Ways to increase kH to keep pH stable?

Hi all,

I had an issue with some fungus growing on the substrate after I added in 4 Flourish root tabs after the weekly water change on Saturday. It has since went away with daily wcs. And supplemented Stability. There was a slight spike in ammonia at 0.25 which has been taken care of.

Here's the post: Hydrogen sulfide in gravel substrate? | 474685 | Freshwater Substrates - Gravel, Sand

I have a 10 gal, filtered, heated (80), cycled (0, 0, 5-10). But my pH is 6. Kh is 3, gH is 9. I found out from the post that my CO2 level was super high. Planted with swords, crypts, dwarf sag, anubias, java fern, water lettuce, salvinia minima. 1 driftwood and tank safe rock.

Tap params after 24 hrs: ph 7.5, kh 3, gh 9. I know that the nitrogen cycle makes it acidic. With such a low kh it swings ph.

I have since added an airstone to help off gas the CO2. It raised ph to 6.6 yesterday morning. Then it raised it to 7.5 ph yesterday night. Then this morn it's back to 6.0. I am so frustrated with this tank. I upgraded it for my betta from the 5.5 gal (this had a ph of 6 as well and I never had issues with it), and it's been a crazy ride. I just need a stable tank, my betta needs a stable tank. He's been stressed out due to all this and I feel so terrible.

So I added crushed coral to the filter to hopefully pull Kh up and make it stable. I might even add a small sponge filter in there I have just to have more surface area for bb. I have a hob with 2 coarse sponges, 1 dense, and a polishing pad on top with the crushed coral in there now.

Is there anything else I should be looking into? I was looking at Seachem's regulators to add to the water with each weekly change. Ik it's not good to add kh or ph adjusting chemicals to the water if you can help it. But what would be the correct Seachem one(s) to use if it came down to that?

Thank you so much!

 

It sounds like you're doing the right stuff. I'd give the crushed coral some time to work it's magic and hopefully things stabilize.

If that doesn't work, some other products I use to boost gh and kh are seachem alkaline buffer, seachem equilibrium, and wonder shells.

 

Hi all,

I had an issue with some fungus growing on the substrate after I added in 4 Flourish root tabs after the weekly water change on Saturday. It has since went away with daily wcs. And supplemented Stability. There was a slight spike in ammonia at 0.25 which has been taken care of.

Here's the post: Hydrogen sulfide in gravel substrate? | 474685 | Freshwater Substrates - Gravel, Sand

I have a 10 gal, filtered, heated (80), cycled (0, 0, 5-10). But my pH is 6. Kh is 3, gH is 9. I found out from the post that my CO2 level was super high. Planted with swords, crypts, dwarf sag, anubias, java fern, water lettuce, salvinia minima. 1 driftwood and tank safe rock.

Tap params after 24 hrs: ph 7.5, kh 3, gh 9. I know that the nitrogen cycle makes it acidic. With such a low kh it swings ph.

I have since added an airstone to help off gas the CO2. It raised ph to 6.6 yesterday morning. Then it raised it to 7.5 ph yesterday night. Then this morn it's back to 6.0. I am so frustrated with this tank. I upgraded it for my betta from the 5.5 gal (this had a ph of 6 as well and I never had issues with it), and it's been a crazy ride. I just need a stable tank, my betta needs a stable tank. He's been stressed out due to all this and I feel so terrible.

So I added crushed coral to the filter to hopefully pull Kh up and make it stable. I might even add a small sponge filter in there I have just to have more surface area for bb. I have a hob with 2 coarse sponges, 1 dense, and a polishing pad on top with the crushed coral in there now.

Is there anything else I should be looking into? I was looking at Seachem's regulators to add to the water with each weekly change. Ik it's not good to add kh or ph adjusting chemicals to the water if you can help it. But what would be the correct Seachem one(s) to use if it came down to that?

Thank you so much!

