# pH Booster: How often do you use it?



## L!$A (Apr 21, 2010)

As the title states... just curious if pH booster is used everyday, when you first set up your tank, or never.

& State your reasoning why.

I think there is some misunderstanding of what pH booster is, and I'm just trying to get a general feel of what everyone else does.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

I found the more I fooled with the water, the more problems I had. Now I do water changes, add some prime and leave it alone. My discus are just fine with this arrangement, and have grown like crazy. The only thing I add to my water is Prime, after a water change, and my plant fertz. I also don't check my levels frequently, not in the last 4-5 months. My fish let me know if something is out of whack.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Never use it. All my tanks are planted and 2 of them have buffering substrate. I dose Mg and Ca which boosts GH and have crushed coral in my filters which boosts KH.


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## L!$A (Apr 21, 2010)

Sorry if this sounds silly but what is Mg and Ca?


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Magnesium and Calcium


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## davefrombc (Apr 21, 2010)

Mg is magnesium and Ca is calcium... Those are the two main salts in hard and alkaline water.
Unless you are keeping fish that need hard and alkaline water , you really don't need to use " pH booster".
More fish have been killed by people trying to create the "perfect pH" with pH boosters , or lowering products, than by them living in less than "ideal" pH.
If you have very soft and acidic water , you can add a little crushed coral , oyster shell or limestone to the tank to naturally buffer any acidity .


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## L!$A (Apr 21, 2010)

Good info Dave, thanks


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

davefrombc said:


> Mg is magnesium and Ca is calcium... Those are the two main salts in hard and alkaline water.
> Unless you are keeping fish that need hard and alkaline water , you really don't need to use " pH booster".


Or you're keeping plants which uptake these components of the water and you're injecting CO2. 

There's also this discussion, in case you missed it: http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=715


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## davefrombc (Apr 21, 2010)

GVRD water is near distilled, it is so low in dissolved minerals. There is no natural buffering to it so pH crashes can happen easily, so some coral or oyster shell will definitely help maintain a steady pH. Most other Water districts use well water that is already medium hard, so normally no further buffering is really needed. I don't know Pitt Meadows water sources , so I can't comment on their water chemistry. I would strongly recommend against pH boosters.. Use a little coral or oyster shell if you need the buffering .


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Pitt Meadows water is purchased from the GVRD and from the Coquitlam watershed: http://www.pittmeadows.bc.ca/EN/main/residents/2897/633.html


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## L!$A (Apr 21, 2010)

You guys are just full of info.. lol thanks


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## t-bore (Apr 21, 2010)

OOOPPS disreguard the 1 vote for use on water changes I thought it said GH booster. My bad.


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## L!$A (Apr 21, 2010)

lol what type of GH booster do you use, and how often?


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## VinnyD (Apr 21, 2010)

lol..none of the choices fit for me....i use a little when the water ph is kinda outta wack....but most of teh time..i just let the water be


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## taureandragon76 (Apr 21, 2010)

For my brackish tank I add baking soda to new fresh water to raise it abit. 

The key with PH isn't having the right level, it's maintaining that level. It's the swings in ph that do the most damage.


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## b/p (Apr 21, 2010)

L!$A said:


> lol what type of GH booster do you use, and how often?


I use Epsom Salts (Magnesium sulfate) and marine salt (mix of calcium and other minerals) to keep my GH at 15.

For a pH buffer, I use Caribsea Aragonite as a substrate (1.5" depth). Keeps my pH at 8.5 all the time, even after I added a giant piece of driftwood.

I have African cichlids and plecos. All my fish seem to be thriving at these levels.


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## L!$A (Apr 21, 2010)

Thank you to everyone for your info & feedback


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## punchbuggy (Apr 21, 2010)

ditto. i know that our water is very soft and low in GH/KH. I never add anything but whenever I test my water both parameters are off the charts. i'm pretty sure its the substrate and/or rocks i have in there... and the cuttle bone.. and the shells. in any case I think it is a necessary for certain species.


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## Death's Sting (Apr 21, 2010)

never, in a million years would i buy PH booster, or any other commercially sold buffer. there are plenty of natural ways to buffer our tap water.


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## Fish Whisper (Apr 22, 2010)

No for me, Just add Prime and a little aquarium salt therapeutic levels ( a pinch per 5 gallons)


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## t-bore (Apr 21, 2010)

Lisa- I add the Gh booster once a week after the water change. Not sure the brand i got it from Aquaflora nurseries.


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## L!$A (Apr 21, 2010)

Oh okay, cool. Thanks again for all the feedback everyone!


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

punchbuggy said:


> ditto. i know that our water is very soft and low in GH/KH. I never add anything but whenever I test my water both parameters are off the charts. i'm pretty sure its the substrate and/or rocks i have in there... and the cuttle bone.. and the shells. in any case I think it is a necessary for certain species.


Cuttle bone and shells are both calcium carbonate.


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## thefishwife (Apr 21, 2010)

If I have to raise my PH I use crushed coral in my filters, otherwise I use nothing but prime, and then the fertz for the planted tanks.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

I've never used it, im no fan of natural additives and only use the dechlorinator, as i dont want to sit there for an hour with an egg beater aerating out the chlorine.

If you are cycling your tank you shouldn't be carrying ph sensative species, a fish like a zebra danio can withstand a lot of abuse. hell i had 3 of them since my first aquarium, and only lost one because he decided to be a daredevil and swim into the out take pipe getting caught in a vortex.

As for upkeep, the PH here is perfect i find, and if you use a natural buffer. Whether it be a pourous rock, peat, crushed coral, it tends to balance out nicely and prevent swings large enough to kill your fish. As long as you keep up with water changes.

As for PH control not needed, i disagree, we have extremely soft water here, its an oddity actually in the world to have this softness (0 dKH) and 7.0 avg PH. If you use any co2 at all, that can cause a large swing in PH during night/day.. Having water hardness is a must, most recommend a minimum of dKH 4. with crushed coral i stay around dKH 7 with weekly 50% changes + EI dosing. before having crushed coral i was getting 'unknown' fishie deaths from that swing.


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## EvolutionAquarium (Jun 16, 2010)

A bag of dolomitic limestone in your filter will raise the pH to 7.4 and maintain it there, which makes the nitrifying bacteria very happy.


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## MadgicBug (Apr 22, 2010)

PH booster, alkaline buffer, etc are the same thing and is usually used for specialty species tanks. For cycling, its better not to put any additives in the get go and then slowing tweak it to the species settings prior to adding the fish\shrimps\etc. CC alone in a good flow will get your PH around 7.6-7.8 ish (KH around 6 +/-1 with vancouver water starting KH at 0-1). PH booster is used to increase your PH (KH + alk) above that mark for species that requires a higher PH.

GH is a different topic and CC, agronite, oyster shells, etc alone (IMO) does not provide a complete\balance content. It does increase the GH, but GH is a general measurement....however, the two main components are Ca and Mg.


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

I never use it. I let the eco-complete, florabase, or ADA substrate do the buffering, and leave it as it were.


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## Baos (Apr 22, 2010)

For those who would alter their ph to boost it up. It seems to cause stress on the fish. But so does a super low ph. I once had my fish living in a ph of 5(very long time ago). It's possible due to some chemicals that the ph was measured wrong.(pond ph down). My recommendation to raise ph if you need to. water changes. Of course in my city the ph is 7.8.


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## MananaP (Apr 22, 2010)

I just use buffers on my baby FRT tank, my ph is stable at 8.2 which is good for the turtle.


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