PH help

[matthew_raw]

i had a stable ph before i removed some rocks so i added some rocks back in and it made a slight difference i dont know what rocks they were and i haven't added any chemicals like baking soda or anything but i am going to pick some up tomorrow, would adding rock salt do anything to help ?

 

[mrvincent]

Yeah !! Maybe your old rocks where changing water chemistry (increasing KH value) then stabilising PH if your tap is low KH

 

[matthew_raw]

yeah maybe i was thinking that, if i add salt will it affect any of the fish i listed before ?

 

[mrvincent]

Why add salt ? Don't add salt

If you want make your aquarium brackish at 0.1 or 0.2% salt, it will be bad for your plants (I experimented it), and you will have to check on the web the salt tolerance of all your fish kinds...


I'm searching for you the amount of sodium bicarbonate to add to your tank to raise KH value by 1 dKH°

You have 15 gallons right ?

 

[matthew_raw]

okay i will leave the salt out then, my tank is 57 liters how much baking soda should i add? and my temps at 26 could that cause the ph drop ? i need to raise it to neutral because it will stop bb wont it ?

yeah 15 us gallons 12 uk gallons according to google convert

 

[mrvincent]

I think 6.5 can be fine. One thing to not do is add one shot too much of baking soda, the ph change will be violent stress on the fish and can result dies

 

[matthew_raw]

do you know how much i should add then ? i looked online and i cant find it anywere ? how dose ph effect fish ?

 

[mrvincent]

Wait sec

 

[matthew_raw]

okay thanks

 

[mrvincent]

According to this website, for a 14 US gallons tank, to raise by 2 dKH°, you should add 2.645 grams of sodium bicarbonate... : CNYKOI - Alkalinity (KH) calculator

But don't add all this ONE SHOT, it can stress the fish.

Raise the kh slowly, the PH should follow later. Don't put baking soda and test 1 min after. Wait a good 5-6 hrs

 

[matthew_raw]

okay thanks i will weigh some out tomorrow when i get it, is it just called baking soda ?

 

[mrvincent]

Arm and Hammer

i'll send you a picture of what it look like

 

[matthew_raw]

okay thanks

 

[mrvincent]

This is exactly 2.5 gramms of Arm & Hammer

1 teaspoon = 5 grams of baking powder

So start by adding 1/2 teaspoon, and wait to see what it do to the ph after 1 day... Add another 1/2 teaspoon if not happy with the PH, and repeat until you get what you want, but seriously, dont add 3 teaspoon one shot, it will be violent on a 15 gallon tank

 

[matthew_raw]

okay thanks i will pick some up, do i dump it into the water or mix some into a bucket with water ?

 

[mrvincent]

okay thanks i will pick some up, do i dump it into the water or mix some into a bucket with water ?

It's highly soluble... I would put it direct into water in small doses. You can find it in any grocery.

 

[mrvincent]

Keep us informed, I want to see if this helped you

 

[mrvincent]

Did your PH stabilized ?

 

[matthew_raw]

yeah i added 2 grams and it nutrealised my ph, this morning i did a 20% pwc and the ph dropped to yellowish 5.5 so i added 1 gram and it neutralised. my tapwater is 7.0 so dont understand were the ph is coming from ?

 

[mrvincent]

It's probably coming from dechlorination. Chrorine is very high ph, so if your tap is 7.0, 7.5 with chlorine and your remove it while your KH is low, the PH may drop.

You will have to add half (or less?) a teaspoon each water change. There's a thing that can interest you, it's your tap kh value. Make sure you add Arm&Hammer in your water bucket before you put it in your aquarium, violent PH changes stress and may kill fish.

In my case, my tap is at 2 dKH° (approx 35ppm carbonated hardness), and I don't have ph drops problems.

KH is a PH buffer.