KH - PH Questions

[Houseslave]

I just got a KH test and found the level at 268ppm or 15degrees. My PH is
around 7.0. Are my KH levels safe? Is it good to have that much buffering
in the water? According to the chart with the test. 200ppm is in the high
range for most tropical fish.

Thanks

[Houseslave]

Well I waited a few hours and tested again and now my KH is at 7 degrees or
125ppm which is more normal. I guess it may have taken a while for the PH
down to reduce the KH in the water. Right now my PH is 7.0. I hope it
stays there.


"Houseslave" > wrote in message
et...
> I just got a KH test and found the level at 268ppm or 15degrees. My PH is
> around 7.0. Are my KH levels safe? Is it good to have that much
buffering
> in the water? According to the chart with the test. 200ppm is in the high
> range for most tropical fish.
>
> Thanks
>
>
>

[NetMax]

"Houseslave" > wrote in message
et...
> I just got a KH test and found the level at 268ppm or 15degrees. My PH
is
> around 7.0. Are my KH levels safe? Is it good to have that much
buffering
> in the water? According to the chart with the test. 200ppm is in the
high
> range for most tropical fish.
>
> Thanks

FWIW, my well-water alternates between 13 and 16 dkH. I keep fish which
like hard water and they have never complained about it ;~)

Seriously, I've never seen any research which indicated that fish were
particularly susceptible to kH. A high kH is just usually indicative of
a high gH. Have you measured your water hardness?

A high kH also makes it somewhat more problematic to alter your pH, but
with a pH of 7.0, that's not likely to be a huge necessity. The probably
high gH will make fish transfers tricky if your LFS is on soft water, but
at least going from soft to hard water is supposed to be much easier on
the fish, than the reverse. The high gH might alter your choices of
fish, but I doubt it would be anything more than the most acid-loving
types which would not adjust to it. Getting them to spawn might be a
little trickier though, but that's usually not a priority for most
people.

NetMax

[Houseslave]

My water is medium hard. But my PH out of the tap is very high (7.6-7,8).My
KH is low out of the tap. First I added buffering-PH stable which is
phosphate free. Next, I added PH Control Minus to get the PH lower. The PH
kept creeping back up. So I kept adding buffering material to the water.
Now my KH is on the high side and my PH is 7.0. I'm hoping it will stay
there. I'll let you know. I also lower my temp a little to allow more
oxygen into the water and increased surface agitation. I guess this will
also let out co2 which again will influence my PH. I hope I'm not fighting
a battle that I can never win. I'm thinking a RO unit might make the most
sense. However, they are not cheap and use lots of water.
>
> FWIW, my well-water alternates between 13 and 16 dkH. I keep fish which
> like hard water and they have never complained about it ;~)
>
> Seriously, I've never seen any research which indicated that fish were
> particularly susceptible to kH. A high kH is just usually indicative of
> a high gH. Have you measured your water hardness?
>
> A high kH also makes it somewhat more problematic to alter your pH, but
> with a pH of 7.0, that's not likely to be a huge necessity. The probably
> high gH will make fish transfers tricky if your LFS is on soft water, but
> at least going from soft to hard water is supposed to be much easier on
> the fish, than the reverse. The high gH might alter your choices of
> fish, but I doubt it would be anything more than the most acid-loving
> types which would not adjust to it. Getting them to spawn might be a
> little trickier though, but that's usually not a priority for most
> people.
>
> NetMax
>
>

[NetMax]

"Houseslave" > wrote in message
...
> My water is medium hard. But my PH out of the tap is very high
(7.6-7,8).My
> KH is low out of the tap. First I added buffering-PH stable which is
> phosphate free. Next, I added PH Control Minus to get the PH lower.
The PH
> kept creeping back up. So I kept adding buffering material to the
water.
> Now my KH is on the high side and my PH is 7.0. I'm hoping it will
stay
> there. I'll let you know. I also lower my temp a little to allow more
> oxygen into the water and increased surface agitation. I guess this
will
> also let out co2 which again will influence my PH. I hope I'm not
fighting
> a battle that I can never win. I'm thinking a RO unit might make the
most
> sense. However, they are not cheap and use lots of water.

Medium hard water with a pH of around 7.7 does not sound that bad. Our
city tap water is 7.7 and we keep almost everything in it. The
exceptions are Discus, Chocolate gouramis and Altum Angelfish.

If I've learned anything in over 30 years of aquaria, is that the less
chemicals I use, the better my stability. I only use pH altering
chemicals to quickly prepare an empty tank for a shipment of Discus, and
dual CO2 injectors to keep the pH low. Driftwood and lots of plants also
help, or I use calcium leeching minerals to boost the gH/kH/pH. This is
what has worked for me. Sorry I can't help you with your chemistry ;~).

NetMax