Ph buffer question

[Marke86]

Well my tank finaly finshed cycling after adding 10 more pounds of live rock a week ago. So I went and got my first fish "ocellaris" so my question is my fish going to eat my ph buffer when it is still disolving? It seems like a dumb question to me but im kinda worried about it.
Thanks

 

[fishbait]

allways mix the buffer in a cup of fresh water before adding to the tank. do this will all chemicals that are dosed. then dose in front of a powerhead or in the sump to distribute it throughout the tank. adding it directly to the tank can cause a localized ph spike that could harm the fish.

 

[Rcpilot]

I use SeaChem Reef Buffer all the time to dose my pH. I put about 1 quart of RO water in a gallon pitcher and then add the powder. Swirl for a few minutes to mix it up. Then pour is SLOWLY in front of a powerhead to disperse it.

I have even used a piece of aquarium tubing to siphon 1/2 gallon of RO top off water and pH buffer into my tank. You can get a little clamp to slow the flow down to a little more than a drip. It takes an hour or more to get it all into the tank. Kind of overkill for just topping off and adding a bit of pH buffer. But if you needed to make a radical change in pH or ALK, you could mix up a gallon of RO water and the buffer. Siphon it in with airline tubing and a clamp to make it go in slow. I'll bet you could slow it down to 3 or 4hrs.

 

[Marke86]

what if if I used a gallon pitcher then used a sciphon hose from the pitcher to the tank?

 

[yote]

what if if I used a gallon pitcher then used a sciphon hose from the pitcher to the tank?

That will work just fine.

I generally mix mine in a cup of RO water then pour it into the overflow.Seems to work pretty good for my tank so far.

 

[Doc]

I have never had a fish eat anything that was not food. they will swim up to anything that moves, but then they tend to swim away when it doesn't look like something edible

-Doc

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

My chromis will taste test any particles in the water... salt creep, calcium, mag, anything. if it's not food they spit it out. I usually mix my pH in half a gallon bucket and then pour it into my filter sock to strain any larger particles not yet mixed. Whatever is left will dissolve on it's own.

 

[fatman]

Anything that is going to raise your pH or alkalinity should be dripped into tank or preferably a sump. Precipitaion of calcium carbonate can be caused by rapid changes in pH and/or especially Alkalinity. Rapid large changes can actually cause precipitation heavy enough to look like snowfall in side your tank.