# Rift Lake Buffer Recipe clouding my water in new tank setup.



## phenetrik (Aug 1, 2002)

Hi All

I'm in the process in setting up Lake Tanganyika aquarium. This is my first go with Tanganyika fish.

My tap water is very soft (2-3kH and GH) with a PH of 7. I decided to try out the Rift Lake Buffer Recipe on this site, and while it works great in getting the parameters I need, it seems to have clouded the water significantly.

I have managed to get the PH to about 8.7 which has stayed stable for 4 days now. My GH is around 15 and KH off the chart, as in no matter how many drops I added it just didn't change colour.

I think the problem is the amount of baking soda I needed to add to get the PH so high: 6 teaspoons per 8 litres! I also added 2 teaspoons of epsom salts per 8litres, and haven't added any table salt as yet.

The filter's been running for a few days now and the cloudiness hasn't lessened by much. So basically is there anything I can do to help clear up the water, or will I have to compromise and go for a lower PH to lessen the amount of baking soda required?

Thanks!

Setup details:
4ft, 50Gallon tank
Sand substrate (sand was cleaned)
1200L/hr Aqua Nova canister filter (not using carbon)


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> will I have to compromise and go for a lower PH to lessen the amount of baking soda required?


There's no compromise, really. Not sure what pH you're shooting for, but there's a wide range that'll 
work just fine. That article suggests adding chemicals until a desired pH is reached, but I wouldn't take 
that approach. Instead, add enough baking soda to get a KH of 8 or so, and then the pH should fall 
somewhere around 8. A pH anywhere near 8, 7.8 - 8.2 is fine. But. let the target be the KH, not the pH. 
The KH is the pH stabilizer, and a stable pH is more important than a specific value. Your GH of 15 is 
fine. I'd suggest some massive water changes (sounds like a new tank?) to get the KH way back down 
and then see where your pH settles. That should take care of the cloudiness.

HTH


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## phenetrik (Aug 1, 2002)

Thanks for the reply. I'll give that a go.

I was aiming for a fairly high PH to try and match the actual Lake chemistry, though the LFS's keep their Tangs in ph of around 8.0 so I think I'll be ok with a lower value.


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## mccluggen (Jul 5, 2008)

I wouldn't shoot for a super high PH either, 8.2 is what I run my tang tank at because it is the level that my aragonite substrate will buffer to. My tap water is about ph 6.8 and <8 gh / kh out of the tap. I add 3 tablespoons per five gallons of my homemade buffer recipe which brings it to PH 8.2, kh 13, and gh 22.

This seems to be plenty for my tangs and the substrate holds it steady for me without having to worry about fluctuations.


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## blairo1 (May 7, 2006)

mccluggen said:


> I wouldn't shoot for a super high PH either, 8.2 is what I run my tang tank at because it is the level that my aragonite substrate will buffer to. My tap water is about ph 6.8 and <8 gh / kh out of the tap. I add 3 tablespoons per five gallons of my homemade buffer recipe which brings it to PH 8.2, kh 13, and gh 22.
> 
> This seems to be plenty for my tangs and the substrate holds it steady for me without having to worry about fluctuations.


 :thumb: +1


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## softak (Feb 20, 2008)

clouded water can be caused by:
1. It is new tank with sand, usually you would have some cloudeness from sand (does not matter if you've cleaned it before) 
Add fine sponge into the filter to catch small particles.

2. It is new tank so it started to cycle and you have alot of bacteria. 
This will go away in couple days


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

The PH using baking soda will only go about as high as 8.2. My PH drops initially when I add it, but stabilizes rapidly. My ph is 6.6. I ad 1 Tsp. baking soda, 1 Tsp. reef salt, 1 Tbsp. Epsom salt per 5 U.S. gallons. Experiment with your water, and check when adding, 1 hr. after, 3 hrs. after, and the next day. You will see changes in your PH.


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## Aramz (Jun 24, 2008)

So a ratio of 1/3 baking soda 1/3 reef salt and 1/3 epsom saltwould be a good tank buffer. Similar to that of what a rift lake buffer from a fish store would do? U would add roughly 3 tsp. of this mix per 5 gallons of water if your ph was 6.6? What is the desire dLake Malawi ph range 7 to 7.8? So i would add maybe 1 1/2 tsp of this salt mix?

Also what is reef salt, never seen or heard it. COuld i substitute it or not use it or could it be known as something else or where could i find reef salt?

thanks for your time


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## mccluggen (Jul 5, 2008)

Reef salt is the sea water mix you buy from pet stores for making salt water for aquariums. It's the real "aquarium salt". Its better than using table salt because it contains several trace elements not found in plain old sodium chloride.

For me the ratio that works is 1 part reef salt, 1 part baking soda, 3 parts epsom. Your mileage may vary. I also does reef iodine once per week per the instructions.


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## Aramz (Jun 24, 2008)

Thanks for that advice. So i better get that reef salt from somewhere stocking slat water fish then... they would have bucket loads to buy?

Also what is iodine thta you do once per week. What instructions do you follow.

