Using Crushed Coral to Stabilize Ph

[GouramiFanatic]

I've posted a few messages recently about the Ph in my 46 gallon aquarium and how it keeps dropping. For the longest time the tank held a consistent Ph level of 7.0 which from what I've read is perfect! Then suddenly it dropped to 6.6 and one reading came back even lower than that! One of the suggestions that I read was to use a little bit of crushed coral to help stabilize it.

So, today my mission was to go to Petco to see if they had any. I found what I was looking for right away and then a store employee came over to see if I needed any help. I filled her in on what's going and she advised me to put the the crushed coral away because it will most likely kill my fish and then she recommended a few different chemicals which would work better. I listened to what she had to say, but I didn't buy any of the chemicals. I'd much rather give the crushed coral a shot than to use a mess of chemicals which are only temporary fixes. I hate using chemicals and avoid it at all costs.

My question now is how much crushed coral do I put in? I have a 46 gallon bow tank and the filter is an Aquaclear 300 (or is it 3000?). The fish in my signature are the current residents.

TIA,
- Mandy

 

[Simpte]

I would stabalize your KH rather than add crushed coral if a PH of 7.0 is what you are shooting at. Find out your Kh and raise it. That will keep your ph from dropping.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Also, how often do you do PWC's? Simple water changes should also help in keeping your ph up. What are all your parameters?

 

[TankGirl]

Yes, I'd like to know your tap and tank water parameters as well.

Ph will drop due to acidification, which in a tank that is not CO2 injected (CO2 is an acid) comes from decay, whether it is decaying peat (often used with a goal of lowering pH) or decaying decorative driftwood, uneaten food, undiscovered dead fish, accumulating fish waste, etc. The more the water is buffered (that's where alkalinity, or KH, comes in) the less the pH will respond to acidification.

In the absence of any obvious cause, like a slack cleaning schedule, dead fish, etc., and assuming your tap water is closer to your target pH, then I'm with Simpte and would simply adjust your KH to stabilize your pH, and adhere to a very regular water change routine. Most people do this with baking soda. Here is a handy calculator if you decide to go that route:
http://www.cnykoi.com/calculators/calckh.asp

BTW, I am sure the LFS clerk meant well, but CC is not going to kill your fish. I use it in my African tanks, either as substrate or added to my filter baskets.

 

[GouramiFanatic]

Here are my paramters as of Friday (I can updated parameters tomorrow)...

Ammonia = 0ppm
Nitrite = 0ppm
Nitrate = 30ppm
Ph = 6.6 (it'll most likely dropped over the weekend as this seems to be the cycle - I'll update tomorrow).

The tap tested straight out of the faucet was 6.8 and the last time I did an over night test (a couple of weeks ago), it was also 6.8.

Before this drop in Ph occured I did water changes once every other week. Since I noticed the Ph drop, it's been at least once a week. I did have 2 Zebra Danios that went missing, but I've searched every inch of the tank only to find that there is no body. I gave up assuming that maybe they were eaten by the other fish or something. I've vac'd the gravel and moved decor and plants around to make sure I hit all of the spots at least once. I just keep coming up empty handed. I've also cut down on feeding amounts thinking that may be causing some problems, but so far it hasn't helped. Also, just to make this clear I have no live plants or driftwood in the aquarium. So this type of decaying matter is impossible.

I'll do some more research on this water hardness thing. This is yet another new thing to me... lol ... gosh, there's just so much to learn!!

- Mandy

 

[Jchillin]

Your problem is not too bad. Since you are starting with a pretty low ph from the beginning, it would be wise to test your kh. If it's >3dkh, it has plenty of buffering capability. If <3dkh, CC may be the way to go.

Not exactly sure how knowledgeable the clerk from your LFS is but kudos to you for not buying into "correct via chemical" ideaology.

 

[TankGirl]

Definitely test for KH - that is an extremely important value when evaluating pH - they go hand in hand.

If you need some articles that discuss the pH/KH relationship I'd be happy to supply them, but I don't want to overwhelm you. We'll let it sink in over time.

 

[Legacy]

On a side note, keep in mind that Petco employees really don't know a whole lot about what they're doing. They know what they were taught off of training videos and what it says on the product boxes. There are exceptions, some of those employees are hardcore aquarists, but most are not. I bought my Uca Spp. Fiddler crabs from a fully aquatic freshwater enviroment at Petco. What does that tell you?

 

[LAGlocker]

I would have to agree with everyone else on this one, get a decent Kh test kit and test for that. A very low KH could very well be the reason your ph is dropping. The baking soda route might be the easiest and most cost effective treatment for it if that is the problem.

 

[GouramiFanatic]

What would be a good quality Kh test? I've only seen the test strip kind that tests everything. Of course, I've never really looked for the Kh test though.

- Mandy

 

[Jchillin]

Aquarium Pharmaceuticals (I use it) is pretty good.

 

[LAGlocker]

I like the AP tests and the hagen test kits also.

 

[TankGirl]

Seachem is a good brand, too. Look for liquid reagent tests, as they are more accurate. My KH and GH are AP, though and I have used that brand for years.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Test strips won't give good readings, very inaccurate. About all they are good for is to tell if you have ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, etc, but won't tell you accurately as to how much. You need to get a liquid test kit. Aquarium Pharmasudicals Freshwater Master Test Kit is a good one, then you would also need a test kit for kh as well, and gh if you need to know where your gh is.