Thank you so much for explaining how to use the Seachem Alkaline Buffer! Got it at my local fish store! But they didn’t explain it the way you just did on how to use it. Thanks! I’ll keep what you said in mind. I wasn’t aware I actually had to add it over and over again until it stays normal. They didn’t tell me that either. My fish have been suffering from the low pH and I have lost a few from it too. So it’s imperative I get this thing back up to where it belongs so they all live.
Your welcome, I am glad it has helped. It's unfortunate that most pet and/or fish stores sell products they know nothing about. I will sometimes call the manufacturer before I buy a product and ask them how it is supposed to be used, or I will reach out to some of my more trusted fishy friends to get info. Low pH is a hard water parameter to control in aquariums, I have recently learned that a deeper nutrient rich substrate can help to keep you kH and gH more balanced. So we have begun to switch all of our tanks over to a deep dirted type substrate to help control water parameters a little better.
Hi, I would like to mineralize RO water to increase the KH level and also ensure a constant pH level of 6.5. I have Seachem Alkaline Buffer and Acid Buffer. The store advisor suggested that I buy the Brightwell Florin Delta KH+ product. Doesn't it have the same effect as Seachem? Secondly, will Seachem cause degradation of the active Master Soil Powder substrate?
We stick purely to Alkaline Buffer and Acid Buffer, what we like to do is add this to our water before a water change. These SeaChem products are a mixture of 3 different bicarbonate salts, because of this they tend to last longer on their ability to buffer the water. To maintain a pH of 6.5ish you will just follow the direction on the side of the bottle to target the correct pH. I would stay away from Brightwell Florin Delta KH+, this product is pure Baking Soda, nothing else. If you look at the ingredients on the side of the bottle you will see that it is Sodium Bicarbonate. Your better off just going to the store and spending a few dollars on organic baking soda. This is not a long term fix, and the buffering capabilities diminish too quickly. It also adds in too much Sodium, so if you are running a planted tank then this can become a problem for your plants and fish later. As to answer your last question, we are not too sure on any side effects with aqua soil. Most of our tanks are now dirt on the bottom or volcanic ash on the bottom and then capped with sand. Over time aqua soil ends up losing its nutrients, and you will eventually need to replace it or add in root tabs. You can always send an email to SeaChem to see if their products would cause any diminished returns on the aqua soil, from our experience we haven't noticed any issues.
It's good to also check your pH at 24 hours when adding in SeaChem Alkaline Buffer. I have yet to see that it raise my pH above 7.8, but it does have the ability to raise it to around 8.5. In the tank that I had this same issue in, it was mainly due to a high abundance of decaying plant matter and fish waste. I personally added in the buffer every 24 hours as long as my pH didn't skyrocket. If you are worried about pH lift, then you can add in Alkaline Buffer fist at the desired rate and then add in the Acid Buffer at it's correct rate to target a specific pH, this will also raise the kH but not overly shock your fish with a massive pH swing. Another solution is to add in crushed coral, or some aquarium safe limestone as an alternative buffer source. A few of our tanks have Texas Holy rock in them which is a type of aquarium safe limestone. But this has not been an effective solution short term like the alkaline Buffer from SeaChem.
There are some tanks that also equalize at certain kH values, this is not necessarily a bad thing as long as you kH is 3 or above, you should be fine. How much are you trying to raise your kH to?
The good thing is that GH has relatively no impact on your pH values as this only measures the Calcium and Magnesium ions in your water. However, raising KH will almost always raise your pH. So to help in keeping your pH lower when raising KH, you can use a combination of Alkaline Buffer and Acid Buffer from SeaChem. Using this combination targets a specific pH value, but will raise KH also to a desired level. This process takes a little longer though, but works really well. Here we have started to notice that in our tanks they are beginning to balance out and maintain a stable pH. This has allowed us to use less chemicals to keep our pH stable. Some of the things that are most likely assisting with this are the aquarium safe Limestone rock and crushed coral in the substrate bed. These both act as a buffering agent for pH.
@@NoobAquatics So if I just use the seachem stuff, will they keep the levels consistent enough before the next water change? Also, I was wondering if having the KH and Gh levels accurate is more important than the PH levels? As to my understanding the GH allows the fish to osmoregulate and the KH acts as a buffer to keep the PH from swinging.
Once you kH and GH values stabilize, then your pH will also stabilize. I try not to chase the pH, and only work to make sure I have KH levels of 2 to 4 dKH. I normally only make adjustments to GH if my levels are too low or too high, and this is only done at water changes, as I use RODI water that needs to be remineralized. My biggest worry on GH is to have calcium levels that are too high. It depends on how often you are doing water changes, then after you have reached your desired levels, the effects of the alkaline buffer should last up to two weeks or more before you would need to add more KH buffer. Easiest way to ensure levels stay consistent is to add KH buffer the water before you re-add it back to the tank. But yeah, KH are the carbonate salts that help to buffer the water to prevent pH swings. And you are pretty much correct on the GH as well. The Calcium and Magnesium measured in the GH are absorbed by the fish and help with normal biological functioning, such as bone growth and muscle growth.
Yeah, this also works pretty good, we just don't use it as it contains Phosphate buffers and tends to lead to increased algae growth in a planted tank. At least this has been our experience when using it, I have heard that other have used this in planted tanks with success. Also I've learned that the phosphate buffers will help keep the pH stable for longer before you have to add more, we just don't like how it explodes algae in our tanks.
Thank you so much for explaining how to use the Seachem Alkaline Buffer! Got it at my local fish store! But they didn’t explain it the way you just did on how to use it. Thanks! I’ll keep what you said in mind. I wasn’t aware I actually had to add it over and over again until it stays normal. They didn’t tell me that either. My fish have been suffering from the low pH and I have lost a few from it too. So it’s imperative I get this thing back up to where it belongs so they all live.
