The Seachem Marine Buffer Saltwater Conditioner for Aquariums safely raises the pH of the sea to 8.3. Even if overdosed, it will not raise the pH above 8.3. Marine Buffer is a composite product, not just sodium bicarbonate or sodium carbonate, which are commonly sold as substitutes. If not used properly, such products can raise pH to dangerous levels. Marine Buffer contains carbonate, bicarbonate, chloride, sulfate, and borate salts of sodium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, and potassium. To determine pH and total alkalinity, use Seachem's MultiTest Marine pH & Alkalinity. For thriving, healthy saltwater fish, use Marine Trace to restore the proper trace level and feed NutriDiet Marine Flakes.
Total alkalinity is determined by the concentration of three major ions: carbonate, bicarbonate, and borate. In saltwater, bicarbonate raises the pH to 7.8, carbonate raises it to 9.1, and borate raises it to 9.5 or higher. Because of the chemistry of buffering systems, the closer you get to the pK of a buffering system, the more difficult it is to shift the pH. So, if you combine a buffer in such a way that the combined product raises the pH to 8.3, the more you use, the more stable the pH becomes. That is the underlying principle of Marine Buffer. Because of the blend, it is a blended buffer that drives and maintains your pH at 8.3. The catch to this seemingly simple solution is that most salt mixes contain a high concentration of bicarbonate salts.
This shifts the buffering system's pK closer to 7.8, and a buffer aiming for 8.3 will never quite make it. As a result, the pK of Marine Buffer is slightly higher than 8.3 in order to combat the bicarbonate influx at every water change. Marine BufferTM was the first buffer on the market to contain borate salts (which make a saltwater buffering system much more stable), and it is still the most effective pH buffer for marine aquaria.
