For now, until I figure out what combo is going to stabilize my KH/PH, what is the quickest way to raise my KH from 35-50 to 100? I am afraid of experimenting with BS because I have fish in the tank, and I don't want PH spiking to 9 or more just to get the KH up.

I have tried many things - and the only thing that really worked for me was when I used Florida Crushed Coral as a substrate with about 2 inches or so on the bottom of my 55. I don't want to go back to that, and hope I am not forced to. Our water in FL is too soft. Even out in the pool, where the PH is 8.5, the KH is still only 57.

What I have tried so far is smaller media bags of crushed coral, coral rock, Utah Ice, Limestone rock, Kent RO Right, baking soda, and another mineral source that comes in a bottle (can't remember the name right now).

The PH will be okay for 12 hours, and then it starts to crash. I need something that's going to hold it in-between water changes.

I've been looking around, and right now am considering "Neutral Regulater" from Seachem, but it says it buffers to 7.0 - which makes me think it's not going to be enough unless I overdose some.

Of course I want to take care of this naturally, but I'm thinking my concentrations are not high enough to make a difference. For example, I'm trying to add single coral rocks or utah ice, and one large media bag of crushed coral, when I should probably be using several pounds of crushed coral and several rocks each. But aethetically, it's not what I'm trying to achieve. Geesh, I put in a 20 lb. solid limestone rock in my 55g, and my PH still tried to crash on me!

My water is being very difficult, and I need a miracle worker right now. Ideally, I'd like a product that just adjusts the alkalinity and doesn't do much else. Is Baking Soda going to be the best solution for me right now? I noticed that the PH gets up to 8 really quick by adding BS, and I am still 7-10 degrees away from a 100 KH.

Found it! Alkaline Buffer by Seachem. I talked to them, and that seems to be the miracle I am looking for. Just gotta do gradual changes so the Ph doesn't go up too rapidly.

Finally!!!

Will it affect the pH?? The buffer I bought caused a spike.

Yes, it will....which is why it must be done gradually. I got the conversion rate from a Seachem tech today, but have it written down somewhere else. But because I have soft water, it won't hold the PH anyway, so I need the KH/PH booster simultaneously. I'll do some tests in my other tanks before trying it with the fish to make sure I get the dosages correct the first time.

Lola, my Buff it Up maintains my pH constantly to where I raise it to(7.2-7.4) with no dips or spikes whatsoever. It also raises my KH. It may be glorified Arm & Hammer as you say, lol but whatever is that secret glorifying ingredient is, makes it much more stable than baking soda.

I need my PH closer to 7.8-7.9, and I need to raise my KH from 35-57, so it's a good jump. I think this product I found will work out fine. I'll let ya know hon!

Why do you need the pH so high?

The amount of buff it up that raised my pH from 6.8 to 7.2 also raised my KH from about 30 to about 80. If I raised the pH to 7.9, I would think the KH would rise even more(maybe 150?).

To clarify, my current KH is that range, and I want it at 100 or so.It's not high. I have blackies, remember?

wow, thats what i need, for some reason my 80g tank went down to 6.2ph and I have high gh 350 dont know what happened when I changed tanks but this stuff looks like what I need. Good find hun

Lola, Seachem also make Gold Buffer specifically designed for the needs of goldfish. It buffers between 7.2 - 7.6. Probably more suitable for most people with goldies but doesn't raise it high enough for your specifications.

It works by the way. A little too good. I have to figure out the right dosage to keep it just under 8. I am experimenting with it. Once the PH gets to where you want it, it stays roughly in that range - but not sure for how long yet.