How to stablelize Ph

[bobbdd]

Hello all! Well, Neil has fed my new Apisto habit and I'm the proud new owner of many of the species.

I have VERY soft water, right from the tap. KH/GH run 2-3. I have driftwood in some of my tanks and peat in others to help get me ph right. But with the soft water, there is nothing to stablelize it. (besides removing the driftwood and peat)

So, what do you wise folk recommend?

Thanks all....and Happy New Years!

 

[tjudy]

Seachem has an excellent product called Alkaline Buffer that is very easy to use. Some folks use baking soda, which is sodium bicarbonate. There are benefits to using calcium bicarbonate though. Sodium bicarbonate is not as stable in solution as calcium bicarbonate. The calcium is also beneficial to fish skeletal growth. You do not need much of a buffer though. Many Apistos come from water with KH of less than 2-3.

 

[bobbdd]

Thanks TJudy...but still have question

Thank you for your reply. Will the product you mentioned raise the Ph? Or just stablize it? I don't want to raise it, just keep it from falling below 5.0.

 

[tjudy]

By itself it will raise it. Seachem Acid Buffer and Alkaline Buffer are designed to work together. Each jar has a chart on it that describes the amount of each to put in to maintain a desired pH. The amounts are based upon a fixed ratio. For example, to get a pH of 6.0, one would add a ratio of 1:1 (Acid Buffer to Alk. Buffer). To get 5.0 one would add a ratio of 2:1. What you do is determine the pH of the water in the tank, then add the buffers to the water change replacement water. You can adjust pH up or down by manipulating the ratio.

 

[Neil]

bobbdd,

WELCOME TO THE FORUM

Happy New Years to you as well!
I think Ted is right when he says that you won't need much. With a KH between 2 and 3, there should be enough buffering in there to bring the pH down below 6 and not crash. The combination of the 2 buffers is probably the best way to go, but you may have very little to do to achieve the results that you desire. With your tap water don't do TOO much of any method. The fish that you are currently keeping don't need to go much below what you have now.
By the way, I am going to be ordering some of the buffers from Ted here soon. I can't find them in any of my LFSs. They are on the Apistogramma.com products page.
Neil