I know adding shells to a tank increases the ph but what about live snails does that increase the ph?

Question

I know adding shells to a tank increases the ph but what about live snails does that increase the ph?

Answer 1

I wouldn't add snails to your tank unless you want a tank full of them! They populate worse than rabbits or convict fish!

I'm not sure how to increase the ph in your tank. It's been a long time since I had them.

Answer 2

No, adding snails will not increase the pH. Interesting logic though.

The reason that crushed coral / oyster shells / other shells increase the pH is because they dissolve below certain pH levels. As you might imagine, a living creature is not going to let its shell dissolve in a similar manner (unless your pH is so low that your tank is basically battery acid.)

To raise pH you can put a handful of crushed coral or crushed oystershell in your filter, but this is more a long-term preventive measure (in case of a pH crash).

If your pH is low coming out of the tap, you might consider buffering with baking soda. You can calculate how much BS you need to add with this calculator:

http://www.dataguru.org/misc/aquarium/ca...

If you have any questions and this is a freshwater tank, you might consider posting in the Tanks and Water Quality forum here:

http://thegab.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=...

Where they can help you calculate how much crushed coral you'd need for your tank specifics and how much BS you need (if the calculator is a little intimidating!).

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

I have had my 4 gold mystery snails for a few weeks now, they have never increased the ph.

Hope that helped :)

Answer 4

no live snails dont increase the ph levels if u wanted to up your ph levels then u need to make the water go acidic or alkalinity hope this helps u out and good luck  

Answer 5

i dont know much about the ph, but my girlfriends mom had a buttload of snails in her tank and it never seemed to be a problem. but  they reproduce like crazy.so be ready for two to turn into a hundred and two. lol.