Thanks again mate


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Aramz said:


> Thanks for that advice. So i better get that reef salt from somewhere stocking slat water fish then... they would have bucket loads to buy?
> 
> Also what is iodine thta you do once per week. What instructions do you follow.
> 
> Thanks again mate


There's a lot of debate as to the need for the reef salt and many don't use it. I'd suggest not adding 
anything to an aquarium unless you can point to some proven benefit that goes beyond anecdotal 
evidence. Take everything you read on the Internet with a grain of salt, no pun intended, even 
the articles on this forum.

Sodium bicarb will raise and stabilize pH, so that one's not hard to prove value.

Epsom salt will raise GH, but do fish really need an elevated 'total hardness' value? Some say they 
color up better, but that's all I've heard about it's benefits. Some say it aids in digestive troubles, but 
I've not seen anything to back that one up either.

Reef salt? I'm really not sure what this is supposed to do for fish. Helps them 'osmoregulate', I 
guess. Do fish really have trouble with that? Adds missing minerals? Ok, but which ones and are 
they really needed? Do fish suffer without them? How do we measure them to make sure they 
have enough? What if I add too much, is that harmful? Too many unanswered questions for me to 
make it worth going out and spending the money on it just because it sounds like a good thing to do 
for the fish.

Just my .02


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

If you look at my post, it is 1 Tsp. baking soda, 1 Tsp. reef salt, 1 Tbsp. Epsom salt which equals 1 part Baking soda, 1 part reef salt, 3 parts Epsom salt. This works great for me, but you must adjust according to your needs. My water P.h. is 6.6 and very soft. My fish have done very well on this mixture, but as Prov stated, there is a debate on how much to add. I feel safe using the reef salt. I've had saltwater aquarium, and feel that in such a slight dose, there will be no harm to my fish. Who knows.... maybe I'll try some gradual water changes without the reef salt and Epsom salt, and see how my fish do. Save myself some $$$. We are all tightening our belts these days. I sold my saltwater tank for that reason. It was way expensive to keep up!


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> maybe I'll try some gradual water changes without the reef salt and Epsom salt, and see how my fish do.


That's what I did and saw no change in color, breeding, behavior, etc. I'm down to adding a little baking 
soda occasionally just to keep the KH up high enough to keep the pH from crashing. My pH runs about 
7.8, KH about 5-6, and GH about 8. I was fanatical at first about keeping things at the 'ideal' values, but 
never did buy into the reef salt because I couldn't measure the effect of adding it. It seemed after 
reading here for a while that many experienced, successful keepers didn't bother with the additives, so
I started to question and changed my ways. Does save $$ too.


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## phenetrik (Aug 1, 2002)

softak said:


> clouded water can be caused by:
> 1. It is new tank with sand, usually you would have some cloudeness from sand (does not matter if you've cleaned it before)
> Add fine sponge into the filter to catch small particles.
> 
> ...


I completed a full water change yesterday, and added 1 tsp each of bsoda, epsom salt and salt per 8l. I have got pretty good parameters now (PH 8.2, KH 18, GH 22). I'll see how stable that keeps.

However my water is cloudy as ever - a thick white haze. It didn't improve overnight. I'll see how it goes over a couple days.

I don't think it's from the sand, because this is an old tank that I've re-setup and I initially filled the tank part way a few times and thoroughly cleaned the sand and sucked out all the **** until the water stayed clear even after agitating the sand. I've setup a few tanks in the past and never had this issue before.

Just wondering about the bacteria: What would that be caused by? I thought bacteria grow in response to ammonia and nitrites... I don't have anything living in the tank atm...

Thanks for any further suggestions.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> I thought bacteria grow in response to ammonia and nitrites... I don't have anything living in the tank atm...


They do, so there's no cycling or bacteria bloom going on right now.

I'd cut both your GH and KH in half. There's no need for a KH of 18. 8-10 is fine. It just needs to be high 
enough to keep pH stable. I think you'll find 8-10 will keep the pH about 8.2 and stable. There could be 
something that you're adding that's falling out of solution because of the amount that you're adding and 
causing the haziness. I'd get the water parameters handled and stable, and then the tank cycled, and 
lastly worry about hazy water. New tanks go through phases like this that should be ignored. Let things 
settle and see if the haziness goes away.


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## rancherlee (Sep 15, 2008)

I've got Hard tap water with a PH of 6.8, in only takes one Teaspoon of Baking per 5 gallons to get it to 7.8-8.0 in my tank. I also run 10# of crushed coral mixed in the substrate and HOB filters to help buffer the tank.


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## phenetrik (Aug 1, 2002)

Thanks for the suggestions all. Lowering the hardness has helped a bit. Still got a little cloudiness but that should settle as I tweak the parameters a little more and things settle down.


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## Nik Nebber (May 14, 2009)

solid


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## acquario (Feb 7, 2007)

phenetrik,
how are you adding your buffer recipe? I dissolve it in a 5 gallons of water with a power head in it for about 2 days and then add it to my water right before I do the water change, that has definately cut down the cloudiness



phenetrik said:


> softak said:
> 
> 
> > clouded water can be caused by:
> ...


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