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is it possible to raise the ph and hardness of the water to make it stay at a desired level permantely, without using chemcials.

Hi,
The short answer is yes.

Depending upon the reason for you to raise the pH and GH,
you can accomplish this in one of two ways without the
use of expensive chemicals.

If you are keeping fish that "prefer" the higher values,
then you can use a substrate that is 100% crushed coral,
crushed dolomite, or crushed oyster shells. You can also
mix any of these with regular aquarium gravel too. However,
you will have the best results with a pure substrate.

If you just want to raise it a little or have more control,
then you can place any of the above in the toe of a nylon,
or pantyhose, tie it off, and then put that in the last
stage of your filter so the water runs through it and then
into the tank. It will take a while (which is good as
the shift in pH/GH won't be rapid) and the fish will
adjust as the values climb.

If your tap water is, say 7.0, and you want the tank at
8.0, then regular water changes of say 10-20% will not
affect your pH/GH that much and won't harm the fish.
If, however, you do a massive water change, say 50% or
more, then you will have to "doctor" the water before
you add it to the tank so the pH does not shift that much
and stress the fish.

If you use the stuff in the output of your filter, you
will need to check it weekly as the stuff disolves and
disappears. I had to replace it, a teaspoonful at a
time on a regular basis in one of my tanks.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

ok i got how to increase gh, but not really sure about the ph part. are you saying the more water changes you do the higher the ph will get. btw thanks for replying.

Last edited by haRg0wbOi at 09-Nov-2004 17:05

The crushed coral/shell substrate will raise your pH and GH. Water changes will slightly lower pH after it has been raised by your new substrate. This won't be noticable unless you do large water changes.

---

Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Limestone, marble, coral and shells all contain calcium carbonate. This will raise the pH, GH and KH of your tank water.

-- Gomer