Water changes

[quitters]

Hey guys i have a couple of questions would love some advice...

i get my kh right by adding bi carb soda to the water im going to add to the tank. my tap water is 6.8ph and the tank is about 7.4. i keep the tank at 4.2 kh and my tap water has a kh of 1.

my question is, how long does it take the bi-carb soda to change the ph? the kh changes instantly but should i wait for the ph to be right before sticking it into the tank or will the whole idea of a buffer not make this an issue?

also im having a lot of trouble feeding my hillstream loach, he wont eat any of the algae pallets no matter how close i get them to him coz he wont come off the glass, will the algae on the tank be enough for him if it is actually there coz i cant see any algae?

 

[malkore]

I would wait about 8 hours to get a valid pH reading. I use an alkalinity buffer in my SW tank that says to wait 12 hours, but it uses some other buffers besides baking soda.

 

[Hyrules]

Like malkore says you should wait before take your ph again. I know for a fact that baking soda can rise ph fast like in less than 30 seconds. That's why i dont use this technique. I prefer Aragonite or Crushed Shell. Depending on the ph you want or the fishs you have. I did actually make a mistake by mixing too much aragonite in my sand. Now my ph is buffered a 8.2 but the fish are happy with that since it is stable. Just make sure to be carefull with baking soda. I`ve already tried it and made mistakes.