Gh & Kh Api Test Kit Help And Advice

[DaveA76]

hi just bought a test kit for this ive confused myself somehow and cant understand the results
the KH takes 9 drops
anf the GH takes 12 drops to make the relevant changes to the water in the test tubes what does this mean ?
also the ph is around 8 so what type of fish is this atyle of water ideal for this water is straight out of the tap as thinking of starting another tank up with something different in to the main tank but want to match this fish to the water rather try and change the water if you understand me ?
, my main tank is stocked with cichlids like angels, bolivians and kribs and are doingwell with the bristlenoses but this tank has quiote a bit of bogwood in which i beieve make the water softer

 

[Essjay]

GH is a measure of divalent metal ions in the water. For all practical purposes, that is the same as saying GH is a measure of the amount of calcium in the water. Calcium is what makes water hard. The API testers measure hardness as German degrees, 12 drops of reagent means 12 degrees, which is the same as 214 ppm. The problem here is that depending where you look, that's either moderately hard, hard or very hard! Some tables say the moderately hard/hard boundary is 320 ppm, others say anything over 120 ppm is very hard. It makes things a bit confusing for choosing fish.

KH is a measure of the amount of buffer in the water, usually in the form of carbonate. Again, 9 drops means 9 German degrees, or 160 ppm. KH is not important for deciding what kind of fish you can keep, but it indicates how easy it is for the pH of the water to change. Below 4 degrees, there is a risk of a pH crash; yours is well above that so you aren't. But it does mean you won't be able to lower the pH easily as the KH will resist changes.

With a pH of 8, fish that would do well are those that like hard alkaline water, though it's probably not hard enough for Rift Lake ciclids without adding a bit more hardness in the form of Rift Lake buffer - if you wanted to try these fish, I'd check in the Old World ciclid section. Other types of fish include the common livebearers, gobies, some kinds of rainbowfish and killifish, and quite a few of the fish you'll find in the oddball section.