Chadfarmer Posted April 11, 2017 Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 Is there another way to buffer the ph in a tank besides gravel. I can just see it going good then crash because of tge gravel exhaustion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMG Aquatics Posted April 11, 2017 Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 Buffering substrate is the best way to maintain a stable and low pH for taiwan bees. There are other options like peat but you'd have to monitor pH quite often and will likely cause pH swings if you get lazy. As long as you're using RODI water, I see no reason why buffering substrates won't last a good few years. You take good care of the buffering substrate and the buffering substrate will take good care of you. EricM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLui83 Posted April 11, 2017 Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 I concur with OMG. Fluval Stratum is what I am using. Doesn't leech ammonia like ADA amazonia. Also, you can pick it up using Amazon Prime. My tap PH is around 7.6-7.8... Fluval Stratum keeps the ph down around 6.2-6.4 for me (i also have alder cones and cholla wood). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LesterBee Posted April 13, 2017 Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 If you want to use inert gravel you are pretty much stuck with remineralized RO water, and some sort of water acidifier like Alder cones. The remineralizer should be of some combination of sulfate salts like Magnesium, Calcium and Potassium Sulfates. These on their own will keep the water slightly acid, but try to avoid using calcium carbonates. Caveat: I would only do it in a fairly large tank, but you could try keeping a small DIY CO2 generator/diffuser running to keep the pH lower, it would need to be watched carefully and replenished with new sugar/yeast as it ran out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chadfarmer Posted April 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 Sugar/yeast no thanks got 2 20lb co2 tanks already. Just really want to do thing simple at first. Alder cones thanks for the info. Im slowly learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricM Posted April 13, 2017 Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 On 4/11/2017 at 9:00 AM, JLui83 said: I concur with OMG. Fluval Stratum is what I am using. Doesn't leech ammonia like ADA amazonia. Also, you can pick it up using Amazon Prime. My tap PH is around 7.6-7.8... Fluval Stratum keeps the ph down around 6.2-6.4 for me (i also have alder cones and cholla wood). missing a key part of your tap water. what KH is it. PH doesn't really matter its the KH that matters more with tap water. your tap may be 7.6-7.8 but have 0-2 Kh so the stratum can work with that. these same topics come up over and over and over.... if you dont want to use RO water with buffering soils I suggest you stick with neos. even then still best to use RO water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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