Shell Grit

[goldfish]

hey guys,,,does Shell Grit increase the KH?.....anyone tried it before?

[axl]

Hey,
thats wierd because i was just going to put a post on the exactly same question then. Today i added some shellgrit myself from advice from a member and they said it stabilize your ph and buffers your kh meaning it increases. I also want to no of someone how much does your kh increase so i can make adjustments to my co2. Anyone no?????
cheers axl

[goldfish]

i am goin to put a cup full into some sort of bag, or maybe i'll get a stocking from somewhere and put this cup full into it!,,,and then just let it sit in the water for a day and then measure the Kh to see if theres any changes in my tank water!!

[lesley]

I usually use oyster shells. I an thinking of using a proprietary kH product by
"aqua pics" because I cannot get my kH above 35 ppm without increasing the pH considerably over 7, using the shells.

Although in theory, the use of shell grit or oyster shells, should cause fluctuations in carbonate hardness, my discus have been happy so the water must be reasonably stable.

If you have unstable water, you should definitely try the shell grit while you decide whether or not to continue with it. For me I have the same amount of oyster shells in the 683 discus planted tank to achieve the same results as the same amount of shells in a 250 litre tank which had Uarus who ate all the plant life and the tank had mainly driftwood and gravel/sand in it.

So I think you will need to experiment with amounts to find out what you need for your tank

HTH, Lesley

[axl]

i put 2 cups in my 280ltr t days ago and it has rissen my kh from 40ppm to 60ppm which is great

[Proteus]

Coral bone is great as well for increasing and maintaining a stable KH & pH