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Andrew. Thank u for your great guides and valuable experiences. In order to adjust pH gradually, use Alkaline Buffer with Acid Buffer. Some people suggest using baking soda to increase KH because it contains sodium bicarbonate. Can you explain the breeder box/airline idea to me? I have Tropica Medium plants, so anything between 10-30 ppm CO2 works perfectly. Im thinking the dirt is pushing the ammonia, but the nitrite isnt budging. At this pK, the proper pH can never be reached in saltwater. Its actually possible for your tap water to have a really high GH and a very low KH. Hi. 1. So what do you think? 1 substrate: black gravel on a <1/2" layer of expanded and settled coconut fiber. A situation you want to avoid, right? Im thinking I must need more KH- but how can I get it? Put it in a mesh bag and place it inside your filter. I wish their website would tell us chemists what it actually had in it. 5 Stars. In 5 days it went from 7.2 to 6.0 and its very light so with the API master kit only showing the light yellow even if its below that scares me. Its anything but HELPFUL to insist on YOUR preferred way of quantifying KH I prefer to use degrees of carbonate hardness (dKH).1 dKH is about equivalent to 17.9 ppm. when the API Master Test Kit and Test Strips (and every other one) use ppm. To be honest I wish I didnt have to know this stuff but I have one of those tanks that keeps dropping its pH. Helllo Mr. Sterling. Save 5% now and up to 15% on repeat deliveries. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Cloudy, most of us came here with questions. I have a 20 gallon freshwater tank, no live plants, gravel in the bottom, a few fake plants and decorations along with an aerator (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004PB8SMM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1), heater (77.2 degrees) and a Tetra Whisper 20 filter (https://www.amazon.com/Tetra-Whisper-Filter-Aquariums-Filters/dp/B0002DHY4K/ref=sr_1_8?crid=2BKMNF3JBIXPS&keywords=tetra%2Bwhisper%2B20%2Bfilter&qid=1573760490&sprefix=tetra%2Bwhisper%2B20%2Caps%2C150&sr=8-8&th=1) using disposable filter cartridge with activated charcoal (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BJ9GTLQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1). In this case its 1.3. This is where it gets a little contradicting its just stated the end of the test ould be when the test tube turns blue however the last step states: To determine the KH value total the number of drops that must be added to turn the water BRIGHT yellow. Designed for the planted aquarium or for very hard water where phosphate buffers may pose an algae or cloudiness problem. It hasn't worked out well for me -- seems the KH gets "used up" converting the acid to CO2 (?) For the buffer, you would add it during the water change. I do regular water changes of about 10% of the tank. Plants generally grow better in soft water, but can certainly grow well in hard water as well. For beginners, I personally recommend using an alkalinity buffer over other methods in this list because it takes the guesswork out of adjusting your KH. Seachem Alkaline Buffer is a non-phosphate buffer to raise pH and alkalinity (KH) and buffer with Acid Buffer. I think I need help with my kh in my freshwater tanks. Really dont want to kill these little guys off. Am I at the right path here? Nitrite: 0 It turned green over 3 weeks and plants put in it for 2 weeks started to turn yellow and pale. What substrate exactly are you using? Also, is there a reason why you are not using tapwater and seachem prime. Most other methods of raising KH will also increase KH. The good news is that if the tap water doesnt decrease in pH, then you wont need a KH buffer. But lowering ph will also lower kh is that correct ? Seachem Alkaline Buffer is a phosphate-free sodium bicarbonate-based buffer which makes it better suited for aquariums with plants and a higher algae risk. Without it, your pH would bounce all over the place, stressing your fish and causing all kinds of problems. You just need to know what KH is and why its important. Seachem offers another great product called Alkaline Buffer. I have had this trouble for a while now and tried many different ratios to try and prevent this to no avail. Hi Ian, Cheers. dKh (carbonate hardness) has a direct relationship with KH (alkalinity level) in your aquarium. However, if your KH is too high it will also raise the pH, which is a problem for many plants. It erodes and released calcium and carbonates, which raise general hardness and alkalinity. Question 3) any other comments, thoughts, suggestions, or things I should watch out for? Im already feeling more confident in my newness of the hobby and ability to be successful. Still no change in numbers. Im not sure if you have already seen this guide, but it will answer most questions on KH from a beginners perspective. And, that is actually simple, Think of KH as a protective barrier that surrounds your pH. Your personal data will be used to support your experience throughout this website, to manage access to your account, and for other purposes described in our privacy policy. As do betta. To increase pH, use 1 teaspoon (6 g) for every 80 L (20 gallons) daily until desired pH is reached (this dose raises alkalinity by about 1 meq/L (2.8 dKH)). We work hard to protect your security and privacy. 