestone rock or Texas Holey Rock (also limestone) will all help to provide continuous buffering as they leach carbonates into the water. "

This is a link to a page that will help with making your calculations.

http/www.dataguru.org/misc/aquarium/calKH.asp


Hope this helps

 

[CFC]

I wish we had that problem around here, my fish would love a lower KH and pH but they have to put up with living in the liquid rock and calcium soup we call water.

To raise the KH i would add 2 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda to each 10L bucket of fresh water (standard size bucket as far as know) when doing water changes, that is presuming you arent changing any more than 20% at each change. Measure the KH after each change and monitor it to see how long the KH stays up for before dropping back down again, try to catch the KH before it drops further than 1 degree and do another water change again adding the bicarb, you are aiming to have a stable KH of around 3 or 4. Eventually you should reach a stage where the KH will remain around 3 and remains at that level until the next change at least.

 

[andyt_uk]

I wish we had that problem around here, my fish would love a lower KH and pH but they have to put up with living in the liquid rock and calcium soup we call water.

To raise the KH i would add 2 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda to each 10L bucket of fresh water (standard size bucket as far as know) when doing water changes, that is presuming you arent changing any more than 20% at each change. Measure the KH after each change and monitor it to see how long the KH stays up for before dropping back down again, try to catch the KH before it drops further than 1 degree and do another water change again adding the bicarb, you are aiming to have a stable KH of around 3 or 4. Eventually you should reach a stage where the KH will remain around 3 and remains at that level until the next change at least.

thanks for that

next time i am in london i'll bring a bucket of my soft acidic water for you
so is the supermarket bought 'supercook bicarb' ok to use?

or do i need 'pure' sodium bicarbonate

might get some coral sand to add too - was thinking of removing all my gravel at some point and going for a sand substrate - but that seems like hard wok

 

[CFC]

I would imagine the standard supermarket bicarb is fine, its safe for food use so should be safe for fish, to be on the safe side test it with half a bucket with 1 tsp in and watch the fish for any signs of distress, with such a small ammount if there are problems a quick water change will dilute it back out before any damage can be done.

 

[Anita]

Hi

'supercook bicarb'

That's the one I used (blue lid) and it was fine.

I used the bi-carb method for a while before switching to the coral gravel which I found easier and with me it tends to be anything for an easy life

Anita

 

[zoekin8yg]

i wish our nitrates were as low, the tap water has 30ppm! Good luck with the bicarb

 

[CFC]

The problem with using crushed coral is that there is no way of knowing when its buffering properties are speant, which means the tank could crash without warning. With the bicarb because you are topping it up weekly with water changes you can be sure there is always some buffer in the water.

As for nitrates try living in London where 70ppm from the tap during summer isnt uncommon!

 

[Anita]

The problem with using crushed coral is that there is no way of knowing when its buffering properties are speant, which means the tank could crash without warning.

Hi CFC
I was told by a local discus breeder (quite a well known one) that the buffering properties are never spent as long as the coral gravel remains in the tank. However because my water is acidic, the volume of coral gravel will slowly eaten eaten away by the water (the size of the actual gravel will get smaller) over a period of time. So it will need the occasional top up, I haven't had to do this yet in over a year but it's worth knowing this does happen, I guess if my pH started to drop I would need to add a couple more spoonfuls.

Anita

 

[CFC]

Organic acids constantly eat away at the levels of calcium bicarbonate in a tank and unless replenished will eventually be used up, for most people water changes replenish the calcium bicarbonate as freshwater with higher levels replaces old water with lower levels. Since your water has no natural buffering capacity water changes do not top up the calcium bicarbonate so the acids continue to eat way at the buffers being released from the coral gravel. I would monitor the KH and pH on a weekly basis and add more coral if either starts to show a drop.

 

[Anita]

I would monitor the KH and pH on a weekly basis and add more coral if either starts to show a drop.

Hi

I'm not great when it comes to the chemistry side of the hobby that's why I try not to fiddle too much. The old 'keep it simple' method tends to work best for me

I have one of those digital pH monitors on the tank which gives a constant reading, so not much happens without me knowing
I always have a kH testing kit on hand and if the pH was to drop, firstly I would check the CO2 and if that was ok, then the kH.

Anita

 

[andyt_uk]

thanks guys
went to supermarket on my lunch break and they only had baking POWDER - different stuff - i think its a sodium phosphate type compound....

guessing not the same so didnt bother...

 

[Miss Wiggle]

you can get crushed oyster shell which should buffer it up a bit from QSS, you said you we're gonna check it out anyway and it's right nearby. only a couple of quid too, if they've sold out or anything drop me a pm, we've some spare

 

[BigC]

Be careful when changing water parameters. they must be done over a period of time. A lot of water hardening products only add GH and not KH. Over the years I have used many and the best I've used to date are made by Seachem... Alkaline and Acid Buffers. Be careful
Regards
BigC