# Raising pH with baking soda?



## ang1329

*Is baking soda a safe way to raise pH in an African Cichlid tank?*​
Yes3191.18%No38.82%


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## ang1329

I have read on other sites that you can raise the lH with baking soda which makes sense when looking at the chemical and what not but I want to know if it's safe and effective. If I were to use it how much should I put in and will it affect my mbuna. I don't want to put it in with out knowledge that's why I'm hoping others can let me know. I understand I could go buy the pH up and down at an LFS but I'm cheap amd baking soda is in the house. Of this is safe or recommended; let me know your side of using this. Thank you.


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## Rialb30

Give this article a read....
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/buffer_recipe.php


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## Ron R.

I add it to my 180g with my 50% weekly water change using the buffer recipe already referenced. Been using it for over 5 years now in my wc moba tank.


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## ang1329

Thank you that was very helpful. I'll have to try that. Cichlid forum is the one site I always trust.


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## fish_addiction

Ok,

So I have a related question: Will adding the baking soda raise the Carbonate Hardness (KH) in my tank? PH out of the tap is 8.1 (Same in my tank), so I have just been adding Cichlid Lake Salt to adjust the General Hardness (GH) to appropriate levels, but the KH is low at approximately 161.1 or 9 :-?


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## noddy

fish_addiction said:


> Ok,
> 
> So I have a related question: Will adding the baking soda raise the Carbonate Hardness (KH) in my tank? PH out of the tap is 8.1 (Same in my tank), so I have just been adding Cichlid Lake Salt to adjust the General Hardness (GH) to appropriate levels, but the KH is low at approximately 161.1 or 9 :-?


Yes, that's exactly what the baking soda does.


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## demonsoni

I never used it until about 3 weeks ago. My pH went up about 1, and alkalinity is very high.


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## BillD

I would suggest that if you are using Great Lakes water, it isn't necessary.


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## fish_addiction

BillD said:


> I would suggest that if you are using Great Lakes water, it isn't necessary.


Great Lakes water is kinda hard to get ahold of in Texas :lol:

Thanks for the responses. I am going to expirement with the buffer recipe (Not in my tank) and see what happens. The store-bought stuff is getting expensive.


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## Heyguy74

fish_addiction said:


> Ok,
> 
> So I have a related question: Will adding the baking soda raise the Carbonate Hardness (KH) in my tank? PH out of the tap is 8.1 (Same in my tank), so I have just been adding Cichlid Lake Salt to adjust the General Hardness (GH) to appropriate levels, but the KH is low at approximately 161.1 or 9 :-?


A kh of 9 deg is fine. You probably dont have to add anything to your water. What is your GH?


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## BillD

fish_addiction said:


> BillD said:
> 
> 
> 
> I would suggest that if you are using Great Lakes water, it isn't necessary.
> 
> 
> 
> Great Lakes water is kinda hard to get ahold of in Texas :lol:
> 
> Thanks for the responses. I am going to expirement with the buffer recipe (Not in my tank) and see what happens. The store-bought stuff is getting expensive.
Click to expand...

Sorry. I went by the first response, which was from Chicago. Is the Texas water soft? I was under the impression it was not.


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## fish_addiction

No Texas water is pretty hard. GH and KH from the tap are around 8-9, and PH is 8.1.


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## Rhinox

fish_addiction said:


> No Texas water is pretty hard. GH and KH from the tap are around 8-9, and PH is 8.1.


you're fine without buffer for rift lake cichlids.

The OP is probably just fine without buffers as well with lake michigan water. remember that unless your fish fish is wild caught, the water its swimming in in the fish store down the street is probably the same as the water coming out of your tap.


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## Glaneon

Doesn't mean it's optimal for fish coloration and health long term.

Fish stores rarely care cause they dont plan on keeping them that long! For that many tanks/size of system it would be too expensive to try and keep a separate water system for pH specific fish.

They do one system for fresh and one for salt.


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## Broady247

I have read the article on the baking soda about a year ago and thought then my buffers weren't that expensive. Well now my tank has turned into tanks. This never happened with my salt setup?

I am willing to give this a go. I would like some help / input from people that have changed from seachem buffers to this. Currently I mix up a 220 liter barrel adding 4 teaspoons of cichlid lake salt and 3 teaspoons of Malawi buffer. This gives me a PH 8.2, GH 12, KH 9. Off your experience how much (salt,M salt, & bi carb) would be needed per 220L?


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## KaiserSousay

*The OP is probably just fine without buffers as well with lake michigan water. remember that unless your fish fish is wild caught, the water its swimming in in the fish store down the street is probably the same as the water coming out of your tap.*

Thank you.
Might just save some people from mucking about with their water.
With the bulk of fish available coming from U.S. based farms and the zeal of the new fish keeper to make everything perfect, a goodly number of fish are now adjusting to an environment they haven`t been in for generations.
Good thing these are tough little buggers, for the most part.
They can handle a pretty wide range of water chemistry as long as it is stable.


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