[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: KH/GH



Rachel,
I don't know what kind of water is coming out of your tab ?
Do you use R/O or DI water ?

Well, let's assume the water you use for your tank is very soft and you
would like to
raise/adjust the parameters of KH and GH independently to have nice
balanced water parameters
for your plants and FISH ! (BTW - we have archives to search in :-)
Without going into details>search archives<here it goes:

First of all, you should NOT do this in your tank!
Get a trash can, big bucket, etc.
Get a test kit for GH/KH

I normally start out (I use D/I water>GH 0-KH 0 ) with raising the GH to
about 5-7
with Liquid Calcium from Kent Marine.
This will raise the GH>only<
Put a bit of Epson Salt in it too, for the minerals !
Test and check with your GH test kit !

To raise the KH to about 75%-85% of the GH, in our example to 3-4,
use god old Baking Soda !
For the "advanced" one, use Potassium Bicarbonate, it does not add so
much sodium to the water and hey,
you can get it these days only at the chemical company after a
Background Check :-)
Test and check with your KH test kit !

Thats all what you have to do to get going!
Fine tuning, special salt mixes, minerals, etc., etc., you'll learn over
time
Just start out with the right water for your planted tank<I assume !
PH can be adjusted by using CO2!
For the advanced one, well thats another story!

Juergen