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Re: High pH
Mortimer writes:
> Sorry, should have been more specific. I dose with sodium bicarbonate to
> raise the KH, and did so before I was entirely sure what was going on in
the
> tank due to mistrust of my pH controller. My bad...
Well, Duhhh !!!! The KH is a measure of the water's alkaline cabonate ions.
Alkalinity is the water's resistance to low pH, and will in fact nuetralize
your H+ ions, which is what acidity is all about. The higher the KH, the
higher the MINIMUM pH. It can be higher than the limit, but if it is low to
start and you add more bicarbonate, pH will rise to the lower limit
established by the KH. CO2 will drive it lower, because CO2 and water mix to
make carbonic acid, which, if you could get it in a dry form, would be
hydrogen carbonate. So if you want the pH lower, don't dump NaHCO3 in the
water. :-)
Bob