Testing PH/KH/Gh

HI Guys

I tested my water for the above today.
PH 7.6
KH 125.3 ppm. Both are fine for what I need them to be.
However, my GH seems to be off the charts. I tested it using my API and it took 21 drops to turn green which is the colour it needs to be for the test to be finished. The chart only goes up to 12 drops so its very high!

All my fish are fine. I haven't had any casualty in over a year. Should i worry too much about my GH when my PH and KH is okay?

I keep Cardinal tetra, Harlequin Rasbora, Siamese Algae eaters and flame gourami

When was the last time you tested the water in your tank, and what was the GH, then? Also, what is the GH coming out of your Tap?

If the GH really is that high, it is detrimental to the fish mentioned which are soft to very soft water species. But I suggest you pin the GH down before worrying. As suggested above, what is the GH, KH and pH of your source water on its own? This might be confirmed with your water provider, check their website or call them. Or test it, but confirming with the water people is a good idea.

The API test does sometimes confuse. The number of drops is the drop which changes the tint from orange to pale green. Some continue adding drops until it turns dark green, but this is too far. I also find it easier to see the change if I hold the open tube (after shaking, remove the cap) vertically over a pure white surface like a sheet of paper, and look down through the water. This for me shows the change more obviously.

It is possible something in the tank is dissolving calcium/magnesium, any rock, some substrates, plant substrates perhaps?

What is the substrate in your tank (including rock)? Picture may help.
Does your tank have a lid? If you regularly top up due to evaporation this can cause your hardness to go up.

I tested my tap water and its 89.5 PPM (5 drops). So the tank is definitely raising it.

I have driftwood in the tank along with some live plants. I also have peat moss in the filter. I leave my lid half off and need to top up my tank due to evaporation which I know can mean excess minerals in the water. With all that being said I don't know what I can change in my tank to stop it rising. I havent tested my GH in quite a while so I'm unsure what it was the last time.

How often do you perform water changes, and how much do you change when you do? If you don't perform frequent water changes (~ once a week), and you are topping off due to evaporation, that combination of the two could be causing the GH to rise as it is causing the calcium/magnesium in your tank to become more concentrated. Also, as Byron has already mentioned, there also might be something that is leaching calcium/magnesium (the gravel maybe), raising the GH even further.

Try a 75% water change. Test immediately after the change and again in a week (or before you need to top up). GH should never increase in the tank. If it does its something in the substrate and that should be changed. If you are topping up regularly your weekly changes should be as large as possible.

Wood (assuming it is natural driftwood, not petrified), peat, and plants will not increase GH as here. What substance is the gravel composed of, these can be calcareous.

dmpfishlover said:

How often do you perform water changes, and how much do you change when you do? If you don't perform frequent water changes (~ once a week), and you are topping off due to evaporation, that combination of the two could be causing the GH to rise as it is causing the calcium/magnesium in your tank to become more concentrated. Also, as Byron has already mentioned, there also might be something that is leaching calcium/magnesium (the gravel maybe), raising the GH even further.

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This is what I'm fearing it is. On this tank I use a product called organic aqua. Which means only 25% of my water needs changing every 4 weeks. The organic aqua is a live bacteria which feeds of the fish waste.

The subrate is pea gravel

BH86 said:

On this tank I use a product called organic aqua.

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I'm afraid that is about as much use as snake oil. With the addition of my newest tank my weekly water changes now total over 250 litres. If there was a way I could maintain healthy tanks by changing 1/3 of that I would have found it

I would discontinue the use of Organic Aqua. This clearly messes with the biology, they even warn that tests for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate will likely be false. And there is no products that el;iminates water changes; using this additive to clog up the system and only doing a 25% W/C once a month is a guide for fish problems. I would not expect this to raise GH, and they don't say this, but it is interfering with the biological system and that is always a risk.

I woould do a major water change of 70%, and perhaps another in a couple days, then settle on one 60-70% change every week. Then see what the GH does. But one thing we can guarantee, and that is that your fish will be healthier if nothing else.

Put a handful of the gravel in a bucket of fresh tap water, no additives, and over several days test the GH and pH.

seangee said:

I'm afraid that is about as much use as snake oil. With the addition of my newest tank my weekly water changes now total over 250 litres. If there was a way I could maintain healthy tanks by changing 1/3 of that I would have found it

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I'm afraid to stop using it on this tank because everything has been going well over the last 18 months. Zero deaths and fish are healthy

Byron said:

I would discontinue the use of Organic Aqua. This clearly messes with the biology, they even warn that tests for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate will likely be false. And there is no products that el;iminates water changes; using this additive to clog up the system and only doing a 25% W/C once a month is a guide for fish problems. I would not expect this to raise GH, and they don't say this, but it is interfering with the biological system and that is always a risk.

I woould do a major water change of 70%, and perhaps another in a couple days, then settle on one 60-70% change every week. Then see what the GH does. But one thing we can guarantee, and that is that your fish will be healthier if nothing else.

Put a handful of the gravel in a bucket of fresh tap water, no additives, and over several days test the GH and pH.

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Will do that in relation to the gravek

I was thinking, would it be a good idea to use RO water for my topping up of evaporation water? That way I wouldn't have further excess of minerals in the tank?

BH86 said:

I'm afraid to stop using it on this tank because everything has been going well over the last 18 months. Zero deaths and fish are healthy

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I tend to be very direct, because I don't pussyfoot around, lol, so don't take this the wrong way.

There is no way you can know the fish are "healthy." The fact that fish live and seem OK to us does not mean they are; fish cannot talk to us, so we have no way of knowing this. Our only course is to provide what they "expect" and not add stress. Fish like most animals have a strong will to live, and they will do their best to make the best of what we force upon them. They have no choice. A dog kept in a crate its entire life and fed low quality food may well live a normal lifespan, but that does not mean it is healthy. And being a mammal, it is easier for us to see the likely state of its health. With fish this is impossible, unless the situation becomes overwhelming and the fish succumbs.

Substantial water changes are scientifically proven to improve fish health. There is no substitute. No filter, no additive, nothing can replace the benefit of a water change. Changing 50-70% once each week will always mean healthier fish, that is a certainty. If you were to spend several months studying fish physiology you would comprehend this very readily. Discus breeders will tell us that performing 90-95% water changes once and even twice each day significantly improves the health and growth of fry. The reason why is not unfathomable. There is no miracle drug to equal the water change.

BH86 said:

HI Guys

I tested my water for the above today.
PH 7.6
KH 125.3 ppm. Both are fine for what I need them to be.
However, my GH seems to be off the charts. I tested it using my API and it took 21 drops to turn green which is the colour it needs to be for the test to be finished. The chart only goes up to 12 drops so its very high!

All my fish are fine. I haven't had any casualty in over a year. Should i worry too much about my GH when my PH and KH is okay?

I keep Cardinal tetra, Harlequin Rasbora, Siamese Algae eaters and flame gourami

Click to expand...

The GH will always be higher than KH I had ridiculously hard water 19-22 drops invested in an RO system and now weather quality is KH3, GH5, PH7, and very little algae