zebs like it soft?

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » Tue May 02, 2006 9:42 am

i know zebras like the water soft and my test kit arrived today. the water in the tank has the following stats:

NO3: 10-25

NO2: 0

GH: 6

KH: 0 - 3

PH: 6.3 - 6.6

are these ok for zebras? or will such a low kh result in ph swings?

thanks in advance.

andy

p.s i tested it straight out the tap and got different results, but the water in the tank is all from water out of the tap.

thebuddy · Post by **thebuddy** » Tue May 02, 2006 2:41 pm

From what i understand water in the tank lowers in PH as stuff rots in it, mostly food. I have a very limited understanding so dont take my word for it yet.

Post by **Barbie** » Tue May 02, 2006 7:15 pm

Zebras don't actually care whether the water is soft. People think they like it soft is all

. I would worry about a kH that low, definitely, unless you're doing water changes once or twice a week and the tank is understocked. A crash in pH below 6 will kill your zebras in short order. They thrive in water that's much harder but you push the envelope for distress if you keep the water too soft.

Barbie

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » Wed May 03, 2006 9:08 am

ok what can i do to keep the kh up?

buy something to add into the water when i do water changes? i do do 10% water changes once sometimes twice a week tho and the tanks probably understocked at the moment. how does this help?

im worried now!

Raul-7 · Post by **Raul-7** » Wed May 03, 2006 9:24 am

andrewcoxon wrote:ok what can i do to keep the kh up?

buy something to add into the water when i do water changes? i do do 10% water changes once sometimes twice a week tho and the tanks probably understocked at the moment. how does this help?

im worried now!

Use pure baking soda without any additives. kH is basically a CO3 buffer, and that's exactly what you need to raise it. Na(HCO3)2 or CaCO3 will work, but CaCO3 will raise your gH as well (not to mention it takes days to dissolve). Do not worry about the sodium part, it is insiginificant (about 16% Na per bicarbonate).

Here's a calculator to make your life easier: http://dataguru.org/misc/aquarium/calKH.asp

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » Wed May 03, 2006 11:18 am

cheers raul.

iv just been to buy some bicarbonate soda from tesco! its got no addatives and the calculator u provided said 2.5 tea spoons but i put 1 in 1st just to make sure its ok. il test the water soon and then add more if neccesary.

so from now on should i just add a little soda in with my fresh water during water changes???

all the best,

andy

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » Wed May 03, 2006 11:26 am

ok put 1 tea spoon in and the ph has gone from 6.3 to 7.

a little too rapid for my liking...

will the zebras be able to handle this change?

now its in tho if i add a little to the water during water changes it should stay stable?

regards,

andy

Post by **Barbie** » Wed May 03, 2006 5:23 pm

Zebras will NOT like changes like that, no. You'd be much better off just adding however much tap water back into your water when you do the RO changes, IMO. The problem with using RO water is that you also need to allow it to stabilize before you add it to the tank. Any changes will cause it to do exactly what you had happen, drastically jump the pH around. This honestly can kill your zebras. It's a bad idea and should never be done in the tank. ALWAYS in whatever you're pretreating and aging their water in. Baking soda is going to raise your pH but not necessarily stabilize it as much as you should, IMO. If you are insistent on not adding back in enough tap water to raise the kH, you should buy a commercial buffer that will stabilize the kH without raising it too high or jumping it around.

Barbie

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » Wed May 03, 2006 5:35 pm

but i dont use ro water i just use water straight out of the tap...? its naturally this soft after a few days in my tank so i need a way to make the kh higher without raising the ph so quick. im really worried about my zebras now...

will they be ok? they seem fine and the little ones have been feeding.

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » Wed May 03, 2006 11:03 pm

should i buy some propper ph 6.5 which stabilises the ph at 6.5 that way i can stabilise the whole tank at 6.5 using water changes?

must be the safest way?

there still all ok. are they out the woods now as far as the ph swing is concearned would it of effected them by now?

plz put my mind at rest someone!!!

andy

Post by **Barbie** » Wed May 03, 2006 11:08 pm

If your tap water is that soft you can either add buffer or you can go the easy route of adding a couple pieces of coral or shell to your tank (pretty good sized pieces will be needed). The carbonate will be released from them as the water becomes more acidic so it basically works as a failsafe system. It slowly buffers water that's close to neutral and releases more if for some reason the pH starts to drop. Because it's a more gradual process it's MUCH safer for the fish. Sorry I didn't reread the post before I answered earlier and I've been answering too many questions about people using RO lately I think

.

Barbie

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » Wed May 03, 2006 11:10 pm

ah barbie that sounds like a much better idea!!!

coral would be the safest and easiest way to stableise the ph!

do you think my zebs will be ok with the shock they had this morning? its been nearly 12 hours or so now and then all seem fine?

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » Wed May 03, 2006 11:28 pm

what type of rock would stabilise the ph. would ocean rock work? or does it have to be tufa, shells or a mesh bag of crushed coral?

Raul-7 · Post by **Raul-7** » Thu May 04, 2006 12:41 am

Barbie wrote:If your tap water is that soft you can either add buffer or you can go the easy route of adding a couple pieces of coral or shell to your tank (pretty good sized pieces will be needed). The carbonate will be released from them as the water becomes more acidic so it basically works as a failsafe system. It slowly buffers water that's close to neutral and releases more if for some reason the pH starts to drop. Because it's a more gradual process it's MUCH safer for the fish. Sorry I didn't reread the post before I answered earlier and I've been answering too many questions about people using RO lately I think .

Barbie

But by adding crushed coral (CaCO3) it will slowly increase his gH as well as his kH.

Andrew, only crushed coral will work.

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » Thu May 04, 2006 9:17 am

even with regular water changes?

i change 15% of the water twice a week.

any other ideas then? i dont want the gh to increase much..?