# Baking soda and natural buffer



## brycerb (Dec 23, 2007)

My tank is buffered naturaly by my substrate and holey rock, steady at 8.2. I have some barrels that I can use for water changes. My tap water is around neutral. If I buffer the water in the barrels with baking soda to reach 8.2 and then put it in the tank, will it raise higher than 8.2?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> If I buffer the water in the barrels with baking soda to reach 8.2 and then put it in the tank, will it raise higher than 8.2?


No, regardless of how much baking soda you use, it'll max it out at about 8.2.Just bring KH up to about 8-10, and it'll be fine.


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## Hthundar (Apr 10, 2009)

prov356 said:


> No, regardless of how much baking soda you use, it'll max it out at about 8.2.Just bring KH up to about 8-10, and it'll be fine.


So baking soda has a max of 8.2, always?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> So baking soda has a max of 8.2, always?


Somewhere around 8.2-8.4. I've never seen it go over 8.2 myself, no matter the KH value.


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## Hthundar (Apr 10, 2009)

Well I just ran a quick test.

2 cups of water
4 heaping teaspoons of baking soda
API high range pH test kit used

The result came out at 8.0 - 8.2

This is really interesting. I think that I just found my new buffer :thumb:

Now if I could just get those **** nirates down :roll:


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## fishnmaine (May 29, 2008)

Is baking soda safe for fish?? Might of heard this before but you never really hear anybody using it..........how much is to much?


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## Malawi_Junkie (Nov 26, 2009)

I've added baking soda to my tanks for yrs and never had a problem. I usually add about a tspn for every 10gal or so. It is not an exact science, varies by local water conditions. No reason to over-do-it, be sure to test your mixture for results first


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## mg426 (Nov 24, 2009)

Baking soda is very good stuff. But one word of caution. Always monitor your KH when using baking soda. The reason I say this is if you have excess CO2 in your home.(its winter now and typically our homes are closed up sealed tightly) You will most likely never get your PH up and therefore you continue to add baking soda. By having this happen under an excess Co2 situation you can drive your KH through the roof. So Bottom line Test, Test, And Test. Also fresh air can be a big help with PH.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> Is baking soda safe for fish?? Might of heard this before but you never really hear anybody using it..........how much is to much?


Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) really only has one purpose for fish keepers, and that's to raise the KH and pH, and keep the pH stable. If KH gets too low, the pH could drop suddenly and dramatically. A KH range of 8-12 is generally a good range. You won't see values recommended for various species. If you get the KH up in that range, then the pH will generally fall in the 8.0-8.2 range. There's no need IME to aim for specific pH values for fish that like a higher pH. Better to aim for a good KH range, and let the pH fall where it will. It'll be fine and the fish will be fine.

I've never heard of excessive KH being harmful to fish, but I suppose anything in excess could be. Point is, don't go crazy adding baking soda to reach some pH level. Add it to reach a KH level of 8-12 or so.

See more info here.


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