Ph & soft water

[reg2k2]

I added the crushed coral 2wks ago to raise my pH.  It's been holding steady at 7.0.     When can I expect to change it?  Will it last forever?

Also, is the coral raising the hardness as well?  KH 2deg, GH 5-6deg.  These levels are ok, right?

 

[Davy Reynolds]

The readings are fine just now.

What are you aiming for

 

[pete]

Yes coral sand will eventually make the water hard but only if you keep adding it.

Hope this helps

 

[reg2k2]

About how often will I need to replace it? Any ideas?

I would've settled for 6.8pH.  I just wanted to make sure I didn't need to do something 'bout the hardness as long as the pH was holding.  Thought I'd read just a few deg. was ok.

Thanx.

 

[Kenliz]

If you've added the crushed coral directly to the tank it will release the minerals (especialy Carbonate and calcium) though time. Keep a close eye on things incase you Kh rises to far. I normally put some Coral gravel in to a old sock and add this to the water i change with this way increasing the Kh and unfortunatly the Gh as well. Keep testing the Kh and Gh so you know what is happening in the tank. Your ph will be stable with a Kh of 4 degs but your ph will be higher. IMO its best not to add the Coral direct to the tank for its a lot harder to remove it if a mistake (to much added) is made. Its better to stop treating the water you change with than to replace alot of your gravel to remove the Crushed coral.

 

[Davy Reynolds]

Yip as Ken says. Remember, worry about the KH not the pH. You pH works in relation to the KH not the other way round.

The coral will hold the KH up and help keep the ph stable. At 7.0 your doing good. I've yet to work out any theroy behind regular water changes and working against the coral. I'll work it out and do an article (sometime).

Oh and wee bit reading on water http/www.tropicalaquariums.btinternet.co...ipme....ter.htm

 

[Dragonslair]

Reading your postings over the period of time R2k2, I notice that you are constantly changing the quality of your water. Is your lfs using the same water authority as yourself? If they are and you are trying to change your water quality to match that of the wild versions of your inhabitants you will be causing yourself problems. the fish you have will have acclimatised to their surroundings/environment and if you are trying hard to give them the match that they would have in the wild well you are putting them under more stress than they need to be. As Davy,pete and ken all say, once you start a change you must keep that quality up forever. If you are new to this then I would advise that you have a few more months under your belt before experimenting. Please don't take this the wrong way,I'm all for NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, but when your fishes are probably bred in this country anyway with probably the same water quality as your own why change it?

 

[reg2k2]

Sorry, I forgot to mention I added the coral in a mesh bag to the filter.

I've yet to work out any theroy behind regular water changes and working against the coral

Davy, not sure--do you mean by adding soft water?

DL, I totally agree w/ being able to use the water you have--much easier.   I've only recently realized that my water is very soft, and that that was affecting the pH.  It was 6.0 or less.  I had a tetra that lived through 5 yrs of that, apparently, but I still feel that is too low.  (It seems I had read something 'bout low pH burning fishes' gills/skin, but maybe that was only high pH fish, like africans.)  And the pH was most likely fluctuating during water changes.   This was all new to me a couple of wks ago.  (Thx, ev1)  

I haven't changed the water since adding the coral, plan to this weekend.  Hope things stay constant.

Oh, does anyone have a guess as to how long this batch of coral will last me???   6mo?  1yr?   4ever???  

 

[Kenliz]

A low ph does do one thing thats not recommended. It can damage your Bioload as it hampers the Bacteria and if it drops below 6ph you can find your tank cycling again. For more info on this subject to a search of water conditions on Discus sites. Keep a close eye on your kh if this rises to 4 degs remove the bag of coral from your Filter and just add it to the water you change. this will keep your ph Stable.

 

[mrV]

I added the crushed coral 2wks ago to raise my pH.  It's been holding steady at 7.0.

What kind of fish you are keeping in your tank?

First, most of aquarium hobbier (Hmm, hobbyist? hobbier? ) recommend to use coral - like me too, bu you have to remember that coral is mostly CaCO3 which is quite insolubility in water - especially when your pH value is 7 or more. CaCO3 will dissolve in acidic but not base.

And the hardness of KH and GH raises too. AND when you change water, which is softener than water in your tank, what do you think that it happens? The hardness KH/GH lowers and KH/GH start again raising..

When you want to raise KH value (pH is raising too), then you should add baking soda (sodiumbicarbonate, NaHCO3) which doesnt raise GH. If you want to raise GH, you should add CaSO4 (=gypsum) which only raise GH valua and doesn't change KH/pH. And when doing partial water changes you have to make the water harder BEFORE putting it into the tank - otherwise water values in the aquarium are like elevators, raising and lowering...

 

[reg2k2]

Hi mrV.

I have tetras and a peckoltia.

Before last water change, KH=2deg, GH=8deg.(so GH was up)
I had meant to test the water maybe an hour after to see if and how much the levels had changed, but I got called away.  I tested pH next day, still 7.0.  

I plan to do another in a month, so I'll have to see then before I consider changing anything.

CaCO3 will dissolve in acidic but not base.

Not sure what this means.  Is it calcium? And what is base?

 

[mrV]

GH seems to quite good for most tetras. You didn't specify any... And your pH is good too. I don't see any reason, why to change values with these information.

You should test pH regularly at least once a week - it can drop down especially at night if you KH value isn't enough high to protect  acid-base reactions, other water values "are not so important".

CaCO3 will dissolve in acidic but not base.

Not sure what this means.  Is it calcium?  And what is base?

If you know what is acid, base is the opposite of acid. And when water is pH 7.0 it's neutral. Under pH 7 water is acid and above pH 7 water is basic.

CaCO3 is a compound: Ca2+ + CO3-- (calsium-ion and carbonate-ion.)