Products to adjust pH

[trennamw]

Hi!



Thank you very much for the reply!

I think that certain fish prefer certain water parameters. While they can certainly adjust to a certain pH and hardness, they usually do best within a particular range.

For example, cory catfish (which I would love to be able to own) wouldn't fare well if I were to use my unadjusted well water, which is sometimes extremely hard.

While most fish can adjust, I find they are typically happiest when they are kept within the recommended parameters.



Take care,

Thanks for the reply!

Michelle

You are close enough to neutral and stable to not need much if anything.

Maybe you can make it easy on yourself and mix your home water and the water from elsewhere?


Sent from my iPhone with three hands tied behind my back.

 

[larochem595]

Hi Everyone,

You are close enough to neutral and stable to not need much if anything.

Maybe you can make it easy on yourself and mix your home water and the water from elsewhere?

I have a family member's water that I can use. I've been playing with this idea and trying to figure out the right amount of each water source to include.
Right now, the nitrate level in our tap water is about 40 ppm. I tried one part of our water and one part of their water, which brought nitrates to 20 ppm, which is still too high...
I deliberately picked out livebearers, knowing that our well water is hard. The problem is that my alternative water source has soft water. (In fact, a lot of people on here would kill for his water--a pH of 7 and a GH of 75 ppm, right out of the tap.) So, pH wouldn't be an issue if I took my family member's water but, the GH would be a little low.

I think what I will do is get my family member's water and add some Eqilibrium if the GH gets too low.
I read somewhere that adding lime can increase GH and KH.
Is this safe/easy to do? Has anyone tried this?

Thanks for all the help,
Michelle

 

[LiquidGardener]

20 ppm nitrAte is actually ideal for plant growth. So don't sweat that at all. A lot of people add nitrate into their tanks to keep the plants fertilized.

As for raising Kh and GH. I've seen suggestions on similar threads to add baking soda ( sodium bicarbonate) to raise Kh then add Epsom salts ( magnesium sulfate ) to achieve desired GH.

Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[trennamw]

20 ppm nitrAte is actually ideal for plant growth. So don't sweat that at all. A lot of people add nitrate into their tanks to keep the plants fertilized.

As for raising Kh and GH. I've seen suggestions on similar threads to add baking soda ( sodium bicarbonate) to raise Kh then add Epsom salts ( magnesium sulfate ) to achieve desired GH.

Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

I'll re paste this, I was just adding it to another thread ...

Diana Walstad's book suggests using Epsom salt and calcium chloride to raise GH.

The suggestion I'm interpreting is to not use only Epsom salt. Given the same holds for many animals, I'm not surprised there needs to be a balance between calcium and magnesium.

“start with calcium chloride (CaCl2), which is sold as a winter “de-icer”. It dissolves quickly, doesn’t contain sulfates, and won’t increase the pH. A level tablespoon dissolved in one cup water is a reasonable working Ca solution. This Ca solution diluted 1:500 in distilled water gave me a GH of 4. One tsp (teaspoon) added to one gal is about a 1:800 dilution, so I would add a tsp of the Ca solution to each gal of tank water and measure the resulting GH. "

....

“For magnesium, you can use Epsom’s salts, which is MgSO4. A level tsp of Epsom’s salts in 2 cups water is a reasonable working solution. This Mg solution when diluted 1:500 in distilled water gave me a GH of 1 to 2. A reasonable scenario: the tank’s starting GH is about 5 (after the CaCl2 addition) and you boost the GH to 6 or 7 with the Mg solution. I would add just enough of the Mg solution to get a 1-2 GH increase.”

Excerpt From: Diana Louise Walstad. “Ecology of the Planted Aquarium.” Echinodorus. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.

Check out this book on the iBooks Store: https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewBook?id=661029773





Sent from my iPhone with three hands tied behind my back.