Potassium Carbonate(pot ash) as a buffer

[enrgizerbunny]

I recently purchased an entire aquaponics system off craigslist. With this came some chemicals (chelated iron, ammonia, potassium carbonate) and he said he used the K2CO3 as a buffer. I added a little bit to some water and then (without thinking) dumped it in my tank. I have relatively soft water, so I don't really have a buffer and my PH was little low (6.6-6.8). I was PH matching the bag for my new rainbow shark when I tested the tank water. All of a sudden my PH test was maxed out at 7.6, I was scared. I immediately changed 20% of my water with straight tap. I'm on a well, so no chemicals, but it is very acidic due to dissolved gasses. that brought it down closer to 7. The fish seem fine, and I hope I didn't cause them too much stress. Luckily I'll be home all day tomorrow so I can keep an eye on them.

Does anyone know about dosing information for pure pot ash (potassium carbonate)?

 

[Khuligirl93]

Sounds very interesting! Sorry I can't answer your question. You will probably get more responses if you post this in the planted tank discussion forum- I believe potash is one of the main ingredients in a very popular plant fertilizer called API leaf zone, but I am not aware of any buffering abilities it has.

 

[trinifella]

I'm a farmer and its so weird hearing potash being used in the same sentence with a planted tank!

 

[mrvincent]

It will raise KH due to the carbonate thing, but i'm not sure you want to use this to raise KH. Use it to raise potassium instead and use sodium bicarbonate to raise buffer (KH).

IMO you need to dose a very very little.

 

[Rivercats]

This thread will give you all the information you need about dosing K2CO3 and the levels it adds to the tank.... Potassium carbonate [Archive] - The Planted Tank Forum.