Gh At 32+ Dh!

[maurizio]

How high can it get??

All other parameters look OK, pH 7.8, KH 9, NO2 0, NO3 50+ (can't help, it's the tap water). I'm adding weekly 105 g of marine salts to reach eventually SG 1.002 (I'm at 1.001 now). I believe the salts together with my sand are responsible. Or, is my Sera reagent not reliable anymore (opened early December, I tried another measurement the day after I read 32, got 36!)?

A friend suggested to add temporarily a lump of Akadama soil in a sock, but I'm not very happy to mess up with a so far very stable KH and pH...

What are the consequences of this very high GH, anyway?

 

[nmonks]

If this is going to be a brackish aquarium, forget about doing dH and KH tests. Marine salt mix and a coral sand substrate will create the right conditions automatically. Provided pH is stable and you have the right specific gravity, you'll be fine.

Obviously, if you're maintaining a low-end planted brackish water system you wouldn't use coral sand but an inert substrate like gravel and you shouldn't be using tufa rock, shells, etc. either. Very high dH and KH values will be bad for plants. Instead, set up as you would a normal freshwater tank, and add salt as required to the water.

Cheers, Neale

 

[maurizio]

Hi Neal,
I have river sand, and only a few stems of Ceratophyllum and Java moss (indeed, they are not doing very well after 5 weeks in the tank, pale and stretched, I thought because of the limited amount of light - 6 h, now increased to 8 h - and the increasing salinity). pH has always been stable, now slowly increasing due to the salt mix (from 7.4 of the tap to 7.8-8.0).

So, if I want to keep the plants alive I do need to reduce the general hardness, right? I just wanted a few patches of green to give some shade to the planned Parambassis Ranga.

I posted some pictures in my (b)log, My aquarium.

 

[nmonks]

So, if I want to keep the plants alive I do need to reduce the general hardness, right? I just wanted a few patches of green to give some shade to the planned Parambassis Ranga.

I'd ignore the hardness, to be honest. Or else, try this: Get some tap water, and add the right amount of salt; so, for example, 4-5 grammes/litre for a low-end system with plants. Stir well, and then take the hardness and pH measurements. That's the baseline. Test the same water 12-24 hours later, just in case your water has a lot of dissolved CO2 or something else that affects pH.

Now, if the tap water sample is okay, let's say, 15-20 degrees dH, pH 7.5-8.0, then there's something amiss with your aquarium. Perhaps the river sand has a high carbonate content, or you've added something else to the tank that's dissolving. Review, and act accordingly.

I posted some pictures in my (b)log, My aquarium.

Looks good! Yes, archers lose their colour at night. Some have reported luminous flashes at night, but I never saw those.

cheers, Neale

 

[jonny5]

Hi Neal,
I have river sand, and only a few stems of Ceratophyllum and Java moss (indeed, they are not doing very well after 5 weeks in the tank, pale and stretched, I thought because of the limited amount of light - 6 h, now increased to 8 h - and the increasing salinity). pH has always been stable, now slowly increasing due to the salt mix (from 7.4 of the tap to 7.8-8.0).

So, if I want to keep the plants alive I do need to reduce the general hardness, right? I just wanted a few patches of green to give some shade to the planned Parambassis Ranga.

I posted some pictures in my (b)log, My aquarium.

well if this helps i had first wanted a brackish planted tank and being very unprepared i got crushed coral sand and dragon gobies added dragon gobies later lol. Anywho i had what was labled as jungle val in the tank and after some acclimating it thrived at 1.003 to 1.004sg and general and carbonate hardness very high and it even had a good fight against all the dragon goby digging but it eventually died, it had covered all the back of the tank before i added the dragon gobies.

So even with poor conditions that plant took it well.

 

[maurizio]

I'd ignore the hardness, to be honest. Or else, try this: Get some tap water, and add the right amount of salt; so, for example, 4-5 grammes/litre for a low-end system with plants. Stir well, and then take the hardness and pH measurements. That's the baseline. Test the same water 12-24 hours later, just in case your water has a lot of dissolved CO2 or something else that affects pH.

Now, if the tap water sample is okay, let's say, 15-20 degrees dH, pH 7.5-8.0, then there's something amiss with your aquarium. Perhaps the river sand has a high carbonate content, or you've added something else to the tank that's dissolving. Review, and act accordingly.

Thanks folks!
Neal, I liked the cartesian approach idea, so I tried it: tap water is at 14 dGH, I added some 4.5 g salt/liter (my tank has 3.5 g/l) and in 48 hours I got 51 dGH! Can it be??! It looks like it's the salt, I'm using Tropic Marin: unfortunately in the package the percentage of the different elements is not stated, only their presence is.

 

[nmonks]

Do suspect the hardness test kit is not working properly because of salt. Ignore. Weigh out the salt; add; test SG. If fish and plants are happy, just press on...

Cheers, Neale

Neal, I liked the cartesian approach idea, so I tried it: tap water is at 14 dGH, I added some 4.5 g salt/liter (my tank has 3.5 g/l) and in 48 hours I got 51 dGH! Can it be??! It looks like it's the salt, I'm using Tropic Marin: unfortunately in the package the percentage of the different elements is not stated, only their presence is.

 

[maurizio]

Do suspect the hardness test kit is not working properly because of salt. Ignore. Weigh out the salt; add; test SG. If fish and plants are happy, just press on...

Cheers, Neale

Thanks Neal,
sounds reasonable. Will do. I just got the indian glassfishes, geez, they're small.... I'll keep them quarantined in a hatchery until they hopefully won't fit anymore in the archer's mouths...