dla Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 I was having a hard time trying to figure out why my ph was low. I went to my lps and read a book about ph. It had some test that I could do to figure out why the ph was low. First it told me to take out some of the tank's water and put a air stone in it (strong aeration) for about 1 hr. and test the ph. This test is to see if you have a lot of CO2 in your tank that would bring down the ph in my tank. Well, the ph was the same . So the next thing to do was open the windows and let some fresh air in . That was it, my ph started going up and I was getting read to put a lot of stuff in my tank I just though I would share that with yaw. Sometimes the simplest thing to do is just open the window to fix the ph. Link to comment
MrAnderson Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Thanks for the great post. It elegantly dispels the ill-conceived and popularly-held idea that the way to solve a low pH problem is to pour in a ton of powder... Link to comment
raleej337 Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 I have an open top tank and my ph is consistently 7.8, haven't done anything to fix this. It's been my reading since I started my tank. Link to comment
HecticDialectics Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 I have an open top tank and my ph is consistently 7.8, haven't done anything to fix this. It's been my reading since I started my tank. What's that got to do with someone who had low ph and opened a window to fix it? I guess it's a good control variable. Do nothing. Open top or not, high indoor co2 can cause low ph... Link to comment
dla Posted February 26, 2007 Author Share Posted February 26, 2007 Thanks for the great post. It elegantly dispels the ill-conceived and popularly-held idea that the way to solve a low pH problem is to pour in a ton of powder... That what I did a long time ago. You can pour just so much powder into your tank, the alk will be high, but your ph will stay the same, now that's what use to get me going crazy. Link to comment
MrAnderson Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 That what I did a long time ago. You can pour just so much powder into your tank, the alk will be high, but your ph will stay the same, now that's what use to get me going crazy. EXACTLY buffers "buffer" a given pH, they don't change it long term. Link to comment
dla Posted February 26, 2007 Author Share Posted February 26, 2007 I just checked the ph of my tank and it is at 8.4 It never got that high. I'm so happy. Now I don't want to shut my windows . Link to comment
Blacktone Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 I highly suggest you look into Kalkwasser easily obtained from foster and smith or any other online store. Some people even use pickling lime. I've found the best way is to mix it with your top off water. If you can get a autotopoff system going and have the Kalkwasser in that it should add the proper amount slowly if not play with a drip system. Sometimes it will raise the Ph too high so I'd do about 30ml of vinegar per gallon of top off to bring it's natural pH down. This will stablize pH and add calcium at the same time. I know many people in my area that do it and have fantastic results! incase the pH gets too high and you need an emergency way to bring it back down use plain sodawater. Here's a link to a great one. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...872&catid=3 Link to comment
Chupacabras Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 I think you missed the point of this thread, Blacktone... Link to comment
Esper Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Actually, maybe not. Saturated kalkwasser has a pH of 12, and when added to your tank could raise the pH above ambient air levels. of course, it will slowly drop again unless you open a window or add more kalk. Link to comment
dla Posted February 28, 2007 Author Share Posted February 28, 2007 I highly suggest you look into Kalkwasser easily obtained from foster and smith or any other online store. Some people even use pickling lime. I've found the best way is to mix it with your top off water. If you can get a autotopoff system going and have the Kalkwasser in that it should add the proper amount slowly if not play with a drip system. Sometimes it will raise the Ph too high so I'd do about 30ml of vinegar per gallon of top off to bring it's natural pH down. This will stablize pH and add calcium at the same time. I know many people in my area that do it and have fantastic results! incase the pH gets too high and you need an emergency way to bring it back down use plain sodawater. Here's a link to a great one. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...872&catid=3 I have a really small tank I can't afford no ops using kalkwasser. Now I read that kalkwasser is great for lowering CO2 in your tank: http://www.athiel.com/lib7/greenfield.htm Link to comment
MrAnderson Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 I think you missed the point of this thread, Blacktone... yeah, i thought the point was that you could potentially solve a low pH problem without pouring powder (like kalk) into your tank... i guess WE missed the point, Chup. Link to comment
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