# Best way to raise ph?



## Rougesnake (May 18, 2017)

My ph is a bit low for my guppies and wanted to know if any of you guys knew tricks to fix the ph before I just go buy a chemical


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## TomC (Apr 21, 2010)

There used to be an excellent sticky post on bcaquaria, specifically concerning lower mainland water conditions and how to adj ust them. It was written by the guy who owned Island Pets Unlimited. Does anybody know whether it still can be found?


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## daniray15 (Apr 10, 2016)

add some crushed corals to your aquarium or into your filter.


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## Cstar_BC (Sep 24, 2016)

You could pop a couple limestone rocks in there


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## Geoffrey (Jun 24, 2015)

Crushed coral or other sources of CaCO3 can raise pH but you shouldn't really chase after pH. It's usually unnecessary and can be harmful if you're creating pH swings. Adding acids or bases (such as API's pH Up/Down) should never be used as these often cause pH swings.

KH and GH or water hardness is more important for the fish. Guppies should be kept in hard water while Vancouver's water is very soft. You can increase your GH using Seachem Equilibrium or CanadianAquatic's GH Booster and raise KH using baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), potassium bicarbonate (can be bought from CanadianAquatic) or Seachem Alkaline Buffer.


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

TomC said:


> There used to be an excellent sticky post on bcaquaria, specifically concerning lower mainland water conditions and how to adj ust them. It was written by the guy who owned Island Pets Unlimited. Does anybody know whether it still can be found?


I believe that was Grant @ IPU. My guess is that it was written and stickied in his sub forum and when IPU left the forum, all contents are gone. Punchbuggy has this that is stickied, good FAQ on lower mainland water:

http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/freshwater-chat-9/water-parameter-faq-kind-rant-me-p-15518/


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

Geoffrey said:


> Crushed coral or other sources of CaCO3 can raise pH but you shouldn't really chase after pH. It's usually unnecessary and can be harmful if you're creating pH swings. Adding acids or bases (such as API's pH Up/Down) should never be used as these often cause pH swings.
> 
> KH and GH or water hardness is more important for the fish. Guppies should be kept in hard water while Vancouver's water is very soft. You can increase your GH using Seachem Equilibrium or CanadianAquatic's GH Booster and raise KH using baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), potassium bicarbonate (can be bought from CanadianAquatic) or Seachem Alkaline Buffer.


Absolutely! pH will stabilize if your KH levels are high enough and that's dependent on your tank, filter load and water change routine. Get your GH higher for your guppies if you have low GH now and they'll be happier and healthier. Increase your KH if your pH is fluctuating and that will be way less stressful on all fish.


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## Rougesnake (May 18, 2017)

yeah I use equilibrium the people at my fish store checked my water and said their only idea of why my guppies might not be doing well is my ph is low


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## TomC (Apr 21, 2010)

You might try using Alkaline Buffer along with the Equilibrium. See if the fish store will do a GH and KH test for you.


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## TomC (Apr 21, 2010)

I looked through my files and managed to find a copy of the post mentioned above. This copy is only partially complete, but it may help.


*Sticky from Rastapus

*

Here is a simple explanation and instruction to fix our tap water problem. These instructions will add the necessary minerals to keep your pH stable and keep you fish healthy by allowing them to absorb these much needed elements.

GH
GH can be raised with either aquarium salt, equilibrium or replenish. Follow the dosage for your particular fish but an average level is 5 degrees. If it is a fish only aquarium salt is easy. If you have plants, use either Equilibrium or Replenish. One is a powder the latter a liquid, preference is yours.

KH
KH can be raised by using Alkalinity buffer. There are other brands available but I like the easy dosage scheme of Alkalinity buffer in particular. 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons raises your KH from 0 to 5 DKH. This is a common desired level for most community fish.

If you have African Cichlids or Goldfish/Koi etc, harder water is needed for them to thrive. With these fish aim for a level of 10 for both GH and KH.

For the community aquarium at levels of 5, dont worry about the pH, it will level off just over 7, your fish will be fine and the pH will remain stable. We rarely check pH in store anymore, hardness is actually easier to test for, and much easier to read. The fish that prefer the higher levels like goldfish thrive in a higher pH anyways so don't worry about it.
This is very easy to do, for those who think it sounds like too much work, it isn't. You only add a little with water changes to replace what you have removed, after a while it is second nature. We buffer all our aquariums with the same products we are recommending, if in doubt, come on in and we can go over it with you.

I hope everyone in the lower mainland eventually goes this route, I cannot stress enough how important these minerals are and how they improve the entire conditions of the aquarium. Your fish will love you for it.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 24, 2015)

I agree with most of that except the aquarium salt. I don't think aquarium salt (NaCl) affects GH


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## TomC (Apr 21, 2010)

I found another thread by Rastapus on the subject. It is worth a read:

http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/island-pets-unlimited-42/water-supply-issue-lower-mainland-715/


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## misl (May 1, 2010)

Just looking at this talk about guppies and ph. It is correct about ph not being critical for most fish if it hovers around neutral and that gh is important specially for live-bearing fish like guppies and swordtails. One aspect to think about with all this is Buffering capacity of the Water, Vancouver water has little buffering capacity, and therefore when aquariums have a high bioload ph can swing very quickly (crash) which can be a problem. Guppies and most live-bearing fish like a higher Ph and a lot of fish from farms are raised in concrete tanks that have higher ph and gh values than what vancouver water provides.
Check out Buffering capacity to help understand the relationship of ph and Gh. Most of the live-bearing fish also require more minerals in the water to help with their osmotic regualtion to really do well. Its the same relationship of trying to keep saltwater fish in a freshwater environment, many live-bearing fish tolerate salt in their water, not true for other species like corydoras and south american chichlids who enjoy soft water and tolerate low ph values.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

misl said:


> Just looking at this talk about guppies and ph. It is correct about ph not being critical for most fish if it hovers around neutral and that gh is important specially for live-bearing fish like guppies and swordtails. One aspect to think about with all this is Buffering capacity of the Water, Vancouver water has little buffering capacity, and therefore when aquariums have a high bioload ph can swing very quickly (crash) which can be a problem. Guppies and most live-bearing fish like a higher Ph and a lot of fish from farms are raised in concrete tanks that have higher ph and gh values than what vancouver water provides.
> Check out Buffering capacity to help understand the relationship of ph and Gh. Most of the live-bearing fish also require more minerals in the water to help with their osmotic regualtion to really do well. Its the same relationship of trying to keep saltwater fish in a freshwater environment, many live-bearing fish tolerate salt in their water, not true for other species like corydoras and south american chichlids who enjoy soft water and tolerate low ph values.


Some good points. At the end you say PH and GH relationship. PH and KH are directly related. GH does not factor the other two. I agree iff people are struggling to uderstand the 3. Read up on buffering capacity. The higher the KH the more stable the PH. I use seachem buffers and have for years. They work well.


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