baking soda

bunkerboy

New member
How much baking soda should i have to add to a 5 gallon bucket of water to bring the ph up to at least 8.2 wheni am making new batches of water??? my current ph out of well is 7.6. Alkalinity is high... i have used Seachem product in the past but ran out and would like to use less expensive baking soda if possible. Bunker
 
Adding buffer to your well water is not required. Adding the correct amount of salt along with proper mixing and aeration will take of PH for you.
 
What is the alkalinity of the well water?

I agree that adding a buffer is a poor way to go as it will push alkalinity even higher, probably too high.

Aeration alone should raise the pH, but if that is not adequate, a little (very little) limewater added to the new salt water could be useful.
 
I use a small pump to move the water as well as small heater and let water mix for 24 hours before adding to main tank... the pump does not utilize an air hose to add air to water, so im not sure the pH will rise to 8.2. what do you think?
 
pH of mixed saltwater is usually fine, if not a bit on the high side. Unless you have a bad batch of salt or your well water is very acidic (in which case you have another problem to correct) you shouldn't need to buffer it. Buffering is often needed in the tank where biological processes deplete alkalinity.
 
I guess that i assumed you had to add a buffer to the sea salt mixture... i use reef crystals for my 90 gallon FOWLR... i have a digital pH reader that usually reads around 8.4 or so... depending on how much the furnace is running... when i see pH drop, i often open up doors in middle of winter just to get fresh air in the house... i have a small log cabin that is pretty tightly sealed. Thanks for the info, i will not add any buffer to the water changes. Bunker
 
I guess that i assumed you had to add a buffer to the sea salt mixture...

Nope. When using pure fresh water, it is never a good idea to buffer the water before adding salt, unless you find that the mix is deficient in alkalinity (few, if any, are).
 
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