# What should my GH and KH be??



## tko187 (13 Jul 2008)

Hi jsut rescaping at the moment, will be adding co2 and dertz in the next week or two, just wondering do i ahve to test my Gh and Kh and if so what should it be? Also if i need to decrease or increase either how is it done? Thanks


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## ceg4048 (13 Jul 2008)

It's probably a good idea to know what the GH and KH are, but having determined it from tap and from in the tank there is not much more to know or do. There is also no need to change it from a plant perspective. If you are attempting to breed certain fish that require either soft or hard water this is a different story but for the flora it doesn't matter.

Cheers,


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## tko187 (13 Jul 2008)

ceg4048 said:
			
		

> It's probably a good idea to know what the GH and KH are, but having determined it from tap and from in the tank there is not much more to know or do. There is also no need to change it from a plant perspective. If you are attempting to breed certain fish that require either soft or hard water this is a different story but for the flora it doesn't matter.
> 
> Cheers,


Thanks clive, so any ideas what it should be? Im not breeding, just for the plants really, do i even need to test this??


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## ceg4048 (13 Jul 2008)

It should be whatever comes out of your tap. Plants are adaptable and have no stringent requirements, although there are a handful of plants like Tonina that do better in low KH water. The vast majority adapt to a wide range. If you were to dig for optimal values you might find numbers like 4 dKH and 5GH but it would be pointless to try and change your tap to get into this range. As I mentioned, it's probably nice to know what your tap water values are and you may want to see what happens to it after it's been in the tank for a few weeks, but other than that there is no requirement to test. You should be able to grow plants well without ever knowing what these values are. If I were on a tight budget, test kits are one of the items I would drop from my shopping list like a hot potato.

Cheers.


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## tko187 (14 Jul 2008)

Thanks again Clive, you really helped.


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