Everything and the kitchen sink

I would give the crushed coral a little time to work. Crushed coral works slowly, but steadily. And when it is working, it gives you steadiness.
I don't think I would add anything else, give the stuff you are trying a chance to work.

Maybe someone else could give you better advice though

 

Ha

It sounds like you're doing the right stuff. I'd give the crushed coral some time to work it's magic and hopefully things stabilize.

If that doesn't work, some other products I use to boost gh and kh are seachem alkaline buffer, seachem equilibrium, and wonder shells.

Haha, jinx

 

At a pH of 6, your KH is going to be low. KH is attempting to measure carbonate alkalinity. At a pH of 6 , any carbonates in your system will react with the acid in the water and product carbon dioxide.

Many of the pH buffers in the hobby use phosphates to stabalize the pH. However, typically, the are designed for pH values of 7.0 or 7.5. Marine buffers are carbonate based and target a pH of over 8.

Seachem sells two products called acid buffer and alkaline buffer. They are not phosphate based. By controlling the ratio of the two buffers, you can control the pH anwhere between 5 and 8. If you want to maintain a pH of 6.5, Seachem recommends using 1 part acid buffer and 1 1/3 parts alkaline buffer. Although their dosing table does not show a pH of 6.0, I would think that equal parts of acid buffer and alkaline buffer might get close. The Seachem chart is based on using purified purified by either reverse osmosis or distillation, so depending upon what is in your acidic tap water, you might need to adjust the ratio of acid to alkali.

 

It sounds like you're doing the right stuff. I'd give the crushed coral some time to work it's magic and hopefully things stabilize.

If that doesn't work, some other products I use to boost gh and kh are seachem alkaline buffer, seachem equilibrium, and wonder shells.

Tysm! Do you know Seachem Neutral Regulator is the one to use? I just need to boost kh so ph stays stable. Or is it Alkaline buffer? I'm just confused on which is which if it's for boosting kh. I think some say to use more than one of those products.

 

Everything and the kitchen sink

I would give the crushed coral a little time to work. Crushed coral works slowly, but steadily. And when it is working, it gives you steadiness.
I don't think I would add anything else, give the stuff you are trying a chance to work.

Maybe someone else could give you better advice though

That sounds about right...everything and the kitchen sink.

I'll let it do its magic and fingers crossed it helps. Then I can just exchange the coral out every 1-3 months.

 

At a pH of 6, your KH is going to be low. KH is attempting to measure carbonate alkalinity. At a pH of 6 , any carbonates in your system will react with the acid in the water and product carbon dioxide.

Many of the pH buffers in the hobby use phosphates to stabalize the pH. However, typically, the are designed for pH values of 7.0 or 7.5. Marine buffers are carbonate based and target a pH of over 8.

Seachem sells two products called acid buffer and alkaline buffer. They are not phosphate based. By controlling the ratio of the two buffers, you can control the pH anwhere between 5 and 8. If you want to maintain a pH of 6.5, Seachem recommends using 1 part acid buffer and 1 1/3 parts alkaline buffer. Although their dosing table does not show a pH of 6.0, I would think that equal parts of acid buffer and alkaline buffer might get close. The Seachem chart is based on using purified purified by either reverse osmosis or distillation, so depending upon what is in your acidic tap water, you might need to adjust the ratio of acid to alkali.

Tysm! I will look into this! This makes it much clearer!

 

Quick question for all: Seachem Neutral Regulator? Yay or nay? It says it keeps ph at 7.0 but says nothing about Kh. It's also phosphate based.

Should I focus on just the Alkaline Buffer to get kh up which would keep ph stable? I read that it can be used solo without the Acid Buffer if the main goal is to get Kh up.

That would help beneficial bacteria during the week to do their thing and use up kH (which will br higher so it doesn't dip pH down) but still keep pH above 6, then it's replenished with a weekly water change (adding Alkaline Buffer each time).

