Need Help With Hard Water To Grow Plants

[Sweetlips]

Hi I've just joined here to get advice hopefully some that doesn't conflict ?
I currently have a lido 120 with two t5 reflectors jbl co2 fluval stratum substrate and a mix of fish and plants tanks been running for 6 months my plants grow but are not how they look on here HELP
I do 30% water change a week with declorinatex tap water and jbl ferrosilicon I also dose daily nutes
My water pare meters are ph 7.2 kh12 and gh 220 ammonia nitrite nitrate all zero my gh took 11 drops so timed by 20
My question is can I grow a planted take of most species with hardness of my water ?

Also my drop checker what colour should it be as I've read it's green with a lower jj but mine has a pic of different colour on it it's the jbl one u fill up with tank water

 

[DrRob]

No reason you can't grow most plants in hard water. Some plants really don't like soft water (vallis springs to mind). If anything, the pH shift that you get in soft water from adding CO2 tends to be less of a problem in hard water tanks.
 
No idea about the drop checks, all the ones I've used have used 4 kdH water.

 

[Sweetlips]

Most plants I've have look at are not in my kh range at all ? How much c02 should I add with my current water parameters ?? So is there no need to gchange my kh ?

 

[DrRob]

I've got plants growing in water harder than that. CO2 requirement depends on plant growth and how well it dissolves, as well as how much evaporates away, water parameters will effect the solubility of the CO2 but won't have too much effect on the other bits, so overall it shouldn't make too much difference. What you will notice is that, at different kH's, you'll get different buffering levels of the pH, so you won't see the pH swings that you get with softer water, but that shouldn't really matter.

 

[Sweetlips]

Thankyou it's just my plants always grow thin like stretched seedlings ? I'd like to post a picture but don't no how ??

 

[betta fish]

It may be your lighting, some plants require more light than others, what type of plants do you have?