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GH & KH Help


GotCrabs

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yea i mean my GH is 9 atm, with a TDS of 170, if i lower my TDS to 150, my GH is about 7, what is still abit high, since CRS are best in 150 TDS 3-6 GH, what im saying is i cant reach 150 TDS with about 4-5 GH

 

But can't you go as low as 120 for a TDS with CRS? isn't it 120 to 180 TDS?

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OK, so here we go, I went down to the local fish store and asked about testing my aquarium water and asked what they test, they only test PH, I said that's no good, I'm looking to get my GH and KH tested, they had no idea what I was on about, I asked to see the boss to explain to him what I meant, even he had no idea what I was on about, so I asked if they had test kits, only test kits they had were PH and again had no idea about GH and KH and if there were test kits for it, I told him there were and not to worry about it, I then went out of town, only a 40 minute drive so wasn't too bad and bought a strip test kit, results are as follows.

 

pH: 6.5

NO2: 0.5

NO3: 0

KH: 0

GH: 30

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You seem to have a nitrite (NO2) reading, but no Nitrates (NO3). What do you get for ammonia?

Is your tank in a cycle? seems like it.

 

GH 30 is shocking!!

Is that 30ppm or 30dH?

Edited by jayc
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Ah, I didn't realise it was test strip results. 

 

Yeah mate, that's all they had over there too, pretty p*** poor.

 

I don't think test strips are very accurate man.... I'd buy an api kit online!

 

I said the exact same thing to the guy in the store and he again had no idea, ha, unreal.

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You seem to have a nitrite (NO2) reading, but no Nitrates (NO3). What do you get for ammonia?

Is your tank in a cycle? seems like it.

 

GH 30 is shocking!!

Is that 30ppm or 30dH?

 

0 Ammonia.

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I'm gonna go do another test and see what the readings are.

 

GH: 30 ppm

KH: 0 ppm

pH: 6.5 

NO2: 0 ppm

NO3: 0 ppm

 

Ammonia is still 0

TDS: 67 ppm

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i thought your TDS was higher than that?

 

is that the reading from your shrimp tank?

 

is GH 30 ppm = to 3 drops?

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i thought your TDS was higher than that?

 

is that the reading from your shrimp tank?

 

is GH 30 ppm = to 3 drops?

 

Was before I out rainwater in the other day.

 

Yeah the new shrimp tank, not the larger Mr Aqua tank.

 

No idea, all I know is that it's considered soft water.

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Yeah that's more like it... about half your TDS reading contributed by GH minerals. 

 

I'd raise my KH about 1 degree and keep an eye on the pH. If it doesn't spike much I'd go up another degree in a couple of days. I'd also lift the GH by the amount you think best, probably to about 5dGH, but do it slowly and not together with KH increases. Don't worry about TDS too much, it will lift from all that and come up more over time too. You'll be looking to keep it from rising too far. 

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You raise KH with carbonate mixes. Aquagreen sell Potassium bicarbonate which is great if you're growing any plants, or you could use the Aquasonic KH generator which TechDen have for a great price. Salty Shrimp have a GH/KH+ but I don't know if they offer a KH generator on its own. You can check out their range at Boss Aquaria and Tech Den. You could also use baking soda (sodium bicarb) but it won't maintain KH as well as the others and I think it best to avoid unnecessary sodium additions. That makes Aquagreen's option the most desirable in my book. 

A final word, beware of the products which target a specific pH as these are generally phosphate buffered and can contribute to wicked algae blooms. You have enough trouble limiting phosphate contamination in your tank without adding the stuff deliberately. 

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