# Seachem Acid Buffer



## Ukrainetz (Jul 11, 2007)

rountreesj said:


> My question is would Seachem's Acid Buffer help me reach a proper ph, gh, and kh for a planted aquarium, or should i use peat or some other some other chemical. RO is not an option right now as i'm already getting ready toburn my wallet on pressurized co2.


Seachem Acid Buffer would make your situation *even worse*. You have way too much buffering. Do not add any buffers or anything to the tank. Read this post I started, and you will find that GH and KH is a thing of the past! 
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/algae/49290-quite-emergency.html
Unless your test kit is being affected by something else, your situation is not good and very stressful to the fish. I know phosphate affects certain test kits like co2. You can use resins (water softener pillow) to reduce hardness, but its very impractical. The best way to reduce hardness is to do water changes. Now *IF* your tap water *IS* the cause of the problem, you NEED an RO filter. I would say hold off on the co2 system, and stop wasting money on those Seachem ferts. Buy dry ferts from Rex Grigg, that shall save you a lot of money. A decent RO unit will cost around 150. Look through the post above, and you'll find all the info on the dry ferts, GH, KH and pH. 

Now if the cause of the problem is not the tap, I guess it could be that you're dosing too much fertilizer and it is accumulating. Those trace elements are meant to remain in small amounts, so ease down on the dosing. Also try to inject more co2 (what are your levels now?). Correct me if I'm wrong


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

i do plan on getting dry ferts as soon as i run out of sechem, i got them because i wanted an all-round fert...then i realized how expensive it becomes. i was just wondering if a buffer would help. my plnts are growing fine...just slow sometimes... and the slow growers and stargrass have picked up in quality, i just wondered if fixing the kh and gh would cause faster plant growth. I do 25% water changes biweekly, so maybe i'm overdosing something...although i don't dose micros...just potasium, iron, and flourish. because my diy system fluctuates, my co2 levels change dramatically from 20-30 or so ppm... the reason for pressurized co2 is for a more consistant production and less maintenance. plus RO seems a little complicated for me at this point and i still live at home with the parents so i cant practically run a pipe through the floor from the basement.


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## Ukrainetz (Jul 11, 2007)

Good, get those ferts. Test your water for hardness, ph, nitrate, etc. If you have hard water, there is really nothing you can do other than RO. An idea could be for you to install the RO in the basement, and have it fill up a holding tank, and maybe even run up a line to the kitchen for drinking water (maybe even get the parents to pay for it ). 

Acid buffer wont help much. I know it says on the bottle it converts Alkalinity into co2....sounds a little far fetched. Plus do you really want crazy chemistry going on inside your tank? You've already got crazy TDS levels in your tank, and AB will just add to that. If you're ever going to keep fish (if you already dont) you'll need to fix this problem.


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

i will probably try to do more frequent water changes and monitor my fertilizing closer, because more than likely what has occured is an accumulation of hard water minerals due to replacement of evaporated water...that is how i used to do water changes...yeah i know inexperience... but hopefully i can do several water changes per week for a while and maybe that will help. I have a more recent setup and it has better perameters which tells me that somewhere along the way something i did was wrong. I would like to use RO as the last resort because of the cost, hassle, mechanics, etc. plus its just one more thing to work into the endless schedule of aquarium maintanance.


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## Ukrainetz (Jul 11, 2007)

I completely agree. RO is not necessary for the planted tank unless your water is bad. I'm blessed with good water (knock on wood), the same doesn't go for Tusk for example. However read up that post I sent you a link from previously, and you'll realize you can just let the ph, gh, and kh take their own course. No baking soda, no seachem acid or alkaline buffer. Just water changes, fertilizers, and co2 is all you need. Also careful on dosing dechlorinators...I know people are tempted to easily overdo them, since they think more is better...its not. Put in what it says on the bottle, and you're all set.


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

well... i dont even use declorinators... and (now) i perform up to 50% water changes weekly... without declorinators, and my fish and plants seem unaffected by it. but my slow plant growth could have been because before this month i didnt dose ferts on a high light co2 tank...thanks considerably for your help so far.


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## Ukrainetz (Jul 11, 2007)

Be careful adding tap straight up. You're simply lucky that most of the chlorine evaporates by the time it reaches you. I have the same thing, but instead of testing for chlorine every water change, I simply add a few drops of NovAqua per bucket for safety (much cheaper than the test kit). You never know what comes out of your faucet, and one day it might cause a catastrophe. Or you could let the water sit overnight in a bucket for the Cl to evaporate... you choose! Good Luck


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