Ok... can't fix me, but maybe help my fish... GH education part 2

Magnum Man

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so yep I started a GH thread back a ways... this one will be more on general water, & fixing the problems... I bought some test strips, & have another water test kit, & my GH is reading 75, which should be good for most situations???

however my water is really hard with carbonite... my carbonite hardness tests at 300 ( this from my tap, which is softened ) also my alkalinity is at 300 ( both of these numbers are as high as my test equipment can go, so possibly much higher ) my PH reads 8.4... again, this is tap water, everything else is in spec.

the funny thing, is I have 2 tanks that have had big pieces of drift wood in them for months, that still stain the water & yet those Carbonite, Alky, & PH readings are the same in those tanks, as my tap water, so my natural softening has done nothing to change the water from its tap condition...
looking for ways to correct this, without going to the extreme... I have an old canister filter... actually most of my tanks have canister filters, which I have been running with a basket full of carbon, & a floss sleave over the basket... I'm thinking about filling the basket with peat, instead of carbon
...also considering just doing water changes with RO, until my numbers get into a better place, then start doing a percentage of each, as needed during water changes

thoughts or suggestions???
 
What are you measuring gh in? Ppm? German degrees?

Do you use softened water to fill your tanks?
 
These are the test strips I just got


with as hard as our water is from the well, everything in the house is soft, so the tanks were originally filled with soft water, & I have lines plumbed to where my tanks are, that is what I use to refill ( there is room there to add an RO unit, but I think as slow as most run, I'd need to use a plastic barrel to run the RO into ahead of time, & pump out from that to the tanks, if I went that route ( I pretty much do all my water changes at the same time, & devote an hour or so to tank maintenance... wouldn't have the time to fill tanks directly from an RO filter )
 
You pay HOW MUCH for those??? 😵😵😵😵

Do yourself a favour and buy yourself a liquid testing kit...
NT Labs Aquarium Lab Multi-Test Kit - aquarium water test - Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH, Carbonate Hardness (KH) and General Hardness (GH). https://amzn.eu/d/5hCyi4a

Firstly its cheaper, you can get way more tests out of it and it's accurate.

Be prepared for mixed opinions on using softened water, some say its fine to use while others say its bad for the fish...I have no experience there
 
got that about using softened water already in my previous thread, that's why I'm prepared to add an RO unit...

thanks for the link, I'll buy the test kit... I just got the strips for a quick test to get me some idea of where I was at'''
 
sadly that test kit is not available to me...

this is the test kit I bought 1st, but it's mostly just for PH, ammonia & nitrates / nitrites
 
Sorry, I got you mixed up with someone else and didn't realise where you are 👍🏻 those strips you bought, £97 🤣 how much did you pay?
 
Thanks, that's the one I bought before, but it doesn't test the GH or the Carbonite hardness...

BTW... I just started my Aquarium Water Log ( a spread sheet on my computer )
listing the tank, how its landscaped ( drift wood, live plants etc. ) the temperature, a listing of test results both before & after water changes... Iron, Copper, Nitrates, Nitrites, Chlorine, GH, Alkalinity, Carbonate hardness, & PH

I'll add a target range of conditions for each tank, by the species of fish in the tanks... & join the ranks trying to make my water, what the fish are wanting...

I've also entered my Aquaculture tanks for my Tilapia growing into my spread sheet... they are just tiny fingerlings right now, but once the bio load starts, I'll want to watch that water quality as well...
 
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thanks, added that to my buy list, will pick it up, once my test strips start running a little lower ( I'll probably want to keep a few around, for that quick test )
 
Still open for suggestions on softening up my water... the big pieces of driftwood don't seem to be making any noticeable effect on the tank water, short of slight staining...

right now on my own ideas, I'll try this...
in my canister filters, instead of carbon... but will likely end up doing a blend of RO & Tap water to get what I'm after in each tank, as long as I'm testing them all...
 

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