Ways to raise/buffer pH in sugar washes

[pope]

I started having an 'aha' moment after a few sluggish/stuck/struggling ferments of sugar washes. I've been working on syrup based agave/tequila and 'whole cane syrup' rum - prior to this all of my beer, wine, cider, ujssm, birdwatchers, molasses rum, panela rum, etc etc batches had fermented just fine, so I just never even look at pH. I've been using superfood/dap/other nutrients but no other mineral additions to address pH. Come to find some of those clean sugar washes really crash and that was fairly common knowledge on the forum, go figure. So, I'm interested in buffering and raising pH along the road that is fermentation, here's what I've gathered so far:

- Shells (oyster shells whole or crushed a la chicken feed store, or just egg shells) are probably the most common buffer on the site
- Calcium Carbonate, the next most common
- Potassium Carbonate, more expensive but more effective
- Calcium Hydroxide, another powerful tool of choice for some, less common but more powerful in my laymen's understanding
- Sodium Hydroxide is a no-go because of the way sodium interacts with fermentation
- 5.2 mash stabilizer (which I use only for beer brewing to much success) has some buffering ability but it won't raise your pH at all once you're in trouble

Finally there is KOH/potassium hydroxide/potash. I couldn't find much about it, but it is potassium, it dissolves much more easily, quickly, and completely than calcium carbonate (the only of the list I've tried so far since I already had some), and it contains potassium not sodium. I have some lying around (no pun intended), didn't want to f-up anything worse by adding it without anyone's 2-cents if they have some to give.

The most helpful snippet of info to me was via Dnderhead who mentioned White Labs' recommendation of 1# potassium carbonate to 1000 gallons of sugar wash, which will pH crash very quickly on its own. The recommendation is to make the addition within the first 12 hours of the ferment. I am guessing this is so that the pH will fall into the 4's or 3's and you can bring it back up and stabilize it, rather than starting by pushing the pH up above the 5's which is undesirable. That's my interpretation at least.

Any sage advice on the topic is welcome!