KH Question

[zig]

Ok it turns out that the Kh of my water is very low, its 1.7 degrees or 30ppm, at first i didnt believe the test kit and went out and bought another one and its exactly the same, so my Kh is low, Gh is ok at 3.3 degrees or 60ppm, Ph is normal at 7.

Now i want to raise the Kh to above 3 which is the minimum recommended level to stop large Ph swings, now to be honest i havent been having any real swings at all, my Ph drops to 6.2 when i add the co2 in order for me to get 30ppm, now again i know this is on the low side but doesnt seem to be affecting my fish.

So what should i do, or should i do nothing and just leave it the same, i can add bicarbonate of soda to raise the Kh, but there doesnt seem to be much i can do with the Ph, if i get the ph to 6.4 i am only getting 20ppm co2.

Im a bit confused, has anybody else had this problem, or what would you guys think the best thing for me to do is.

Ok ill try and simplify the question.

Should i raise the Kh?

Should i worry about the Ph?

Thanks

Im due a water change today so was going to adjust any parameters then.

 

[George Farmer]

If you're not experiencing any problems with low pH then I would be tempted to leave your water alone.

A KH of 1.7 dH is low but your 50% weekly water changes should help prevent a possible crash. A pH of 6.2 is fine for most fish, just keep an eye on it - measure just before lights on and after lights off to see the maximum pH swing - it shouldn't be much more than 0.4.

 

[iggy01]

I have the same problem Zig. The KH of my tap water is 2 degrees. I buffer it up to 4 degrees by using bicarbonate of soda. I don't want to risk a pH crash. I do a 50% water change each week and add some bicarb to the new water to compensate.

If you add bicarb it will not only raise your KH, but your pH also and should be done slowly. Steve Hampton has some good info about this on his site, if you haven't already seen it.

Good luck.

 

[zig]

Ok thats great

Ive been aware of the problem from the start but didnt have any fish in for a week or two so didnt worry about it, but it has been bothering me, but at the same time it didnt appear to have any effect on the fish having the Ph at 6.2 and like i say it doesnt really vary that much no matter when i test the Ph, but the crash situation was on my mind.

The problem is if i start messing with the Kh and want to raise it to 3Kh i would only achieve 20ppm co2 at the Ph that i have, now the ideal Ph would be 6.4 for me to get 35ppm co2 at a Kh of 3, and then id have to vary that as well.

So maybe best left alone, but ill definatly look at the link iggy thanks for that and make up my mind then.

Thanks guys.

Heres a link maybe you guys would like to bookmark i found this on my travels, it seems pretty good if you havent come across it allready, worth a look anyway.

Chemical computations for nutrient management

 

[iggy01]

That's a good link Zig. It even gives your Fleet Enema a mention!

 

[zig]

I know thats how i found it

Yeah but it looks allright though the link i mean, gives other alternatives as well if you were stuck.........alternatives are allways good especially if you live over here

 

[George Farmer]

Chemical computations for nutrient management

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Awesome link, very helpful.