# Home made PH UP



## mikebike (Sep 8, 2010)

Hello,
I ran across the recomendation for making a PH Up buffer:

"if you simple mix 4 parts of Arm and hammer bicarbonate baking soda to 1 part of Boraxo laundry booster you will then have the same mix u pay for at 10X's the cost Just 4 to 1 and mix it well"

has any one tried this?
Cheers


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## davefrombc (Apr 21, 2010)

Read the ingredient list on the Borax laundry booster to make sure it only contains Sodium Borate (borax). The Arm & Hammer baking soda is pure Sodium Bicarbonate and safe to use . The baking soda raises Carbonate hardness and pH while the borax has little effect on pH but raises general hardness


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## pistolpete (May 2, 2010)

A far better solution is to mix some crushed coral into your gravel or filter media. Crushed sea shells work equally well. That way you get a permanent slow release buffer. Fish like stable PH and using baking soda can lead to dramatic swings. A large handful for every 10 gallons in the gravel seems to do the trick for me.


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## mikebike (Sep 8, 2010)

I do have crushed coral and also 50LBS of crushed oyster shell I normally put in my HOB filters.

I had removed several fish from my 80 gallon South American tank and noticed my PH was down to 5.5.
I got it back to 7 now and will be adding a bag of oyster shell to the AC110 HOB as well as adding a couple inches of coral frags.

Thanks for the advice


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## Gregzz4 (Jun 25, 2010)

What PH and KH are you trying to acheive?


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## mikebike (Sep 8, 2010)

I have been told to try to achive:
ph at 7.5 kh 170ppm and gh 240ppm


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## Gregzz4 (Jun 25, 2010)

170ppm KH is almost 10 degrees
I only run my tanks @ approx 5dKH
170*.056=9.52
Look here @ my post #18
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/freshwater-chat-9/why-do-i-have-low-ph-17915/index2.html
With you needing higher than me PH and KH, you might be able to acheive what I have with a higher usage of the Alkaline Buffer.


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## mikebike (Sep 8, 2010)

all my tanks have some crushed coral in them also.

I have heard I can use Epson Salt also but have no idea of how much or why.


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

Crushed coral does little to raise KH for me. It wll raise Ph to about 7.6 but very little increase to KH.

Epsom salt (Magnesium Sulphate) raises GH, does very little for KH. GH test kits measures primarily the amount of Calcium and Magnesium in your water.


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