Baking soda in cichlid tank!!

['nutherBob]

Tonight I cleaned my 29 gal tank. The kid decided he would try to get the
mineral deposit off of the glass that covers the light hood with baking
soda. He carefully rubbed and got it all off, rinsed it two or three times
to where the glass was squeaky clean. When I put the hood back on the tank
some of the water in the frame around the hood evidently still had some of
the baking soda on it. It seems to be adhereing to the side of the tank
glass, a very think coat of it.

Is this going to endanger my fish? I see none on the gravel or rocks, and
the fish are up to their usual "gimme da food" looks on their faces, plus
playing around quite comically. I'm just wondering about any long term
effects.

Any ideas as to what I should do or how it's going to affect my fish?

'nutherBob << and no, the white stuff on my hands ain't dope.

[Cichlidiot]

'nutherBob > wrote:
> Tonight I cleaned my 29 gal tank. The kid decided he would try to get the
> mineral deposit off of the glass that covers the light hood with baking
> soda. He carefully rubbed and got it all off, rinsed it two or three times
> to where the glass was squeaky clean. When I put the hood back on the tank
> some of the water in the frame around the hood evidently still had some of
> the baking soda on it. It seems to be adhereing to the side of the tank
> glass, a very think coat of it.

> Is this going to endanger my fish? I see none on the gravel or rocks, and
> the fish are up to their usual "gimme da food" looks on their faces, plus
> playing around quite comically. I'm just wondering about any long term
> effects.

> Any ideas as to what I should do or how it's going to affect my fish?

> 'nutherBob << and no, the white stuff on my hands ain't dope.


Baking soda is commonly the main (and usually only) ingredient in pH up
products. It will raise the carbonate hardness (KH) of your water, which
will typically raise the pH. KH is vital for maintaining buffering
capacity of your water for a stable pH. Baking soda in and of itself is
not toxic, however, it can have negative effects on the tanks if too much
is added at once under certain circumstances. If your water has very low
KH, the sudden addition of too much baking soda can cause the KH to rise,
which will also cause the pH to rise and basically cause a form of "old
tank syndrome" (search this term if you're unfamiliar with it). However,
if the tank is well maintained to prevent the preconditions for old tank
syndrome or the amount of baking soda added is small, then you have very
little to worry about. In fact, adding small amounts of baking soda on a
regular basis is done by some who have tap water with low KH.

It's hard to tell how much baking soda you're talking about here from your
description. What exactly do you mean by a thick coat of the substance?
Baking soda is pretty dissolvable in water so I'm having trouble
visualizing what's going on. If the amount is less than a teaspoon or two,
then you probably are fine unless your tank has very low KH and/or pH. As
with many things, it's all about the dosage when it comes to determining
risk.

Your biggest dangers from adding too much baking soda are stress caused by
a sudden pH spike and/or ammonia poisoning caused by old tank syndrome
(related to a pH spike). To be on the safe side, monitor the pH and
ammonia. If those appear to be okay, then the amount of baking soda was
probably safe. I suspect that, unless a whole lot of baking soda was used
in cleaning the hood, the residual amount entering your tank will be okay.

['nutherBob]

Thanks for the info Cichlidiot.

"Thick" meant "hysteria" to me :) I would venture to say that it was less
than a teaspoon since I was the one who measure it onto the glass top when
they used it.

I did a pH and ammonia test this morning, all is well, and my little pals
were all there to greet me when I got up this morning.

Thanks again so much.

'nutherBob

"Cichlidiot" > wrote in message
...
> 'nutherBob > wrote:
> > Tonight I cleaned my 29 gal tank. The kid decided he would try to get
the
> > mineral deposit off of the glass that covers the light hood with baking
> > soda. He carefully rubbed and got it all off, rinsed it two or three
times
> > to where the glass was squeaky clean. When I put the hood back on the
tank
> > some of the water in the frame around the hood evidently still had some
of
> > the baking soda on it. It seems to be adhereing to the side of the tank
> > glass, a very think coat of it.
>
> > Is this going to endanger my fish? I see none on the gravel or rocks,
and
> > the fish are up to their usual "gimme da food" looks on their faces,
plus
> > playing around quite comically. I'm just wondering about any long term
> > effects.
>
> > Any ideas as to what I should do or how it's going to affect my fish?
>
> > 'nutherBob << and no, the white stuff on my hands ain't dope.
>
>
> Baking soda is commonly the main (and usually only) ingredient in pH up
> products. It will raise the carbonate hardness (KH) of your water, which
> will typically raise the pH. KH is vital for maintaining buffering
> capacity of your water for a stable pH. Baking soda in and of itself is
> not toxic, however, it can have negative effects on the tanks if too much
> is added at once under certain circumstances. If your water has very low
> KH, the sudden addition of too much baking soda can cause the KH to rise,
> which will also cause the pH to rise and basically cause a form of "old
> tank syndrome" (search this term if you're unfamiliar with it). However,
> if the tank is well maintained to prevent the preconditions for old tank
> syndrome or the amount of baking soda added is small, then you have very
> little to worry about. In fact, adding small amounts of baking soda on a
> regular basis is done by some who have tap water with low KH.
>
> It's hard to tell how much baking soda you're talking about here from your
> description. What exactly do you mean by a thick coat of the substance?
> Baking soda is pretty dissolvable in water so I'm having trouble
> visualizing what's going on. If the amount is less than a teaspoon or two,
> then you probably are fine unless your tank has very low KH and/or pH. As
> with many things, it's all about the dosage when it comes to determining
> risk.
>
> Your biggest dangers from adding too much baking soda are stress caused by
> a sudden pH spike and/or ammonia poisoning caused by old tank syndrome
> (related to a pH spike). To be on the safe side, monitor the pH and
> ammonia. If those appear to be okay, then the amount of baking soda was
> probably safe. I suspect that, unless a whole lot of baking soda was used
> in cleaning the hood, the residual amount entering your tank will be okay.

