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About my controsoil PH


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Started a new topic just because its a new question.  I had a thought this morning.

 

About my controsoil tank  not buffering below 6.7 after what is now almost 2 weeks.   (after completing cycle)
 

I used baking soda to raise ph for easier cycling.  I did an almost 100 percent water change, that being all the water right down to the sand.   Could  it be that the canister filter is holding large amounts of baking soda and keeping thewater PH high?  It seems hard to believe but it is the only thing I can think of.   Those of you who raise your PH to cycle,  what do you do to make sure all the baking soda is gone? 

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Started a new topic just because its a new question.  I had a thought this morning.

 

About my controsoil tank  not buffering below 6.7 after what is now almost 2 weeks.   (after completing cycle)

 

I used baking soda to raise ph for easier cycling.  I did an almost 100 percent water change, that being all the water right down to the sand.   Could  it be that the canister filter is holding large amounts of baking soda and keeping thewater PH high?  It seems hard to believe but it is the only thing I can think of.   Those of you who raise your PH to cycle,  what do you do to make sure all the baking soda is gone? 

All my tanks are around 5.9-6.0 range and I used shrimp daddy products for cycling and then did 80% once it was done.

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came home and checked the KH    It is 0.   I never turned blue at all.  To make sure the test kit was ok I also did a tap water test and got blue on the first drop   .

 

I think my next step will be to take a handful of the controsoil out of the tank and put it in a bowl, watch it with RO water and then  cover it in RO and see if the PH drops.   I guess that will tell me if the soil is inert

 

I am open to other ideas.     

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A possibility is that you added too much baking soda and used up all of it's buffer ability.

 

This happened to me before. Half a bag of ControSoil down the drain because I kept adding baking soda daily/every other day for a week to speed up bacteria growth.

 

 

Depending on how deep the substrate is, you can try scooping some from the bottom to top and see if that helps.

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ok another experiment.   Last night I scooped out some of the controsoil  from the tank. I washed it in RO water.  then added a couple inches of clean RO water ontop of the substrate in the cup.  Today I tested the PH.   IT WENT UP.

 

7.0   what?

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(sigh)    I didnt think I added that much.  I only buffered it to  6.8 - 7 and only added when it would fall below 6.8.

 

 

So... Add peat to the filter or empty the tank and change the substrate? I do have another bag of soil..but what a project. 

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I have to imagine that that couldn't wear out the buffer.  I was using baking soda for my aqua sand to go up .3ph, and over the course of a few days it would slowly fall again and I would raise it.  I did that for a good 6 months will buffering still happening.

 

I would think you just got a bad batch.

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(sigh)    I didnt think I added that much.  I only buffered it to  6.8 - 7 and only added when it would fall below 6.8.

 

 

So... Add peat to the filter or empty the tank and change the substrate? I do have another bag of soil..but what a project. 

How long did you keep the buffer between 6.8-7.0 for?

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I think the cycle took about a month poopian. maybe 3 weeks I forget exactly.  Id have to go back and look at dates.      

 

I have decided Im going to take the canister apart tomorrow  and watch all the media in RO.. make sure there is no baking soda residue , do another water change and add  some peat to the filter.   Kinda sucks to need to use peat after spending all that money on controsoil but I dont want to tear the tank apart again and disturb the few shrimp that are in there..   They had a hard life in the tank o death and seem very happy  :)   

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Yep. Looks like you screwed up :(

 

Even ShrimpyDaddy recommends 1 week of increasing pH above 6.8 only as the buffering capability has been weakened a lot.

 

http://www.shrimpydaddy.com/pages/how-to-setup-shrimp-tank-cycling-phase

 

2-3 weeks will basically make your substrate depleted of buffering capability.

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Live and Learn I guess.   

 

Depending on amount of shrimp you are putting in, you could just add Baking Soda for 2-3 days, staying around 6.8-7.0 pH just to weaken buffering a bit. Do full water changes to remove KH and your pH should be about 5.5-5.7. If you don't do the baking soda part for a few days, depending on batch, your pH may buffer to 5.0-5.3.

 

If you're putting like 10 shrimp for a 10G, there's no real need to start the bacteria growth early. You can add biofilm additives like Bacter AE and when you add the shrimp, just dose Stability as recommended or w/e Bacteria supplement you like.

 

Ammonia in ph 5.5-5.7 is in non toxic form and can be used by bacteria.

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Ok I know you guys are probably sick of hearing about this issue but yesterday I took the canister filter apart washed all the media, put it back together, did a 3 gallon water change .. (ro water)   and added peat to the canister filter.   I didnt add alot. I  was afraid of crashing the ph to fast  but I added about the amount you would add to an aquaclear HOB  filter.

 

Today the ph is UP  7.0 .

 

I dont understand.. I am so frustrated . None of this makes sense.     Is it possible that the filter media that comes with the Eheim  could be raising PH?      It is the media that comes with the 2213. 

 

There are no rocks in the tank.. just driftwood and plants and 2 aquarium decorations from petsmart.    My RO water tests in the low 6.s 

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Ok I know you guys are probably sick of hearing about this issue but yesterday I took the canister filter apart washed all the media, put it back together, did a 3 gallon water change .. (ro water)   and added peat to the canister filter.   I didnt add alot. I  was afraid of crashing the ph to fast  but I added about the amount you would add to an aquaclear HOB  filter.

 

Today the ph is UP  7.0 .

 

I dont understand.. I am so frustrated . None of this makes sense.     Is it possible that the filter media that comes with the Eheim  could be raising PH?      It is the media that comes with the 2213. 

 

There are no rocks in the tank.. just driftwood and plants and 2 aquarium decorations from petsmart.    My RO water tests in the low 6.s 

I wouldnt think Eheims media would be the cause. Been using Eheim for 20+ years and never had an issue. Your situation is as weird as my shrimps hopping from one tank to another.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Hey Santos,

 

I've cycled Controsoil in 22 days (using primarily Dr. Tim's Ammonia and Seachem Stability).  

 

With a established sponge filters, I and many others have successfully transferred shrimp (in reasonable quantities) into newly setup Controsoil tanks in as little as 24-48 hours.  I first attempted this during an emergency, but have done other times as well with success.  I certainly would recommend completing a full cycle, but it is good to know in case an emergency arises.

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