KH level adjustments.....

[El Roberto]

Howdy there,

glad to say my aquarium is going swimmingly (oh dear!): have put one tiny
goldfish in who seems to be having the time of his life... all the water
levels are good, there's enough nitrate to show that the tank is cycling,
and pH and stuff is fine.

However, my KH reading is 0, and has actually decreased considerably since
the little critter went in. Is there an obvious reason for this?
Furthermore, how do I hike the KH up to above 3 degrees? I've been told
marble chips and baking soda are both good ideas, but not sure in what
dosage I need to do this... my tank is 22 litres, which makes it about 5 US
gallons (I think).

Any ideas? As I said, everything's well with the fish but I don't want the
buffering capacity of the water going ape****.

R

[atomweaver]

"El Roberto" > wrote in
:

> Howdy there,
>
> glad to say my aquarium is going swimmingly (oh dear!): have put one
> tiny goldfish in who seems to be having the time of his life... all
> the water levels are good, there's enough nitrate to show that the
> tank is cycling, and pH and stuff is fine.
>
> However, my KH reading is 0, and has actually decreased considerably
> since the little critter went in. Is there an obvious reason for this?
> Furthermore, how do I hike the KH up to above 3 degrees? I've been
> told marble chips and baking soda are both good ideas, but not sure in
> what dosage I need to do this... my tank is 22 litres, which makes it
> about 5 US gallons (I think).
>
> Any ideas? As I said, everything's well with the fish but I don't want
> the buffering capacity of the water going ape****.
>

A quarter to a half cup of aragonite sand substrate (used for marine
tanks), or a half-cup of cushed sea shells, rinsed thoroughly and scattered
over your current substrate will give your tank a slow upward increase in
KH, without making your water too hard. I tried working with marble chips
and baking soda, but both (especially the latter) ended up swinging
hardness parameters too fast for my taste. YMMV... Good luck!

Regards
DaveZ
Atom Weaver

[carlrs]

El Roberto wrote:
> Howdy there,
>
> glad to say my aquarium is going swimmingly (oh dear!): have put one tiny
> goldfish in who seems to be having the time of his life... all the water
> levels are good, there's enough nitrate to show that the tank is cycling,
> and pH and stuff is fine.
>
> However, my KH reading is 0, and has actually decreased considerably since
> the little critter went in. Is there an obvious reason for this?
> Furthermore, how do I hike the KH up to above 3 degrees? I've been told
> marble chips and baking soda are both good ideas, but not sure in what
> dosage I need to do this... my tank is 22 litres, which makes it about 5 US
> gallons (I think).
>
> Any ideas? As I said, everything's well with the fish but I don't want the
> buffering capacity of the water going ape****.
>
> R

My personal preference for Kh problems (Calcium) are Wonder shells.
They adjust more rapidly than crushed coral or aragonite and provide
magnesium (so does arogonite) and and many electrolytes that aragonite
does not. We have used both in our aquarium maintenance business for
years and have found the wonder shells superior.

For more info about KH:
http://kh-aquarium.blogspot.com/

Carl

[swarvegorilla]

"El Roberto" > wrote in message
...
> Howdy there,
>
> glad to say my aquarium is going swimmingly (oh dear!): have put one tiny
> goldfish in who seems to be having the time of his life... all the water
> levels are good, there's enough nitrate to show that the tank is cycling,
> and pH and stuff is fine.
>
> However, my KH reading is 0, and has actually decreased considerably since
> the little critter went in. Is there an obvious reason for this?
> Furthermore, how do I hike the KH up to above 3 degrees? I've been told
> marble chips and baking soda are both good ideas, but not sure in what
> dosage I need to do this... my tank is 22 litres, which makes it about 5
> US gallons (I think).
>
> Any ideas? As I said, everything's well with the fish but I don't want the
> buffering capacity of the water going ape****.
>
> R
>

WHat sorta filter mate?
If UGF then a handfull or 2 of shellgrit/coral/limestone/marble/calc
carb/arag mixed in with the gravel will do it.
I'm a fan of a chunk of limestone in the tank or a bag of larger marble in a
filter.
either way it's just a goldy, pretty broad range there.
don't change more than 50% of the water at once and it should stay nice and
stable.
If the stuff your using to buffer your water grows a slimecoat, rinse it off
or it will seal in the good stuff and cease to buffer! Once a once works for
me, just make sure it's not your primary biological filter first!!! :)
I prefer to use calcium carbonate for quick adjusts upwards but not much
need usually.
To keep the GH cruising having a bit of epson salt ta add everynow and again
can be helpful.
The actual measurements of your tests would really help hey