Crushed Coral

[wilson_004]

I have just added crushed coral in my filter to increase the buffering capacity in my cichlid tank and was just wondering how long does it take to become active at boosting kh as ive read it doesnt happen right away and does it also increase the ph and how often do i need to take it out and put in new crushed coral?

 

[rich311k]

It is a gradual process, as the KH rises the PH will rise as well. It last about 4-6 months depending on how much you put in.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Like mentioned above, it will last 4-6 months, which you will then need to remove the crud that might be left and add more. Also, it will take a couple weeks to start seeing the effects. It took about 2 weeks for my kh to go from 60-100 when I had CC in my filter. I no longer use CC, as I prefer a little softer water.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I agree with Lone and Rich. It took close to a month before my water leveled out with crushed coral. That was at my old location that had a natural 7.0 pH. Oh those were the good ol' days.

 

[MSU Fan]

How much crushed gravel are you supposed to add in order to raise the KH? I want to buffer the water in my 75g so that the PH won't drop so drastically because of my CO2...

 

[Fishyfanatic]

That depends where your current levels are and what you would like them to be. You'll need to experiment with it.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

A small handful in the filter will be plenty. That's all I had in my 75G.