JamesShall
Aquarium Advice Regular
I'm still trying to find a solution to reduce the high pH in my tank. I stopped by the lfs again spoke to the guy working there. Fish guy suggested adding salt. Fish guy showed me what they do - they take a small container and put a hole in the top (small so fish can't get in) and then they fill that about 1/2 way with salt and sink it to the bottom. This makes for slow release so the water levels don't immediately change and stress the fish.
That night I did a partial water change and some rock cleaning. The next morning i tested pH and found it to be at 7.6+ still so I decided to test the salt theory. I added some aquarium salt to the pH test and shook it a bit to make all the salt disolve. pH dropped to a nice solid 7.2!
I drilled a bunch of small holes in a container and added 1/2 cup into it. I put that in the 72 gallon tank and left it. That night I found the container completely empty of salt and all the fish alive so that was a good sign. I checked the pH and it had made a change to probably 7.5, but atleast it was showing a change!
I tested again in the morning - still about a 7.5! I tried another salt addition with about 1/3 cup salt. That night the pH was down to 7.2! I'll check it again in a few days to see if it's apossible solution.
Previously I tried the pH down powder and it worked for immediate results, but by the end of one day the pH would rise again due to the harness of my water not allowing for any pH powder to make changes.
The powder stuff is pricey in comparison. For a pint of ph stuff it's about $10 and for a 9 pound tub of salt it's about the same cost.
I figure that the fish won't even see any fluctuation of pH if this salt does what I hope it to do. I'm hoping it can hold the water to the corrected pH level for the entire pweriod of time between my cleaning intervals without me having to add salt every few days.
That night I did a partial water change and some rock cleaning. The next morning i tested pH and found it to be at 7.6+ still so I decided to test the salt theory. I added some aquarium salt to the pH test and shook it a bit to make all the salt disolve. pH dropped to a nice solid 7.2!
I drilled a bunch of small holes in a container and added 1/2 cup into it. I put that in the 72 gallon tank and left it. That night I found the container completely empty of salt and all the fish alive so that was a good sign. I checked the pH and it had made a change to probably 7.5, but atleast it was showing a change!
I tested again in the morning - still about a 7.5! I tried another salt addition with about 1/3 cup salt. That night the pH was down to 7.2! I'll check it again in a few days to see if it's apossible solution.
Previously I tried the pH down powder and it worked for immediate results, but by the end of one day the pH would rise again due to the harness of my water not allowing for any pH powder to make changes.
The powder stuff is pricey in comparison. For a pint of ph stuff it's about $10 and for a 9 pound tub of salt it's about the same cost.
I figure that the fish won't even see any fluctuation of pH if this salt does what I hope it to do. I'm hoping it can hold the water to the corrected pH level for the entire pweriod of time between my cleaning intervals without me having to add salt every few days.