IS there a way to raise kh w/o raising ph?

Im, having an issue keeping my kh above an 8 but my ph is always 8.4. Is there a way to bring up my kh without blowing my ph way out of proportion? Whjat i was thinking was adding more part 1 (alkalinity) of b ionic and off setting it by adding some seltzer water to the tank to lower the ph.

btw the calcium is at 440

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

baking soda

fishman1069 said:

baking soda

Click to expand...

Research this first. Don't just dump this i your tank.
Generally people bake the baking soda before using it to raise alk.

Seltzer water will lower the pH but will not do anything for Alk. BS will raise the Alk and lower the pH at first. 24 hrs later the pH should be back to normal with a higher Alk. So, your scheme would work. However, are you sure you pH is that high ? Lastly, there is nothing wrong with your Alk it is high than NSW ~ 6.5 dKH. But @ 440 ppm Ca++ a balanced Alk is ~ 11 dKH. And what are you doing to get your pH that high, if it is indeed that high ? Finally, there is nothing wrong with a pH of 8.4.

BBS is used mainly for issues with both low pH and alk.

Once a week ill slurry in some kalk I add what i thought was a corresponding amount of part 1 of b ionic but I guess it wasnt enough. I've been checking my calcium several times a week along with the kh and ph and the the numbers are like i said 8.4 ph calcium 440 and the kh is usually7-8. I would like it to be up around 9-10. If adding the kalk is whats throwing it off Ill stop, but Id rather not if theres a way to balance it out because I do like the reaction Ive been getting from the corals since I started.

Checked my levels this afternoon about three hours into full light cycle kh was 10, calc 420, ph 8.2. So I feel pretty confident being able to suggest seltzer water to off set ph when trying to raise kh using b ionic. There are several sites that can give you the correct dosage if anyone should ever need to do this.

Your real issue here on your high pH is to much kalk. Wen you add kalk it removes CO2 and now you are adding CO2 back in with Seltzer water. Just cut back on the kalk.

I'm gonna bump this for some info.

Does anyone else use baking soda? I've read about it recently and it looks like I can slowly raise alk by using baking soda dissolved in RO/DI water.

What do you thnk they put in those expensive buffers you buy ? It is Baking Soda, NaHCO3, Sodium bicarbonate, usually combined with Washing Soda, Sodium carbonate, NaCO3. We have been using BS for 3 decades. It is often one of the ingredients in DIY 2- parts also. BS raises the Alk with little effect on pH. Bicarbonate is the principal buffer for Seawater.

Why are you so concern with ph?
Ph in reef tank is the least thing that you should worry. Very few people pay attention to ph in salt water though

I had same problem except my alk is 9.6 mag 1370 cal 470 but my ph was 8.48 so i added vinegar is there any problems with adding vinegar?

What makes you think your pH is 8.48. 99% of the time this is due to testing error. Probes often have algae growing on them, where the Alage uses up the CO2 at the probe Algae interface, which raises the pH giving false high pH readings.

mu8st7ang said:

I had same problem except my alk is 9.6 mag 1370 cal 470 but my ph was 8.48 so i added vinegar is there any problems with adding vinegar?

Click to expand...

I agree with Boomer......soak your pH probe in vinegar overnight; rinse real well with RO/DI water; calibrate the probe using pH 7 and pH 10 buffers.....and now test your pH.


If you're a two-part user, for high pH, use baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), and if the pH is on the low side, cook the baking soda at 300 degrees for an hour and use this (now sodium carbonate.)

I recalibrated my probe and it came down some. After I did my w/c today it's about 8.38

But did you clean it ?

No such thing as a pH that high, i.e., 8.38, unless probe has Alage on it, probe is bad, you have massive alage in the tank or your tank is at 5,000 ft altitude. You are higher than the pH equilibrium for your parameters, which is ~ 8.35.

Yes I soaked in vinegar for 5 hours then cleaned

My parameters today alk9.9 cal 470 mag 1500

You need to stop dosing. All your levels are climbing. Whose salt are you using ? With these current parameters your pH could reach 8.38. How did your Calcium stay at 470, Alk went up slightly and your Magnesium jumped from 1370 to 1500. Check the salt mix before you add it to the tank, for Alk, Ca++ and Mg++.

I use red sea pro