PH, KH, Crushed Coral and Indian Almond Leaf

My bag of crushed coral is arriving today, and I've been thinking a lot about my PH and KH.

My ph is 7.2, but I am very low on the KH at 3. The low KH has already caused a PH crash in one of my betta tanks, which caused the loss of my cycle which then caused a Nitrite spike that made my fish sick. (He is better now!)

What I am wondering is, in order to bring up my KH, I don't want to bring up my PH too much (Betta like acidic or neutral water and I feel like 7.2 is the max I want to go). So I am wondering how much crushed coral I need to add to take my KH to a good spot and would there be a consequence in using Indian Almond leaves to lower the PH.

 

I would start by adding as little as possible so that if it does change your pH it will be very little. I'd wait maybe a day before adding more and continue to do so until you're happy with your hardness.
Using leaves to lower pH is most effective when your KH is low like it is now, after it hits about 5 it becomes a little bit more difficult but can still be done. I think it would be best to also use the leaves a little at a time. If you have the smaller 1-3 inch ones then maybe add one at a time and if you have the big 7+ inch ones maybe cut them in half.

Fiddling with hardness can get frustrating at times so remember to be patient and know that it's not just you having a hard time.

 

I would start by adding as little as possible so that if it does change your pH it will be very little. I'd wait maybe a day before adding more and continue to do so until you're happy with your hardness.
Using leaves to lower pH is most effective when your KH is low like it is now, after it hits about 5 it becomes a little bit more difficult but can still be done. I think it would be best to also use the leaves a little at a time. If you have the smaller 1-3 inch ones then maybe add one at a time and if you have the big 7+ inch ones maybe cut them in half.

Fiddling with hardness can get frustrating at times so remember to be patient and know that it's not just you having a hard time.

I'm thinking about adding a 1/4 of a cup of the crushed coral to see where that takes me. Then the almond leaves I have are the small ones, so I will add just one. Since the tanks (except for one) are sponge filtered, the crushed coral will not be dissolved as quickly atleast that is my understanding. I just plan to put a media bag of the stuff on the substrate in a corner.

Thank you Salem!

 

No problem!

I've actually been doing a similar thing with my own betta tank. My tap water comes out at 8.2 and a kH that's completely off the charts. I've been using acid buffer to lower my pH (currently around 7) but it also took my hardness way down to 4. I don't have crushed coral to use but I do have lots and lots of shells I've collected. My snails seem to like to nibble on them too which is a nice bonus.

 

When I want to affect hardness of water typically use shrimp salts as primary. Have been advised there may be other stuff to add but that's an easy baseline game changer. Dennerle Shrimp King on amazon makes a good product.