How much Superbuffer-dKH for 55gal?

lachrimae

lachrimae

New Member
Hello,
I'm setting up my 1st saltwater tank (55gal) and am adjusting the water before purchasing liverock & livesand.
I bought 250g (8.8oz) of Kent's Superbuffer-dKH and have been following their directions of adding 2tsp per day for the past couple of weeks. I have now added approx. half of the container & my pH is still less than 8.0 (I started out around 7.7).
I added about 8tsp two days ago & it is still under 8.0 - I'm just not seeing much change...
How much of this do I need to add to get up to pH 8.3 for approx. 50gal of water?
Thanks!
Mark
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
I agree with Beth and will add if you are adding the buffer w/o adding calcium your levels are most likely way unbalanced. You should get some test kits and test the calcium and alkalinity before doing anything else other than water changes. In fact your best course of action right now is to do water changes to help balance things back out.
The alkalinity level is the important thing to monitor when adding a buffer... not PH... although they are tied together. As said 8.0 is fine, no worries, just make sure your calcium and alkalinity stay balanced and up in range. Water changes should be adequate right now... after your tank gets stocked and matures you'll likely need calcium and alkalinity additive to maintain proper levels.
 
jjlittle

jjlittle

Member
You may want to reseach how ALK / Ph / Cal work hand & hand in staying balanced and buffering one may hurt another. Doingt regular water changes with a good salt will keep you inline buffers are really not needed I think are over rated and should not be used for there are many other way to keep and maintain better water quality.
 
S

shark bait

Guest
Your water is soft and the buffer is just how strong the water is to change. You may want to add some trace elements. It will add need minerals and could help stress COULD help in making your water hard also, If you have a new tank you Ph will drop as your levels of nitrate and nitrite change. Also your ph is in direct relation to other levels in your tank. It could just be a sign that other levels are off and need to be checked.

One very important thing to know about the pH scale is that it is logarithmic. For example, a pH level of 5 is 10x more acidic than a pH of 6, and a pH of 4 is 100x more acidic than a pH of 6.
So if your fish are supposed to live in a pH climate of 7 but the water in your tank is reading 8, your water is 10x more alkaline than what it should be. If the pH is 9, then your fish are living in water 100x more alkaline than recommended for optimal health. So it is easy to see why even a small change in required pH can be stressful - and potentially fatal - to your fish.
Expecting a fish that requires a pH of 8 to share the same water with a fish that requires a pH of 6 is also not a good idea because one or both will always be under a great deal of stress. These examples emphasize the importance in matching your fish closely to the expected pH level of your water and then closely monitoring the pH.
There are several different ways to influence your water's pH. There are chemical additives you can add directly to the water which will either raise or lower the pH. Natural agents can also be used to alter water pH as well. Adding peat in the tank or filter will acidify the water. Mineral salts like calcium (found in limestone or in some shells) will increase the alkalinity and pH.
Any time you attempt to change pH levels in your tank, remember that fish are very sensitive to pH changes and if it's done too rapidly, it can cause extreme stress or even death. Fish should not be exposed to a change in pH greater than 0.3 in a 24-hour period.
Hope this helps
 
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