Lime water help

J

jred25

Premium Member
I need my ph to go up. So im thinking of useing pickling lime is (mrs. wages pickling & canning salt) the same thing and how much do i add? Yes I do know not to add the stuff thats at the bottom of the mix but thats about all i know about it. Any help would be good.
 
@SRHxSPADExKING wrote:
They make ph buffer for that said:
ya i know. But i only make 7.66 per.h so the more i save on the small stuff the more i can spend on the big stuff. Buffer runs around 10.00 for a small amount and i have 210gal so thats not cheap to buffer the tank with that
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@jred25 wrote:
[I]@TCUguy wrote:[/I][quote="If you just need your PH to go up it would be better to add baked baking soda. said:
how do you do the baking soda"]

Google it but pretty much put regular baking soda in the oven at 300 or so for 15-20 mins. Then dilute in water and bam u got a mix to drip. I can't remember the exact numbers to dilute but it's very easy to do.
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@jred25 wrote:
I need my ph to go up. So im thinking of useing pickling lime is (mrs. wages pickling & canning salt) the same thing and how much do i add? Yes I do know not to add the stuff thats at the bottom of the mix but thats about all i know about it. Any help would be good. said:
You want "pickling lime", not "pickling salt" to make lime water. I am sure that you meant that, but, just in case.

David
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Hi,

You will need to bake the baking soda for one to two hrs in order to drive out the co2. You cannot overbake it but you can sure underbake it.

Cheers,
 
I definitely recommend the baking soda drip. I currently do it. You just have to find a way to regulate it. If you want to check out my setup let me know. It is very simple and very cheap.
 
@unttrmptplyr wrote:
I definitely recommend the baking soda drip. I currently do it. You just have to find a way to regulate it. If you want to check out my setup let me know. It is very simple and very cheap. said:
I second this as its the same as dripping kalk (well kind of, it maintains your alkalinity which is the main part) but a little cheaper.
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ok so my alkalinity is around 180ppm but my ph is 7.5ish. Will the soda make the alk go to hi or will it be ok and if alk is ok y is the ph so low? All coral is good expt my sps are starting to bleach. I think i will stop and get buffer in the morn if i have to. I have not tested cal but could it be the prob?
 
The baking soda is mainly used to increase alk...you need to figure out why the PH is low. Try the fresh air test, test your water right out of your tank, then take a sample outside aerate it with fresh air. If the PH rises then you need more fresh air to your tank. Lime water will supplement alk, cal and is high in PH. It should be added slowly.
 
Kinda shocked at some of the replies to help this poor guy. I hope your issue has been resolved by now.

If your ph is low the first thing you need to check is your alkalinity. If you alk is higher than 8 then usually the problem is too much CO2 build up in your system. A protein skimmer, opening a window or increased surface agitation can help resolve this issue.

If you need to make an adjustment to your Alk (like increase DKH by 1) it's better to use the UNBAKED baking soda. This is because it will only slightly and temporarily decrease Ph until the excess CO2 has been let out of your system. If you use BAKED baking soda your Ph will temporarily increase. Some people (me included) have noticed precipitation from using baked baking soda to "adjust" alk.

The recipes are easy. For BAKED baking soda you mix 2 cups in a gallon of RO/DI water. This is recipe 1 on all the 2 part online dosing calculators. Please use the calculators to determine how much you need to add to bring your alk within range. For UNBAKED baking soda (recipie 2) you mix 1 cup into a gallon of RO/DI.

Please don't just "add some" to your tank to see what happens. You should have a method to your madness.
 
@jred25 wrote:
ok so my alkalinity is around 180ppm but my ph is 7.5ish. Will the soda make the alk go to hi or will it be ok and if alk is ok y is the ph so low? All coral is good expt my sps are starting to bleach. I think i will stop and get buffer in the morn if i have to. I have not tested cal but could it be the prob? said:
Has anyone given you this calculator yet?:

http://reef.diesyst.com/flashcalc/flashcalc.html

It will answer your questions very methodically.

I run my alkalinity at 11.5 dKH, and I hear that some run theirs higher than that. I think 8-12 is the range given on the Holmes-Farley calculator I have linked here. I would like to hear more about what people are doing with alkalinity!

Another thing, and maybe the more knowledgeable persons will chime in on this, but I think that using Reef Crystals salt mix takes care of calcium real good! I changed to it from Seachem Reef, and I don't have to add calcium hardly at all now. Maybe it's just a coincidence.

David
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@jred25 wrote:
[I]@TCUguy wrote:[/I][quote="If you just need your PH to go up it would be better to add baked baking soda. said:
how do you do the baking soda"]

You don't , baking soda has little to no effect on PH, will raise ALK but not PH. You need soda ASH or baked baking soda to raise ph and alk.
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