Questions about water parameters & testing kits

[thegoldengoose]

Hi fish folks,

G’day (or evening/night) to you all!

I’m pretty new here and to this hobby in general, and I have been hearing since I started learning about it that water parameters are crucial and foundational to everything in the hobby, basically!
I’ve researched some, but I’m still a bit confused about kH, dkH, gH, pH, nitrites, etc. I understand pH and ammonia levels stuff the best of them, but I really would like to understand it all a bit better—especially how each one affects the other parameters and ultimately the tank’s ecosystem.

In addition, I’ve had a planted tank up for almost six months, and can you believe it—I’ve never tested the water! I never got around to it, and assumed it was all fine because my fish and plants seemed healthy (and my tank was heavily planted). But it’s deplorable. I’m ashamed!
Do you all have suggestions of the best kits out there that test for nitrites/nitrates, ammonia, kH, pH, etc?
Thanks so much!

 

[utahfish]

PH is the measure of how acidic or alkaline water is. It ranges from 0-14. 7 is neutral or basic water anything below 7 is acidic which will sometimes be referred to as " soft" water, not to be confused with GH. Anything above 7 is alkaline and is often referred to " hard" water not to be confused with GH.
When talking about PH i dont really like to use hard and soft because its easily confused with GH which is general hardness which is the measure of calcium and magnesium in water. 0-6 is considered soft 7-10 moderately hard and 10-20 hard water though those classifications can vary from source to source.
KH is carbonate hardness and it functions as a PH stabilizer. Fluctuations in PH can be stressful for fish.
Most often water that has a high PH will also have high GH and KH and water that has low PH will also have low GH and KH. Though their are exceptions.
Certain fish have evolved to live in acidic ( low ph) soft ( low gh) water where as other fish evolved to live in alkaline( high PH) hard ( high GH) water.
Matching fish to corresponding natural water parameters gives them the best chance of survival reduces stress and disease. As for kits, liquid drop testing kits are far more accurate than test strips, good luck i hope i made sense.

 

[Treestone]

To add to utahfish, ammonia, nitrate, nitrate is all nitrogen, the stuff you hear in the news when they talk about eutrophication. This is basically the waste of the fish and I don't want to write an essay on the nitrogen cycle so I recommend looking at one of 'aquarium coops' videos about the nitrogen cycle. Just saying for later that urea is not produced by fish, only turtles in an aquarium sense.

This video is really nice and easy to understand with the m&ms

 

[Colin_T]

pH is the measurement used to tell us if something is an acid, neutral or alkaline/ base. Pure distilled water has a no mineral content and a pH of 7.0 and is considered neutral.

If something breaks down in pure water the pH drops and becomes acidic (pH goes below 7.0).

If minerals are added to pure water the pH goes up and becomes basic or alkaline (pH goes above 7.0).

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Carbonate Hardness (KH) is the measurement of carbonates and bicarbonates in the water. These normally increase the pH. When there are acids in the water, the acids cause the pH to drop. If there are plenty of carbonates/ bicarbonates in the water, they neutralise the acids and help stop the pH from dropping.

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General Hardness (GH) is the measurement of minerals in the water and usually measures calcium and magnesium chlorides. The more calcium and or magnesium chlorides in the water, the harder it is.

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If you have hard water, it contains lots of minerals and it usually contains lots of carbonates and bicarbonates. To lower the hardness, you dilute the hard water with soft water. Reverse osmosis (r/o) water, distilled water and rain water have no minerals and is very soft water. Mixing some of this soft water with the hard water will reduce the GH, KH and pH of the hard water.

If you want to reduce the pH, you can add small amounts of acidic substances like carbon dioxide (CO2), peat moss, drift wood and things like sodium biphosphate to lower the pH. These acids get neutralised by the carbonates/ bicarbonates and when the carbonates and bicarbonates have been used up, the pH drops.

-----------------
To increase the GH you add minerals like calcium and magnesium chloride.

To increase the KH you add carbonates and bicarbonates (baking soda is sodium bicarbonate).
When you add carbonates & bicarbonates the pH will go up.

------------------
You don't normally have to test the GH and KH on any regular basis because it is usually stable. I recommend testing it a couple of times a year to make sure it hasn't changed and most pet shops can do this for you.

 

[thegoldengoose]

pH is the measurement used to tell us if something is an acid, neutral or alkaline/ base. Pure distilled water has a no mineral content and a pH of 7.0 and is considered neutral.

