That answers alot of my questions, thanks.

The update includes
Iron, oxygen, carbon dioxide, chlorine/chloramine & copper.

anything else that you can think of that should be added?

Just some minor snags.

gH and kH should read KH and GH.

CaCO2 should read CaCO3.

Adjusting CO2 levels will generally not affect KH, only pH.

Adding peat will not lower GH only KH (and consenquently pH).

Nice post though.

points noted and amended

Ive just set up my freshwater tank, and filled it with water. Got the temperture to the correct level but there are millions of tiny bubbles on the inside of the glass. Ive wiped them away but the just reappear. Any ideas please?

Andy
Awilkinson75@aol.com

This happens when you fill a new tank,don't worry about it.

Cheers will keep an eye on it, have just spent £400 on all the equipment and fish etc so hope it all works out. Got correct temp and ph levels so will have to wait and see. Will keep you informed.

Cheers

Hi all.

having read all that, I'm still having trouble getting my head around my readings that I've just got from using a 5in1 strip test for the first time...currently running an old (slightly knackered) juwel vision and cycling a trigon 350 ready to take over.

the readings for the established tank (scaring me somewhat):

ph : 6.4
kh : 0
gh : 3
nitrate : 250+
nitrite : 0 - 0.5

for the new tank:

ph : 6.4
kh : 0
gh : 3
nitrate : 10
nitrite : 0

so, I'm wondering whether to started liberating my chaps and chapesses from the old tank into the new, but just don't know what to do for the best

any advice, comments etc, gratefully received.

hi Vick
firstly you can not have a kH of zero, by the scale the lowest kH is 1.
secondly if your established tank is running at 250ppm for no3, there would be no living animal in there.

I suggest that you invest in a decent test kit, like API freshwater master kit (around £15) as this uses liqued chemicals rather than a litmus strip, which are very inaccurate.

don't worry about yor pH, a level of 6.4 is ideal for most fish.
It is far better to have a stable pH than one that is continually fluctuating

Oh blimey, thought I was being all efficient buying these blooming strips, no wonder I couldn't make any sense of the findings! the lowest marking on the scale for KH is 0 and the next one up is 3, so clearly not a particularly specific measure...

good new about the ph though eh!!

thanks for that, I'll invest in a liquid test methinks.

You could also use baking soda to raise your PH

Best advice ive ever recieved. Excellent post.

Hi all, semi newbie here, i just read with great interest everything i could find here about pH, and i have a bit of a question for anyone who has an opinion on it.

So, the scenario is- temp 26/27, mature tank with no ammonium/nitrate probs, 5 gallons, weekly 15% changes. contains one Betta (loving the conditions), and one golden eel tail (Hyrtl"s Tandan or Neosilurus hyrtlii- small growing catfish, Australian native, lives in range of conditions from fast flowing clear waters to filthy stagnant dams/lakes).

The problem is, pH continually rising past 8.1. Water is medium hard. Betta is very happy but i am concerned about my catty, as i would think he is mainly tolerant of low pH, living with lots of decaying organic material in the wild. He has been in the tank for 3 days, and is starting to eat.

I come from a lfs background (a few years ago, no more though), where as a newbie it was hammered into me that pH is critical and that pH adjusting products were as important as water conditioner ( profit margins eh?), to be used immediately there was a change in pH. ( to correct pH gradually though, not dump a cupfull in at once!)

So, to the point (finally!)- should i stop doing this and hope my catty deals with it at a steady but very high pH, or should i keep adjusting down? none of the techniques i have read here for lowering and maintaining a lower pH have been effective enough to keep it really steady.

This post has been edited by merry78: Jun 27 2007, 02:07 AM

IME
it is far better to have a stable pH than one that is always fluctuating.
you pH would be ideal for African cichids maybe you could consider changing your stocking to them.

another alternative would be to use RO water,
from now on do all your water changes with RO.
this will gradually bring your pH down to neutral.
you will probably have to add some of the minerals back into the RO water
and Sera mineral salts would be one option for that.

A LFS that deals in marine fish will most likely sell RO water or you could buy your own RO unit and have a ready supply at home.

HTH

Thanks so much wolf, will look into this asap.