Raising pH with baking soda?

[side19]

I read an article stating it was safe to raise the pH of tank with house hold baking soda. this makes sense since baking soda is a basic substance, but is it really safe for fish? and if so how much per day to slowly raise the pH up to about 7.6 or 7.8?

[Pufferpunk]

This will not hold the pH steady--fluctuating pH is worse than low pH. Using a substrate like crushed coral or aragonite is a much better idea for BW.

[side19]

ok thanks. i had a feeling it wouldn't be able to keep it stable, but i was still wondering if it was safe or not. not planning on using it myself, I'm looking into getting some crushed coral and sprinkling it over the bottom.

[Nick]

if you water is very low right out of the tap and you have a buffering agent like the crushed coral in the tank already, you can use baking soda in the new water during high volume changes as a temporary holding agent, since the CC will do it's thing rapidly and replace the baking soda as it fades from use, but on it's own it's quite dangerous, completely undependable as PP says. Spreading crushed coral on the bottom is OK, but it's much better to put a small sack of it in your filter.