water very hard

[Rob 28]

Hi guys,

Tested my water hardness for first time today (tank 3 weeks old) and the KH is 11 degrees (200ppm) and the GH is 18 degress (320ppm)

The KH is ok but the GH is well high eh ? I've read conflicting things. One source said that my fish, listed below, are perfectly happy in these ranges and another source said that my water should be no more than 12 degress GH. The fish are from my very lfs - 2 mins drive - so shouldnt they be used to the water ?

I really dont want to mess about with this aspect of the water as im a beginner. SHould i add a filter to my tap to lower the hardness ?

Thks in advance for your help.

 

[tstenback]

I have always gone on the idea of work with what you are dealt. If the fish are OK then i would not try changing anything specially with chemicals. THe only times that i have messed with the hardness is for breeding to give ideal conditions for a particular species. I dont think there is cause for alarm with the readings you have given but keep an eye on the fish and plants (if you have them) they will give you the best indications if sommething is not quite right. HTH

 

[JamesTasker]

My water is very hard and so far, except for some rams, the fish seem ok in it. Unless youwant to breed fish it should be ok and besides your lfs probably uses the same water as you so hopefully fish that can't cope will die at the lfs. My lfs is very good and quarantines fishes for 2 weeks before selling them.

 

[kribs mate]

ever considdered keeping malawis?

lowering the hardness of you water is a lot harder than raising it i'm affraid

you can filter the water over peat, add bogwood to the tank
inject CO2 or water changes with softened water or RO water

 

[Bol]

Rob,

My water is very similar to yours (it's GH 19, KH 10), and I've had no problems with my fish -- Angels, dwarf gouramis, platys, guppies, neon tetras, lemon tetras, kuhli loaches, yoyo loaches, otos, many different cories, and a German blue ram have all lived (seemingly) happily in that water.

I think your instincts are good. I wouldn't mess with the water parameters unless it's absolutely necessary.

And, chances are you are correct that your LFS probably uses the same tap water as you do (I'd ask to be sure); if for no other reason, if they used "different" water, they'd probably have many more customers returning with dead fish regularly. One thing you may want to do, if you're concerned about your water's hardness, is to try to only buy fish that have been at the LFS for a substantial time (a couple of weeks or so), and have had time to get acclimated to the local water conditions.

 

[Ricey]

i had very hard water too (GH 16 KH 12) when i first started.
I have a large piece of bog wood in my tank and over the past two months it has slowley dropped to its current level where it is starting to level off at GH 9 KH 10.

only do water changes when you really have to, like 15%-20% once a week.

let the bog wood do its magic


also: a Highish KH value isnt really a problem. KH acts as a Ph buffer. It stops the Ph level changing drastically in your tank.