how to increase hardness?

hi all i want to increase hardness in my 55l i would like my ph just a little higher but mainly want to increase hardness ive heard that you should use crushed coral as a substrate but i already have silica sand. ive also heard you can use crushed oyster in filter but i have UG filter also ide like to do something wich dosent take months heard of using bicarbonate of soda but how much? my water is way to soft.

 

How much is too soft? Using coral and oyster shells takes time. I think there is a sera or tetra product out there somewhere.

 

do you have decent test kits to test with ?

 

no our pet shop is tiny so we bring water to local swimming pool shop they test it for us
ill look for a product but i dought ill find one like i said tiny petshop

 

Nowadays you can order almost anything online from the bigger shops and sponsors on this forum and if they are good you will have it within 3-4 days, you should look into this, will also be cheaper than your LFS.

 

i live in secunda 1and a half hours from JNB theres a larger pet store in jnb petmasters. do you think they will have somthing?

 

Hi Fshygirl101

I have some PH - UP and PH - DOWN made by Daro have no idea how it works but you are welcome to have it. ( it got given to me with a bunch of other stuff and i will never use it.) PM me your details and we can make arrangements if you want it. By the way the owner of the LPS in Secunda is prepared to order stuff if she doesn't have what your looking for, you just have to ask.

 

There is a sera product thats available at most petshops its called mineral salt. i use it for my r/o water its easy and works wonders, just takes a while to mix in

 

i know our LPS can order fish, but not products ive orderd fish before, but there mostly not in good health and tend to be far from the most colourful of beautiful. my ph kit includes ph plus and minus so thanks for the offer but i wont need it. thanks for the info guys ill look for mineral salt.

 

Lol was i the only one that had a dirty thought when i saw the title of the thread? Ok serious note, bicarb works well, you must just test a bit and see what dosage you need to raise the kh to the level you require

 

pistol. there are kids on this forum.

and yes, bicarb seems to be the most common way that ive heard of to get your ph up and stable. something like a tiny pinch per liter, but i'm no expert on the subject.

 

She wants to increases hardness, which is akalinity right? Which is kh? when u increase the ph u making something more basic, not harder, so she wants to increase the ph?

 

Simple way is to buy a test kit with buffers or if you can get the buffers alone, then buy it.

TM

 

our LFS has nothing and next time im in JNB is a bit too late. i particularaly want to get my water hard before then. i dont want to use my fish as test subjects to find out how much bicarb its kinda cruel. id use bicarb if i knew how much for 50 liters, anyone know?

 

Where is JNB?

 

johannesburg

 

Oh My ignorance . . . it's usually JHB but hey, you're really creative.

 

no sorry that was my mistake i ment JHB

 

Bicarb is your easiest way of increasing the hardness. Without increasing your hardness you will battle to keep your PH at around 8,2-8,4. You are correct in wanting to use sea shell and coral but the problem is it takes quite some time for them to start leaching out calcium which will be of help. The bicarb allows this to happen immediately. I would suggest you add a good heaped pudding spoon of bicarb to 50l. This would be your initial amount then a couple of monyhs later a heaped teaspoon. This should then allow enough time for the shell and coral to start leaching.

 

Sodium Bicarb will only raise KH 1 teaspoon per 50 L will raise by 4 degrees. To raise GH you will need Calcium Carbonate (Limestone powder available from garden centres) 2 teaspoons will raise Kh & GH by 1 degree. BEST is to get a commercial buffer IMHO as pH , kH & GH (bermuda triangle of water chemistry is interlinked