Low "ish" KH.

[TallPaul]

Hi all. I have a tank that I had cycled with a bottled bacteria supplement called Microbe Lift Nite Out.

After battling a bit of bloom, diatoms and a duff heater I have been testing my water, with test strips as I am awaiting delivery of my proper test kit.

The tank is 35 litres, is well planted with java fern, Java moss, anubias nana and cryptocoryne parva. It is home to a solitary male betta who has the whole place to himself.

Although I've used test strips I've found my results to be consistent pretty much. Latest results show:
0 ammonia
0 nitrites
0-10 nitrates
6.5 - 7.0 ph
60 GH
40 KH

My KH is always lower than 80 although I haven't seen any swings in ph levels.

I am sticking to twice weekly water changes replacing 30% although the last 2 changes I replaced 60%.

Should I be concerned about KH? Could it just be innacuracy in the strips? I will have the proper test kit today

 

[TallPaul]

Update:

Tested with API Masterkit.

pH 6.8
Ammonia 0.0
Nitrites 0.0
Nitrates 0.0

The tank is heavily planted as I just bought some more stem plants and water spangled.

 

[NickAu]

Should I be concerned about KH?

No.

Photos of the tank please. Its an unwritten rule you ask a Betta question you must provide a photo LOL

 

[TallPaul]

Here's Spike, the not a crown tail betta.

 

[Essjay]

KH affects fish only indirectly. If KH drops to zero, there is nothing left to buffer the pH against changes. The natural tendency of a tank is to become acidic, and if the KH is low it can become used up then with no buffer the pH can drop dramatically.

My KH is 3 degrees, or 53 ppm. I find that regular weekly water changes of 50% are enough to keep the KH topped up. About 15 years ago I was very lazy about water changes and I did suffer a pH crash, but I learned my lesson and since then with regular water changes I have not had a problem.

 

[TallPaul]

Added some new plants too. They look great

 

[Byron]

I agree with essjay. My GH and KH are basically zero [officially, 7 ppm or less than half of 1 degree] in my tap water, and I add no buffering of any sort. So in the tanks it remains zero. The pH varies depending upon the tank; in some it is in the mid 6 range, in others below 5 [I cannot test below 5 so no idea what it is exactly]. Provided you keep fish suited to such water, you have no issues.

You have not indicated the pH of the tap (source) water, as presumably the pH given is the tank water. Provided the pH is not significantly different between the two, water changes should not be a problem. "Significantly different" I take to mean 1 degree in pH or more. But you also need to know the actual pH of the tap water (remember to out-gas any CO2 before testing tap water) and if they add anything to achieve that pH. In my case, the tap water is 7.0 or sometimes 7.2, but they add soda ash to achieve this pH [natural source water is below 5] and this dissipates out very rapidly, so when I do a 60-70% water change, the pH may be 5 in the tank and 7 in the tap water but the pH in the tank never rises more than a couple decimal places, which is not an issue at all.

 

[TallPaul]

I haven't tested the tap water but I'm doubtful it would swing wildly from the tank pH of 6.8. Next time I test I will take a baseline from the tap first.

The tank is home to a solitary betta. He seems healthy enough, even though I "rescued" him from PetsAtHome.

It's my first time owning tropical fish of any sort so I figured that if I can keep a single betta fish alive for at least 1 year then I will have gotten the basics down enough to pick up a community tank in future.

I have been very thorough with preparation and studying before purchasing anything. I bought most equipment from a more reputable store but my daughter was insistent on having a blue and red fish so we got him from a big pet store.

We chose the betta because it is a solitary fish, it is still very attractive and is considered relatively hardy. I certainly would not choose to raise gouramis, cichlids or discus as a first timer.

 

[Byron]

I haven't tested the tap water but I'm doubtful it would swing wildly from the tank pH of 6.8. Next time I test I will take a baseline from the tap first.

In case you do not know already, you need to out-gas any CO2 before testing tap water. Letting a glass of fresh tap water sit 24 hours will out-gas the CO2. You can also briskly agitate a small amount of tap water for several moments; not everyone considers this as reliable. [This is not needed with tank water.]

The Betta will be fine with an acidic pH, so the KH is not an issue here from that perspective.

 

[TallPaul]

In case you do not know already, you need to out-gas any CO2 before testing tap water. Letting a glass of fresh tap water sit 24 hours will out-gas the CO2. You can also briskly agitate a small amount of tap water for several moments; not everyone considers this as reliable. [This is not needed with tank water.]

The Betta will be fine with an acidic pH, so the KH is not an issue here from that perspective.

Thanks for your help again. I didn't know about out-gassing but I would have assumed it was something to do with agitating the water like the way we agitate the chemicals in our test vials.

I will certainly take some base line results for the future.

For now thanks for your help. It's been a great resource and I just want the very best for my fish. My wife is going crazy because I'm regularly changing water, testing, adding plants etc. Perhaps that's why her childhood fish died every few weeks

I spot feed him with Hikari Betta Bio food using tweezers so overfeeding and losing food is impossible. Saturday has been his fast day and so Sunday will be his treat day, after a part water change, with frozen daphnia.

One odd thing. I'm sure his face is going darker. I know bettas can change colour and mine certainly has a smattering of koi patterns on his head.

 

[NickAu]

Love the tank.