Using Oyster Shells to raise ph

[Greg Leary]

Hello,

I have an African Cichlid tank with a wet/dry system. In the
wet/dry I have pet store crushed oyster shells which have helped to
raise the pH. My question is this: is there any harm in using discarded
oyster shells in the wet/dry to increase the pH? Of course, I have
boiled these non-crushed oyster shells (the aroma of the boiling shells
was and continues to be awful) to "purify" them. Once they are cleaned,
I have no plans to crush them, instead, I'll just throw them in the
wet/dry. Also, do you think these shells will be effective in raising
my pH (I want to achieve a pH of 9.0; my current 110 gallon's pH is
about 8.35)? A total of 24 oyster shell halves will go into the wet/dry
assuming no problems with this. Please give me your thoughts on this
and thank you in advance.
--
Sincerely,

Greg Leary (electronically signed)

[Indy's mom]

Hi Greg. I'm no expert but I love to eat raw oysters and always ask for a
doggy bag for the shells (yes, the waitress looks at me realllllly funny). I
also boil and scrub them and toss them in my tank. Haven't had any problems.

Now-you guys that are experts and I know you are out there, are we doing
anything wrong?

[Klaus]

No, you're doing nothing wrong...
If you make sure all the rests of the oysters (including the foot of
the muscle that keeps the shell shut, sorry i couldn't find another
way to describe it ;-) they will be a good substitute for crushed
coral.
However i would recommend to crush them anyway for a simple
logical reason. The oyster shells dissolve in the water and the
bigger the contact area is the better... figure out what bigger
contact you have when they are crushed. That's why crushed
coral works so fine...
One last remark: the oystershells won't raise your ph, it will just
maintain your ph at a higher rate (it only dissolves calcium in
your water like crushed coral does).
This last remark is only my opinion as i never used oystershells
alone without a cichlid salt...
HTH
Klaus

Indy's mom wrote in message <3516804E...@earthlink.net>...

[b...@erss.sd83.bc.ca]

The best thing to do is buy crushed oyster shell from your
local feed store. It is used for chickens and is dirt cheap.
I use it in all my tanks and it keeps my ph high and stable.
It's probably a good idea to boil it first but I usually just
rinse it.

In article <6f632u$3ob$1...@news3.Belgium.EU.net>,

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