Your welcome, I am glad it has helped. It's unfortunate that most pet and/or fish stores sell products they know nothing about. I will sometimes call the manufacturer before I buy a product and ask them how it is supposed to be used, or I will reach out to some of my more trusted fishy friends to get info. Low pH is a hard water parameter to control in aquariums, I have recently learned that a deeper nutrient rich substrate can help to keep you kH and gH more balanced. So we have begun to switch all of our tanks over to a deep dirted type substrate to help control water parameters a little better.
This is great. Thank you for putting in the work and sharing knowledge. Cheers!
Your welcome, I hope this video helped.
@@NoobAquatics It did. Thank you!
Hi, I would like to mineralize RO water to increase the KH level and also ensure a constant pH level of 6.5. I have Seachem Alkaline Buffer and Acid Buffer. The store advisor suggested that I buy the Brightwell Florin Delta KH+ product. Doesn't it have the same effect as Seachem? Secondly, will Seachem cause degradation of the active Master Soil Powder substrate?
We stick purely to Alkaline Buffer and Acid Buffer, what we like to do is add this to our water before a water change. These SeaChem products are a mixture of 3 different bicarbonate salts, because of this they tend to last longer on their ability to buffer the water. To maintain a pH of 6.5ish you will just follow the direction on the side of the bottle to target the correct pH.
I would stay away from Brightwell Florin Delta KH+, this product is pure Baking Soda, nothing else. If you look at the ingredients on the side of the bottle you will see that it is Sodium Bicarbonate. Your better off just going to the store and spending a few dollars on organic baking soda. This is not a long term fix, and the buffering capabilities diminish too quickly. It also adds in too much Sodium, so if you are running a planted tank then this can become a problem for your plants and fish later.
As to answer your last question, we are not too sure on any side effects with aqua soil. Most of our tanks are now dirt on the bottom or volcanic ash on the bottom and then capped with sand. Over time aqua soil ends up losing its nutrients, and you will eventually need to replace it or add in root tabs. You can always send an email to SeaChem to see if their products would cause any diminished returns on the aqua soil, from our experience we haven't noticed any issues.
@@NoobAquaticsThank you very much for your quick and detailed answer. I will do as you say to raise the KH in my aquarium. Kind regards :)
I'm trying to keep my kh higher with seachen but on the next day it's back again any idea what to do or should I just do it Avery day
It's good to also check your pH at 24 hours when adding in SeaChem Alkaline Buffer. I have yet to see that it raise my pH above 7.8, but it does have the ability to raise it to around 8.5. In the tank that I had this same issue in, it was mainly due to a high abundance of decaying plant matter and fish waste. I personally added in the buffer every 24 hours as long as my pH didn't skyrocket. If you are worried about pH lift, then you can add in Alkaline Buffer fist at the desired rate and then add in the Acid Buffer at it's correct rate to target a specific pH, this will also raise the kH but not overly shock your fish with a massive pH swing.
Another solution is to add in crushed coral, or some aquarium safe limestone as an alternative buffer source. A few of our tanks have Texas Holy rock in them which is a type of aquarium safe limestone. But this has not been an effective solution short term like the alkaline Buffer from SeaChem.
There are some tanks that also equalize at certain kH values, this is not necessarily a bad thing as long as you kH is 3 or above, you should be fine. How much are you trying to raise your kH to?
How do you raise KH and GH without raising PH?
The good thing is that GH has relatively no impact on your pH values as this only measures the Calcium and Magnesium ions in your water. However, raising KH will almost always raise your pH. So to help in keeping your pH lower when raising KH, you can use a combination of Alkaline Buffer and Acid Buffer from SeaChem. Using this combination targets a specific pH value, but will raise KH also to a desired level. This process takes a little longer though, but works really well.
Here we have started to notice that in our tanks they are beginning to balance out and maintain a stable pH. This has allowed us to use less chemicals to keep our pH stable. Some of the things that are most likely assisting with this are the aquarium safe Limestone rock and crushed coral in the substrate bed. These both act as a buffering agent for pH.
@@NoobAquatics So if I just use the seachem stuff, will they keep the levels consistent enough before the next water change? Also, I was wondering if having the KH and Gh levels accurate is more important than the PH levels? As to my understanding the GH allows the fish to osmoregulate and the KH acts as a buffer to keep the PH from swinging.
Once you kH and GH values stabilize, then your pH will also stabilize. I try not to chase the pH, and only work to make sure I have KH levels of 2 to 4 dKH. I normally only make adjustments to GH if my levels are too low or too high, and this is only done at water changes, as I use RODI water that needs to be remineralized. My biggest worry on GH is to have calcium levels that are too high.
It depends on how often you are doing water changes, then after you have reached your desired levels, the effects of the alkaline buffer should last up to two weeks or more before you would need to add more KH buffer. Easiest way to ensure levels stay consistent is to add KH buffer the water before you re-add it back to the tank.
But yeah, KH are the carbonate salts that help to buffer the water to prevent pH swings. And you are pretty much correct on the GH as well. The Calcium and Magnesium measured in the GH are absorbed by the fish and help with normal biological functioning, such as bone growth and muscle growth.
Seachems neutral regulator is good for tanks that have high PH that needs to be dropped for breeding reasons.
Yeah, this also works pretty good, we just don't use it as it contains Phosphate buffers and tends to lead to increased algae growth in a planted tank. At least this has been our experience when using it, I have heard that other have used this in planted tanks with success. Also I've learned that the phosphate buffers will help keep the pH stable for longer before you have to add more, we just don't like how it explodes algae in our tanks.