• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Water KH info.

Martin cape said:
For some reason though I assumed it was the Epsom salts and calcium chloride that reacted. But just tried again and that's stayed clear.

So just gotta keep sodium bi carb seperate to them.
Click to expand...

Me too actually, prob why I had a cloudy tank for a couple of weeks before I started separating out each of the doses:rolleyes:

Every days a school day :)

Good luck
 
Please bear in mind the more you mess with the water conditions from your tap the more you will need to measure and keep on top of it. Personally I used pure RO for planted tanks for years and just added a teaspoon of GH booster per 25l of new water so there was some trace GH. I left the KH at 0dKH and injecting CO2 never caused me any issues. If you boost the KH then you will need to keep monitoring it as your filtration will be using it up.

Habe you just tried running the tank without altering your water chemistry before going to the lengths of modifying it?
 
When I previously had my tank set up in my old house, I had a planted tank.

Standard lighting for 8 hours, just internal filter with nitrate and carbon filters.

No ferts, no co2.

I got a lot of green hair algae on everything and that black beard stuff.

Plants would grow very narrow small deformed leaves. Moss grew well and Vallisneria but everything struggled.

I quite like doing things like this, so I don't mind. I do it as my job in a lab too anyway lol.

Something to keep my occupied. Good hobby to have :)
 
Ed Seeley said:
Please bear in mind the more you mess with the water conditions from your tap the more you will need to measure and keep on top of it. Personally I used pure RO for planted tanks for years and just added a teaspoon of GH booster per 25l of new water so there was some trace GH. I left the KH at 0dKH and injecting CO2 never caused me any issues. If you boost the KH then you will need to keep monitoring it as your filtration will be using it up.

Habe you just tried running the tank without altering your water chemistry before going to the lengths of modifying it?
Click to expand...

Ed, Thanks for your feedback /advice.
Speaking for myself, living in the Glasgow area where we are on record as having the "softest" water in the UK, and having read many articles and posts on the danger of high PH swings due to low KH, and the dependence of plants and fish on the chemicals which contribute to a higher GH level, I chose to make some adds to at least get to the bottom half of the variously recommended levels. Having done this, so far my results have been pretty good (IMHO). Having come this far, I'd be loath to go back to ground zero, however I'm planning another tank in early spring, so I may take your advice and try setting that one up "without the aid of foreign substances". Cheers, David
 
The so-call danger of high pH swings to fish and plants is pure fantasy. Almost all successful CO2 injected planted tanks exhibit daily cyclic, massive swings of pH without any ill effects. I and many other people have had high GH for years without any difficulty growing plants.

Cheers,
 
If it isn't broke and it's working for you then keep going but for the poster the best bet might be to go without first. As Clive says pH swings due to CO2 injection aren't an issue for fish. However a tank with a huge bioload and very low KH could suffer pH swings due to the effects of filtration and other things in the water and this is where all the myths about pH crashes come from. In a planted tank it's a totally different ball game IME.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top