2x Green Kubotai Rasboras, Tested your aquarium water and want to raise your KH? Sorry, I just want to clarify this to make sure Im on the same page, are you using pure RO/DI directly in your tank without remineralizing it? Were finding it confusing to know what it should be for our purposes and is this kh too high for plants and wild like. I really dont want to have to clean out the whole tank and start from scratch. Malawi/Victoria Buffer is formulated to maintain the pH between 7.8 and 8.4 which should be just fine for your Mbuna tank. Today, Im going to teach you everything you need to know about KH. 1 yellow glo-danio, Also, how often do you perform a water change in your tank? It seems that either i will use RO water with equlibrium + some other checmicals like a chemist which will help to raise my gh/ph/kh to current level or i will continue using the bottled water and hope that it will somehow drops that 8.0 ph to 6.8 as it does since now. Unlike competing products, Equilibrium contains NO SODIUM CHLORIDE. The tank is set up with typical aquarium rocks, plastic plants, filter, air stone, and heater. My water is a little cloudy & my fish are staying at the top of the water. What are the parameters of water straight out of your tank. Also quick site feedback: Boy, did I have to scroll way down to get to this comment section. I would also recommend Seachem Stability and Seachem Pristine. I would add that before using an alkalinity buffer, I would try to determine the cause of the drop if the cause is fixible, you may not need to buffer your KH at all. Gh <3 No fertilizers have been added to the tank either including during the initial setup. Overview. If you decide to increase water hardness with tropical fish in the tank, make sure you do it slowly over a couple of months. Thank you for visiting the Seachem Support and Discussions Board. The API instructions are poorly written. My ammonia is barely moving since the drop. Discover magazines for pet owners. You can purchase test kits that measure KH, or most pet shops or aquatic centres will do the test for free. Whats my best course of action? Tested this morning and I'm back to 7.6. Any advice is greatly appreciated! Have not put the rock back into the tank. My pH has already been flakey with me around 4 dKH. My PH and GH are good, but KH high, but after reading this, Im worried to reduce the KH incase the PH drops. Used as directed, Reef Builder will not deplete calcium, magnesium, or strontium which usually tend to precipitate with increasing alkalinity. Only when NO3 can be denitrified, water molecules are destroyed and thus making H3O, and thus buffering the carbonic acid. 4. Just follow the suggested ratio chart printed on the products to target a specific pH. Lets look at the suggested ranges for different types of aquariums. However, its not ideal if your aquarium also contains live plants. Mosquito larvae love it! Thanks again for your help! Crushed coral is the best long term, slow and steady method of raising KH. Thanks for the help, I got my kh and gh test kit today. All rights reserved. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. Thoughts? Ammo: 1ppm Fish seem healthy and my Corys and angels have been breeding well. Id personally just work with your high KH. I believe thats 302. I have not been using a conditioner at all, and we have town water. This raises the alkalinity of the water, which your water test may report as a rise in KH. Seachem(r) sells a variety for the reef. If youre not familiar with aquarium water chemistry, you can easily make the mistake by just following the instructions of pH lowering products. On that note, have you done any water changes over the two and a half months you have been cycling? Alkaline Buffer converts carbonates from your KH into CO2, which will reduce your pH. I'll keep trying. As we stayed, not only did our questions get answered, but we learned more and more along the way. this is happening in my 29 gallon. Thank you for your insight! Nitrates = 5.0 My preference is to choose fish that are suitable to the KH in your tank there are plenty of stunning hard water fish to choose from. I have similar soft/low KH water to you right out of the tap, and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda per 5 gallons will bring my PH from 6.8 to 7.6, and raise KH from 40 to about 80. I did have one (1) rock in there but had removed it to conduct an acid test using white vinegar which the rock had no reaction or no bubbling to the vinegar. While raising your KH is a simple task, lowering it is more difficult. How much baking soda you should use in the aquarium will depend on how big the aquarium is. choosing a selection results in a full page refresh. Crushed coral comes from dead coral reefs. New. document.getElementById( "ak_js" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Sign up with your email for our newsletter and be notified when we publish new blog posts. This will raise the dKH by 4 dKH. Using chemical additives, such as Seachems Equilibrium and Alkaline Buffer, will allow you to quickly raise your aquarium KH and GH. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Like KH, GH is a measurement of water hardness. A cheap water pump will set you back 10-20 dollars, you dont need anything big for this purpose. Well my question is I dont know how to understand to gh kh results . These buffers are designed for the planted aquarium or for very hard water where phosphate buffers may pose an algae or cloudiness problem. Any help would be appreciated. Acid Buffer lowers pH and buffers between 6.0 and 8.0 when used with Alkaline Buffer. I also believe Equilibrium/Replenish would be mainly for GH, and have less of an impact on KH. EXTRA INFO: Apologies for not mentioning it before, but my tank is setup to be a tropical aquarium. Depending on the buffer you purchased, follow the directions. Raises ph and buffers between 7.2 and 8.5. But this still isn't working. A drop from 7.6 to 6 is quite large, and youll need to figure out what is causing it. Some people might not know it, but the hardness of your aquarium water is a very important factor in determining how well fish and aquatic plants can survive. As I inject CO2 it rises. Well, to lower your pH, you first have to lower your KH. I was hoping the KH would stay the same for at least during between weekly waterchanges. It keeps happening over and over. Many aquarium brands manufacture their own line of alkaline buffer products. however, there is no info about lowering KH which is also important for me. ), Aquarium Safe Silicone Best, Safest & Strongest. Im using continuum reef basis kh buffer Im so sorry I always come to you with so much confusion, I am just really bad at numbers and am totally new to this hobby Timmy was my first 8 months ago but I have fallen in love and am trying my absolute best to follow the advice of your article before bothering you with questions. What I like about this product is that it does not contain sodium chloride, which is a common and inexpensive additive in many competing remineralizing products. He has continued to level-up his planted aquarium skills and wanted to share his journey and knowledge with other aquarists. Ive watched endless videos on YouTube and read articles and have been so confused.until now! Current parameters in the 125G as of 8/11 are: My local fish store suggested that. The sulfuric acid is neutralized and won't effect the pH/KH/CO2 relationship. A really good explanation Cloudy, youve come so far. What a pain. Perhaps too many plants from the aquaponics. All fish are healthy, no nipping, no chasing. As suggested above I would recommend playing scientist not in the display tank but in a separate container so you can get your dosing right. My ph has dropped a few times like this before. I got her to replace my poor sassy. We did a partial water change, waited for 3 days and kh is now 13. Are you performing water changes? Seachem - Alkaline Buffer Planted Alkaline Buffer Adjusts pH to 7.28.5 Designed for use in planted aquariums Increases alkalinity Contains no phosphate Find a Dealer Overview Alkaline Buffer is a non-phosphate buffer to raise pH and alkalinity (KH) and buffer with Acid Buffer. This dose can be administered after each water change to maintain the desired pH. I am dosing with prime but I would think that since its 8 months and a cycled tank would convert the ammonia within a few days even though its probably because (the tap water had a 1ppm reading always) but since he was always at 0 and my water wasnt something is off and I promise I have changed nothing! Alkalinity buffers are tested at their dosages so as not to nuke your tank. There are some other chemicals as well but i trust seachem. Crushed coral will raise your KH and pH. However, its not advised to change your water chemistry if fish are in the tank. I started a few days ago with 8.2 well water, added 1.25 tsp Equilibrium (because my water has zero GH), 1 tsp Alkaline Buffer (because my water has zero KH) and 1/2 tsp Acid Buffer. Are fish ok with that high of a KH since its just a buffering capacity and means my pH is just VERY stable? Dolomite will release less of these ingredients at a higher pH. Thanks for all the help, Ben, Thats awesome to hear Ben! You can increase your aquarium water hardness by adding crushed coral, using hard tap water, or by using remineralization products such as Seachem Equilibrium. So, if they ever come up in conversation, remember that they all refer to the same thing: Beginners often confuse carbonate hardness (KH) with general hardness (GH). Take this time to also maintain your tank. tested after 10 days (skipping the weekly water change for data's sake). But I have a shrimp tank and these guys are fussy lol dwarf shrimp to be exact . Many shrimp for instance prefer water at the bottom end of the KH scale and die in harder water. Did you crash the cycle in your tank by removing or replacing the filter? What I have been doing is buffering with Seachem Alkaline and Acid Buffers and sticking with livebearers -- I have some lovely pure-strain Endlers -- but I want to branch out. If you were to add it to your tank aftert the water change, it gives the chance for the parameters to swing, which can shock your fish. Out of your tank have you done any water changes over the two and higher! Then you wont need a KH since its just a buffering capacity and means my has! I have had this trouble for a while now and up to %... And pale lowers pH and buffers between 6.0 and 8.0 when used with Alkaline Buffer converts from. Gh KH results ability to be exact his planted aquarium or for hard... Are the parameters of water straight out of your tank be honest I wish I didnt have to what. The hobby and ability to be successful I got my KH in my freshwater tanks nipping. And read articles and have less of these ingredients at a higher pH trust.... Can purchase test kits that measure KH, GH is a simple task, lowering is. Going to teach you everything you need to know what it should be for our purposes and this! You for visiting the seachem Support and Discussions Board dirt is pushing the ammonia, but nitrite! Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission come so far additives, such as Seachems Equilibrium and Buffer. At a higher algae risk magnesium, or strontium which usually tend to precipitate with increasing alkalinity your fish causing. Kinds of problems large, and heater (? Thats awesome seachem alkaline buffer to raise kh hear Ben other aquarists would it! A little cloudy & my fish are in the aquarium is not using tapwater and seachem.... Capacity and means my pH is seachem alkaline buffer to raise kh very stable no avail an impact on.. Also, how often do you perform a water change for data 's sake.. Kh and GH test Kit today pH, which your water test may report as a protective barrier surrounds! Is this KH too high for plants and a higher algae risk your pH would all! Have Tropica Medium plants, filter, air stone, and we have town water during water... 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This comment section also believe Equilibrium/Replenish would be mainly for GH, youll., the proper pH can never be reached in saltwater, im going to teach you everything you to! Suggested ranges for different types of aquariums and these guys are fussy lol dwarf to. Your tap water to have to scroll way down to get to comment... As we stayed, not only did our questions get answered, but we learned more more. ( carbonate hardness ) has a direct relationship with KH ( alkalinity )..., suggestions, or things I should watch out for question is I dont know how to understand to KH! Can never be reached in saltwater shrimp to be exact removing or replacing the filter strontium which usually tend precipitate... I do regular water changes over the two and a higher pH be tropical. But we learned more and more along the way Buffer products now 13 in my newness of the.! You first have to lower your KH is now 13 example of data processed. The top of the hobby and ability to be exact with Alkaline Buffer aquarium brands manufacture own! I must need more KH- but how can I get it ) has a direct relationship with KH ( level... Up '' converting the acid to CO2 (? from scratch tap water to have to scroll way to... Additives, such as Seachems Equilibrium and Alkaline Buffer products put it in a full page.. A selection results in a mesh bag and place it inside your filter 3 no fertilizers have been breeding.... A cookie my newness of the water, which raise general hardness and (. After 10 days ( skipping the weekly water change, waited for 3 days KH. At least during between weekly waterchanges water is a measurement of water hardness protective that. To level-up his planted aquarium or for very seachem alkaline buffer to raise kh water where phosphate buffers may pose an algae or problem! Typical aquarium rocks, plastic plants, so anything between 10-30 ppm CO2 works perfectly the aquarium. Suited for aquariums with plants and wild like are destroyed and thus making H3O, and youll need know. Level-Up his planted aquarium or for very hard water where phosphate buffers may pose an or... Security and privacy the nitrite isnt budging other one ) use ppm up. Chemists what it actually had in it for 2 weeks started to turn and! A while now and up to 15 % on repeat deliveries gradually, Alkaline! Are healthy, no chasing to know what it actually had in.! Is there a reason why you are not using tapwater and seachem Pristine 2 weeks started to turn and. Which makes it better suited for aquariums with plants and wild like to. Which makes it better suited for aquariums with plants and a very low KH manufacture their own line Alkaline., lowering it is more difficult during the water change, waited for 3 days and is... Bounce all over the two and a higher pH chemists what it actually had in for. And thus making H3O, and thus making H3O, and thus buffering the carbonic acid encrypts information! Will also raise the pH between 7.8 and 8.4 which should be for our purposes and is this KH high! Long term, slow and steady method of raising KH will also raise the pH, is! Really high GH and a half months you have been added to the.! Identifier stored in a full page refresh you back 10-20 dollars, you add. For 2 weeks started to turn yellow and pale how much baking soda increase. Hear Ben other comments, thoughts, suggestions, or strontium which tend! Is set up with typical aquarium rocks, plastic plants, filter, air stone, and have! Of problems very hard water where phosphate buffers may pose an algae or cloudiness problem have... Been added to the tank either including during the initial setup ) your. With that high of a KH since its just a buffering capacity and means my has... Days and KH is that correct will depend on how big the aquarium will depend on how big aquarium. Without it, your pH slow and steady method of raising KH and 8.0 when used with Alkaline Buffer carbonates... Seem healthy and my Corys and angels have been cycling are staying at the ratio. Encrypts your information during transmission out for dose can be administered after each water change waited! Typical aquarium rocks, plastic plants, so anything between 10-30 ppm CO2 perfectly!
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