Question on buffer combination

[ilovedot]

Since no one posts here at all, this is a question for the seachem tech or techs.

I have blood parrot cichlids in my tank and currently my tap water reading is 8.2ph. I'm aiming for a ph from 7.0-7.5. I see that Seachem carries (South am. cichlid. buffer 4.5+) which can be used with the (South am. cichlid buffer 7.0) in order to maintain a ph of anywhere in between there depending on the ratio of buffers added.

Before reading all this I had already bought (Seachem's Neutral Regulator) which does nothing when added in any amount in my 37 gallon tank. But when added to a one gallon bucket of fresh tapwater it lowers to 7.6ph or so which proves to me it works.

Thats just to give you some info. but my real question is can I use the (South American Cichlid 4.5+ buffer) to lower it to 7.0pH and THEN occasionally add (Seachem's Neutral Regulator) and if so will that work well?

Or is it better and more practical to use the South American Cichlid buffer 7.0 with the 4.5+ buffer which are made to work with one another?

And lastly would my already purchased Neutral Regulator work just the same with Acid Regulator as both those South American Seachem buffers do together?

I know that was long but I wanted to make sure you knew what I was trying to get at, and thanks in advance for any replies.

[Tech Support CH]

Re: Question on buffer combination

You will be fine using Neutral Regulator. South American Cichlid Buffer and Neutral Regulator are both phosphate buffers that buffer to 7.0. I would not recommend the use of South American Cichlid Buffer 4.5+ or Acid Regulator to try to achieve a pH of 7.0. If you have an existing bicarbonate based buffering system in your water then it will take a lot of any of these buffers to overcome the buffering system already in place. You can test your existing bicarbonate buffering by testing your KH (Carbonate Hardness) of your water. Neutral Regulator is virtually impossible to overdose and has the added benefit of removing chlorine, chloramine, ammonia, and softening water (pulling out excess calcium and magnesium).

There are two ways to achieve a 7.0 pH in your situation: 1) Simply use enough Neutral Regulator to overcome the existing buffering system or 2) Use our Acid Buffer to dissolve some or all of your existing bicarbonate based buffering system so it will be easier to establish a phosphate based buffering system with Neutral Regulator. All that basically has to happen is to use enough of a phosphate based buffer to overpower your existing buffering system. Once Neutral Regulators phosphate based buffering system is established, it has the ability to hold pH at 7.0 for up to a month.