Methods for raising gH/kH

[seangee]

I use Flourish COmprehensive Supplement 2x a week (dosing 1 ml each time, my tank is 52l),

FWIW in my 3 x 50-60l tanks I use 0.5ml once a week and that is adequate. I have quite a lot of plants. My water is also very soft.

 

[Colin_T]

Ok, thanks. Do you have any recommendations for what fish I can keep?

Anything from South America or tropical Asia does well in soft water. Tetras, rasboras, gouramis, bettas, angelfish, discus, Apistogramma dwarf cichlids, Corydoras catfish, most suckermouth catfish. The list is quite extensive.

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

 

[Banafish]

Does the pH not affect them? I've read that neon tetras, for example, thrive in pH of less than 7, as do most of the fish you have listed.

The tank dimensions are 51 length x 30 width x 41 height (in cm).

 

[seangee]

Does the pH not affect them? I've read that neon tetras, for example, thrive in pH of less than 7, as do most of the fish you have listed.

The tank dimensions are 51 length x 30 width x 41 height (in cm).

Most fish do well in quite a wide range of pH - as long as it is stable. The general recommendations are based on the fact that soft water usually has a low pH and hard water usually has a higher pH. However this is not always true, as you have discovered. Many sources persist with the recommendations because pH is much easier to measure - so on average they are right more often than not.

 

[Colin_T]

If you have wild caught fishes, then you would want the pH a bit below 7.0. However, most common aquarium fishes sold in pet shops are captive bred and have been for many generations. So they are fine in water that has a pH that is slightly different to where their ancestors originated from.

For captive bred tetras, as long as the pH is below 7.6, they should be fine. Ideally you would have it at 7.0 or less, but a stable pH (even if it's slightly high) is better than a fluctuating pH.

For my tanks, I used to make up the water a week before I used it. Some of the tanks needed soft acidic water (tetras, gouramis, catfish) and others needed hard water with a high pH (Rift Lake cichlids and rainbowfish). So I had a number of water holding tanks and some were made up with soft acid water and others had hard alkaline water. Most people don't want to do that and just use whatever comes out of the tap.

 

[Essjay]

If the pH in the aquarium is going up over time, then something in the tank is raising it. Take a couple of handfuls of gravel and put them in a bucket if water with a neutral pH (pH 7.0). Leave the gravel in the bucket of water for a week and see what the pH does. If the pH goes up, then the gravel is causing it to rise.

If the gravel doesn't cause the pH to go up in the bucket of water, then try different items from the aquarium until you find the one causing the pH to rise.

If you do this, set up another bucket with just water in it and compare the levels after 7 days. If they are the same, there's something odd with your water. If they are different, it's due to the substrate or rocks or whatever is in the first bucket.

 

[Byron]

To repeat what others have said, the GH is the important parameter. The pH is important but so long as it is stable, there is much more latitude that with the GH. Each fish species (freshwater) has evolved to function in very specific water, and the mineral content (which we measure as GH) is the most important factor. You have very soft water, and as Colin noted there are so many fish suited to this--most everything from South America and SE Asia (generally speaking).

The substrate may be a factor in the pH as previously noted. It also occurred to me last night about your comment on getting your water privately from the forest or something...are you on municipal water, or do you have a private/personal well or something? This is important, because private water sources might be subject to influences in pH from weather and the terrain.

 

[Banafish]

To repeat what others have said, the GH is the important parameter. The pH is important but so long as it is stable, there is much more latitude that with the GH. Each fish species (freshwater) has evolved to function in very specific water, and the mineral content (which we measure as GH) is the most important factor. You have very soft water, and as Colin noted there are so many fish suited to this--most everything from South America and SE Asia (generally speaking).

The substrate may be a factor in the pH as previously noted. It also occurred to me last night about your comment on getting your water privately from the forest or something...are you on municipal water, or do you have a private/personal well or something? This is important, because private water sources might be subject to influences in pH from weather and the terrain.

I have a personal/private tank which collects rainwater from a stream.

 

[Essjay]

If the water is from a stream rather than rainwater which is collected as it falls, the ground over which the stream runs can affect the water chemistry. For exanple, a stream which runs over limestone will have higher GH, KH and pH than rain caught as it falls.

 

[Banafish]

If the water is from a stream rather than rainwater which is collected as it falls, the ground over which the stream runs can affect the water chemistry. For exanple, a stream which runs over limestone will have higher GH, KH and pH than rain caught as it falls.

I guess that would explain why my water has a pH of 7.0 but gH and kH of 2.

 

[Byron]

I guess that would explain why my water has a pH of 7.0 but gH and kH of 2.

We don't know. The GH and KH is due to whatever carbonate minerals the water may have come into contact with, and this is unlikely to change. I assume these values are the water out of the tap, not in the aquarium, as other factors in the aquarium could affect them. The pH you have said is fluctuating, and I have suggested this is possibly due to one or more of the plant substrate, or changing weather conditions, or calcareous substances in the aquarium.

 

[Banafish]

Ok so I’m putting the Flourite in today after out gassing the CO2 yesterday, will check pH every day.

 

[Banafish]

The pH in my tank is now 8.2, should I do a water change or just observe?

I am still currently testing if the substrate is affecting the pH like you guys suggested.