If something breaks down in pure water the pH drops and becomes acidic (pH goes below 7.0).

If minerals are added to pure water the pH goes up and becomes basic or alkaline (pH goes above 7.0).

------------------
Carbonate Hardness (KH) is the measurement of carbonates and bicarbonates in the water. These normally increase the pH. When there are acids in the water, the acids cause the pH to drop. If there are plenty of carbonates/ bicarbonates in the water, they neutralise the acids and help stop the pH from dropping.

------------------
General Hardness (GH) is the measurement of minerals in the water and usually measures calcium and magnesium chlorides. The more calcium and or magnesium chlorides in the water, the harder it is.

------------------
If you have hard water, it contains lots of minerals and it usually contains lots of carbonates and bicarbonates. To lower the hardness, you dilute the hard water with soft water. Reverse osmosis (r/o) water, distilled water and rain water have no minerals and is very soft water. Mixing some of this soft water with the hard water will reduce the GH, KH and pH of the hard water.

If you want to reduce the pH, you can add small amounts of acidic substances like carbon dioxide (CO2), peat moss, drift wood and things like sodium biphosphate to lower the pH. These acids get neutralised by the carbonates/ bicarbonates and when the carbonates and bicarbonates have been used up, the pH drops.

-----------------
To increase the GH you add minerals like calcium and magnesium chloride.

To increase the KH you add carbonates and bicarbonates (baking soda is sodium bicarbonate).
When you add carbonates & bicarbonates the pH will go up.

------------------
You don't normally have to test the GH and KH on any regular basis because it is usually stable. I recommend testing it a couple of times a year to make sure it hasn't changed and most pet shops can do this for you.

Thanks, that explanation helped especially. I feel like I understand it a lot more. I’m going to re-read it a few times until it sticks in my head.

 

[thegoldengoose]

To add to utahfish, ammonia, nitrate, nitrate is all nitrogen, the stuff you hear in the news when they talk about eutrophication. This is basically the waste of the fish and I don't want to write an essay on the nitrogen cycle so I recommend looking at one of 'aquarium coops' videos about the nitrogen cycle. Just saying for later that urea is not produced by fish, only turtles in an aquarium sense.

This video is really nice and easy to understand with the m&ms

Thanks! I’ll take some time to watch the video.
I didn’t know that fish didn’t produce urea? I was reading some articles that said they do...I never know what to believe on the web. That’s why I’m here!

 

[thegoldengoose]

PH is the measure of how acidic or alkaline water is. It ranges from 0-14. 7 is neutral or basic water anything below 7 is acidic which will sometimes be referred to as " soft" water, not to be confused with GH. Anything above 7 is alkaline and is often referred to " hard" water not to be confused with GH.
When talking about PH i dont really like to use hard and soft because its easily confused with GH which is general hardness which is the measure of calcium and magnesium in water. 0-6 is considered soft 7-10 moderately hard and 10-20 hard water though those classifications can vary from source to source.
KH is carbonate hardness and it functions as a PH stabilizer. Fluctuations in PH can be stressful for fish.
Most often water that has a high PH will also have high GH and KH and water that has low PH will also have low GH and KH. Though their are exceptions.
Certain fish have evolved to live in acidic ( low ph) soft ( low gh) water where as other fish evolved to live in alkaline( high PH) hard ( high GH) water.
Matching fish to corresponding natural water parameters gives them the best chance of survival reduces stress and disease. As for kits, liquid drop testing kits are far more accurate than test strips, good luck i hope i made sense.

Thanks, that helps me understand it more. I think the more I read about it the more it’ll make sense to me.

 

[utahfish]

Thanks, that helps me understand it more. I think the more I read about it the more it’ll make sense to me.

Thats how its been for me, it can be confusing and were all constantly learning so keep at it and Good luck and have fun!

 

[thegoldengoose]

Thats how its been for me, it can be confusing and were all constantly learning so keep at it and Good luck and have fun!

Thanks! haha yeah it’s a bit overwhelming cause there’s soooo much to learn. But it’s so interesting to me, and I’m obsessed with this hobby now! I think it’s so beautiful how delicately balanced ecosystems are...

 

[utahfish]

Thanks! haha yeah it’s a bit overwhelming cause there’s soooo much to learn. But it’s so interesting to me, and I’m obsessed with this hobby now! I think it’s so beautiful how delicately balanced ecosystems are...

Yeah its definitely a hobby that is easy to get obsessed with.