General Care Discussion :: baking soda??

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 6:18 pm   baking soda??

Some guy at the pet store told me that baking soda will help get rid of the ph in the water?? will it harm the turtles in any way? replies would be greatly appreciated... :)
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freshprince2146
 
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Post Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 10:10 pm   

You can't get rid of pH. pH is a measurement of acidity. All baking soda would do is make the more basic.
I wouldnt recommend throwing in baking soda into the tank water with the turtles in it. I'm not sure what effects it would have on them, but the only time you would ever use baking soda in your tank is to clean off any hard water stains on the tank, when the tank is empty.
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Post Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 11:29 am   

i never tried that. baking soda seems more of a disinfectant. id only use it for cleaning but with them in there...sounds kinda harmful

i wouldnt want baking soda in my water.
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blackforces get you
 
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Post Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 11:38 pm   

that guy at your local pet store sounds like an idiot, i wouldnt put baking soda in my turtles tank, ph is a scale measuring from acidic-neutral-basic, maybe he should go back to middle school lol
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Post Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 9:15 am   

^lol..thanks guys and girls....
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freshprince2146
 
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Post Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 9:43 am   

What is your pH level currently at? Normal water is around 7, but can range from 5.5-8.5 depending on your water source. Turtles are very tolerant of a wide range of pH.

There are natural ways to alter your pH level. Look up aquarium guides for changing it. It seems to lower your pH, you can add peat or a piece of aquarium wood, and to raise it, you can add sea shells or coral.
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TheComputerGremlin
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Post Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 1:01 pm   

what a bunch of haters, the guy is not an idiot, baking soda additives are used to increase KH levels or carbonate hardness which is beneficial to certain types of aquarium set ups, RES are not particularly sensitive to pH, KH, or GH levels, unless you have plants and fish are these important to keep track of

http://www.dataguru.org/misc/aquarium/calKH.asp
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Post Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 4:58 pm   

I've personally never heard of adding baking soda to water of any animal so I can't give an opinion. I trust those who did research.
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Post Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 1:04 pm   

This much I know - baking soda (or sodium bicarbonate) does in fact help neutralize pH. This is why some people use it for acid reflux. However, I do not know what effect it would have on a turtle.
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vear
 
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Post Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:10 pm   

S&M NYC - I will only speak for myself but the title of “idiot” is a well deserving title that most of the sales people at many pet stores have bestowed upon themselves. Baking soda may work in raising the PH but you can over do anything. The title of hater does not fit on this occasion. You have to look out for the turtle and if a little baking soda works a lot will be better!? Most on here have the turtles health in mind. Good Luck to you!
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Post Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 1:33 am   

mike hill wrote:S&M NYC - I will only speak for myself but the title of “idiot” is a well deserving title that most of the sales people at many pet stores have bestowed upon themselves. Baking soda may work in raising the PH but you can over do anything. The title of hater does not fit on this occasion. You have to look out for the turtle and if a little baking soda works a lot will be better!? Most on here have the turtles health in mind. Good Luck to you!

Not all pet store workers are "idiots", and how did they give that title to themselves? Their job is to sell you stuff and not to have infinite knowledge about animals.Any advice given is in pure customer courtesy.It's up to you to take the advice or not. I don't see zoologist working at petco, but kids trying to make some extra cash. Is that the person to trust with your beloved pet?
Just like this forum.....You think everybody gives great advice? I don't think so.You weed out the nonsense and you break it down to what "might" be good advice.
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Post Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 2:59 am   

I've read on other turtle forums that adding a small amount of baking soda to a tank can help lower the PH, so yes, it's not unheard of.

Baking soda is often used in foot baths/skin soaks, so I don't think it'd be harmful to your turtle in small amounts.
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Post Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:58 am   

Gwen & jozz = Gwen - Baking soda is a base and it raises the PH and does not lower it.. Anything lower than 7 on the PH scale is acid and everything over 7 is base.

Jozz- I did not say all were idiots just most. When these “kids trying to make some extra cash”, they don’t give good advice about turtle care consequently the owner will take the poor or lethal advice and harm the turtle. I have had turtles for almost 30 years and have stopped in a lot of pet stores across the country and 99.0% don’t have a clue about what a turtle needs. The only thing they know for certain is where the bathroom is and when pay day is.
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Post Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 12:54 pm   

Actually, if your pH is really high, baking soda will lower it. It is an excellent buffer and usually maintains the pH at around 8.
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vear
 
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Post Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 1:38 am   

mike hill wrote:Gwen & jozz = Gwen - Baking soda is a base and it raises the PH and does not lower it.. Anything lower than 7 on the PH scale is acid and everything over 7 is base.



That's what I meant XD Long day + no sleep = mistakes, yes? lol.

But my point was - baking soda in small amounts is not dangerous as far as I know ^^
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