[Kodiak]

Anyone have a link on "old tank syndrome" ?
For a 100 gallon tank, would 1tblspoon of baking soda be too much
and risk getting old tank syndrome?
....Kodiak

"'nutherBob" > wrote in message
. com...
> Thanks for the info Cichlidiot.
>
> "Thick" meant "hysteria" to me :) I would venture to say that it was less
> than a teaspoon since I was the one who measure it onto the glass top when
> they used it.
>
> I did a pH and ammonia test this morning, all is well, and my little pals
> were all there to greet me when I got up this morning.
>
> Thanks again so much.
>
> 'nutherBob
>
> "Cichlidiot" > wrote in message
> ...
> > 'nutherBob > wrote:
> > > Tonight I cleaned my 29 gal tank. The kid decided he would try to get
> the
> > > mineral deposit off of the glass that covers the light hood with
baking
> > > soda. He carefully rubbed and got it all off, rinsed it two or three
> times
> > > to where the glass was squeaky clean. When I put the hood back on the
> tank
> > > some of the water in the frame around the hood evidently still had
some
> of
> > > the baking soda on it. It seems to be adhereing to the side of the
tank
> > > glass, a very think coat of it.
> >
> > > Is this going to endanger my fish? I see none on the gravel or rocks,
> and
> > > the fish are up to their usual "gimme da food" looks on their faces,
> plus
> > > playing around quite comically. I'm just wondering about any long
term
> > > effects.
> >
> > > Any ideas as to what I should do or how it's going to affect my fish?
> >
> > > 'nutherBob << and no, the white stuff on my hands ain't dope.
> >
> >
> > Baking soda is commonly the main (and usually only) ingredient in pH up
> > products. It will raise the carbonate hardness (KH) of your water, which
> > will typically raise the pH. KH is vital for maintaining buffering
> > capacity of your water for a stable pH. Baking soda in and of itself is
> > not toxic, however, it can have negative effects on the tanks if too
much
> > is added at once under certain circumstances. If your water has very low
> > KH, the sudden addition of too much baking soda can cause the KH to
rise,
> > which will also cause the pH to rise and basically cause a form of "old
> > tank syndrome" (search this term if you're unfamiliar with it). However,
> > if the tank is well maintained to prevent the preconditions for old tank
> > syndrome or the amount of baking soda added is small, then you have very
> > little to worry about. In fact, adding small amounts of baking soda on a
> > regular basis is done by some who have tap water with low KH.
> >
> > It's hard to tell how much baking soda you're talking about here from
your
> > description. What exactly do you mean by a thick coat of the substance?
> > Baking soda is pretty dissolvable in water so I'm having trouble
> > visualizing what's going on. If the amount is less than a teaspoon or
two,
> > then you probably are fine unless your tank has very low KH and/or pH.
As
> > with many things, it's all about the dosage when it comes to determining
> > risk.
> >
> > Your biggest dangers from adding too much baking soda are stress caused
by
> > a sudden pH spike and/or ammonia poisoning caused by old tank syndrome
> > (related to a pH spike). To be on the safe side, monitor the pH and
> > ammonia. If those appear to be okay, then the amount of baking soda was
> > probably safe. I suspect that, unless a whole lot of baking soda was
used
> > in cleaning the hood, the residual amount entering your tank will be
okay.
>
>

[Sandy]

Kodiak wrote:
> Anyone have a link on "old tank syndrome" ?
> For a 100 gallon tank, would 1tblspoon of baking soda be too much
> and risk getting old tank syndrome?
> ...Kodiak
>

Is this what you are looking for?

http://www.bestfish.com/oldtank.html


--
Don`t Worry, Be Happy

Sandy
--

E-Mail:-
Website:- http://www.ftscotland.co.uk
IRC:- Sandyb in #rabble uk3.arcnet.vapor.com Port:6667
#Rabble Channel Website:- http://www.ftscotland.co.uk/rabbled
ICQ : 41266150

[Kodiak]

Thank you very much Sandy, exactly what I was looking for.
....Kodiak

"Sandy" > wrote in message
...
> Kodiak wrote:
> > Anyone have a link on "old tank syndrome" ?
> > For a 100 gallon tank, would 1tblspoon of baking soda be too much
> > and risk getting old tank syndrome?
> > ...Kodiak
> >
>
> Is this what you are looking for?
>
> http://www.bestfish.com/oldtank.html
>
>
> --
> Don`t Worry, Be Happy
>
> Sandy
> --
>
> E-Mail:-
> Website:- http://www.ftscotland.co.uk
> IRC:- Sandyb in #rabble uk3.arcnet.vapor.com Port:6667
> #Rabble Channel Website:- http://www.ftscotland.co.uk/rabbled
> ICQ : 41266150
>
>