 

Quick question for all: Seachem Neutral Regulator? Yay or nay? It says it keeps ph at 7.0 but says nothing about Kh. It's also phosphate based.

Should I focus on just the Alkaline Buffer to get kh up which would keep ph stable? I read that it can be used solo without the Acid Buffer if the main goal is to get Kh up.

That would help beneficial bacteria during the week to do their thing and use up kH (which will br higher so it doesn't dip pH down) but still keep pH above 6, then it's replenished with a weekly water change (adding Alkaline Buffer each time).

Not sure if I missed it, but how long has the crushed coral been in your system? You might not need anything else.

 

Not sure if I missed it, but how long has the crushed coral been in your system? You might not need anything else.

Oh yes I just put it in today. I'm just seeing my other options if it's needed in the future. Just making sure I would be using the right things.

I've used cc before when it was fishless cycling and it only worked for a week or two to keep ph up enough to cycle it through without stalling.

I hope it works better this time because the tank is cycled and it's not having a huge load of ammonia or nitrites to convert. That made sense that it wore out faster as the cycle was underway.

I hope not to have to use other things than just replenishing the coral every few months.

 

Oh yes I just put it in today. I'm just seeing my other options if it's needed in the future. Just making sure I would be using the right things.

I've used cc before when it was fishless cycling and it only worked for a week or two to keep ph up enough to cycle it through without stalling.

I hope it works better this time because the tank is cycled and it's not having a huge load of ammonia or nitrites to convert. That made sense that it wore out faster as the cycle was underway.

I hope not to have to use other things than just replenishing the coral every few months.

Ok cool! Then if and when it's needed, alkaline buffer is the one you want. But don't jump the gun, I'd only dose it if the coral doesn't work longterm. Make sure to change the bag of CC out periodically to see full benefit. At first if your water is very acidic, I'd swap it every week or 2. As ph and hardness go up, drop back to every few weeks, eventually if things stabilize than you can potentially go several months on a batch. The more acidic your water the faster it's going to leech those minerals out.

 

Tysm! That makes sense!

Ok cool! Then if and when it's needed, alkaline buffer is the one you want. But don't jump the gun, I'd only dose it if the coral doesn't work longterm. Make sure to change the bag of CC out periodically to see full benefit. At first if your water is very acidic, I'd swap it every week or 2. As ph and hardness go up, drop back to every few weeks, eventually if things stabilize than you can potentially go several months on a batch. The more acidic your water the faster it's going to leech those minerals out.

 

That sounds about right...everything and the kitchen sink.

I'll let it do its magic and fingers crossed it helps. Then I can just exchange the coral out every 1-3 months.

The crushed coral will 'evaporate' as it's working. I suppose 'dissolve' is a better word. How much did you put in?

 

The crushed coral will 'evaporate' as it's working. I suppose 'dissolve' is a better word. How much did you put in?

3 tbsp into a mesh bag. I couldn't find the rec dosage. Some say 1 tsp, to 1/2 cup.

 

3 tbsp into a mesh bag. I couldn't find the rec dosage. Some say 1 tsp, to 1/2 cup.

I've seen one pound to every ten gallons, but that seems a bit much. I think if I were you, I would put in at least 1/2 cup or more.

Once you have got your tank stabilized, you can play around a little bit with the amount you need. Test your KH and pH every week before the water change and add or subtract as much as needed to find a nice neutral

 

Ty! I plan to test it tomorrow morning (24 hrs, then 48, and so on). Then I'll put more if needed. It's actually stable at 6.8 without fluctuations today which is amazing.

I've seen one pound to every ten gallons, but that seems a bit much. I think if I were you, I would put in at least 1/2 cup or more.

Once you have got your tank stabilized, you can play around a little bit with the amount you need. Test your KH and pH every week before the water change and add or subtract as much as needed to find a nice neutral

Tys

 

Update, ph went to 7.0-7.5ish and has stayed around there.