Buffer?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Jaketit

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Aug 30, 2012
Messages
449
Location
Florida
Can somebody explain to me what buffer is and what it does, I have 2 lfs in the area, one always says to use buffer and one says don't use it. I have used it a few times but I never dilute it enough and always burn some corals with it.
 
I used some today.... My mind was elsewhere and I dumped it into my display instead of the refuge..... Now I think my hammer might die :(
 
A buffer for your pH, you really shouldn't need to use it if your salinity is good and your doing weekly water changes. Also if you have good surface agitation.

I believe also reading about tops on saltwater tanks. Most people go topless to help with gas exchange.

I've had my tank for 10 months now and never needed buffer. My pH has been 8.2

If you search this site you'll find some helpful threads on pH buffer for a saltwater tank.
 
Same thing with my hammer, dude shrunk to half his size I thought he was gonna die.
 
I have been doing weekly 5-8 gallon water changes now for about 6 months now. I also have a power head pointed at the surface. Everytime I go into the " good" lfs and get my water tested they say everything looks good just add some buffer. They test all my perameters. Then I go into the " crappy" lfs and he uses a test Strip and says my water is good and don't use buffer because you shouldn't put chemicals in your system. And he said don't buy a test kit all you need is strips????? Hmmmm which on is correct?
 
Ohh and by the way how many fish can I put in a 55 gallon tank and can I get an yellow tang?
 
Buffer is usually referred to in reference to alkalinity, or dKH. For hard corals you want it (and calcium) high, like 8-12 dKH. Alkalinity buffers the tank and cushions Ph swings. If you aren't swinging, or keeping a lot of SPS corals, you probably don't need to worry about it. Some folks mistakenly use buffers to adjust for Ph, but it only works if you use the right one. Buffers based on Sodium Bicarbonate will add alkalinity and not affect Ph much, while soda ash, Sodium Carbonate, will add alkalinity and adjust Ph upwards. Older tanks use the Sodium Carbonate because it can be hard to maintain Ph in the 8.2 or better range.

Rule one: never add anything you can't test for. Guess work will kill everything. A test kit will measure all these parameters and you will be able to tell if and how much buffer you may need.

And I am a real downer...I don't recommend tangs for anything much smaller than 100 gallons. Just my opinion.
 
Jaketit said:
I have been doing weekly 5-8 gallon water changes now for about 6 months now. I also have a power head pointed at the surface. Everytime I go into the " good" lfs and get my water tested they say everything looks good just add some buffer. They test all my perameters. Then I go into the " crappy" lfs and he uses a test Strip and says my water is good and don't use buffer because you shouldn't put chemicals in your system. And he said don't buy a test kit all you need is strips????? Hmmmm which on is correct?

You should use liquid tests, more accurate. And it is best to avoid chemicals ad weekly water changes will replace what is lost.
 
I was kidding on the tang stuff. I just had a legit questions about buffer and was getting stomped out with questions like how many fish can I put in my tank. Sorry I was being a wise azz. I just find it hard to believe that I went into a fish store and was told I don't need a water test kit, just use the strips. I know I should invest in a kit but its discouraging when someone that supposed to know tells you otherwise. I have some candy cane coral a hammer and some frogspawn for sps other than that just a bunch of zoos.
 
With that stock, you definitely don't need to add any buffers... As Greg said, if you start adding a lot of SPS to your system, then you may need to dose. With what you're running, regular pwc's are replenishing everything your tank needs.

And I would absolutely recommend some good test kits (NOT strips!!). Red Sea kits are my recommendation..... maybe not as good as TOP end, but plenty good enough for the money.
 
That and the chiral you have are lps, not sps. Just remember that it's advice. Some people have no issues withusing things like steps and recommend them to others. They just aren't as accurate as liquid, and if you run a reef you want to be as accurate ad possible.
 
It's about the difficulty level of the corals you are trying to grow. Some are very tolerant, some aren't. Phosphates for example need to be measured at below .05 for most SPS corals. Most test kits have a real problem going this low. I use a Hanna meter for that reason. If you want to know just 3 values with accuracy, it is salinity, ph and phosphates,
 
.. Everytime I go into the " good" lfs and get my water tested they say everything looks good just add some buffer...Then I go into the " crappy" lfs and he uses a test Strip and says my water is good and don't use buffer because you shouldn't put chemicals in your system...Hmmmm which on is correct?

If you're continuing to get your water samples tested at an LFS you may want to have them provide the actual parameters. "Looks good" and "is good" is open to a lot of interpretation, you'll want the actual dkH or ppm of the test results (if they didn't provide it).

Comparing the obtained parameters with what your target parameters are will give you a sense as to whether any adjustment is required or not, and if so, how much adjustment is needed.

rc_kaybee19_sig.png
 
Back
Top Bottom