High Ph, Low Kh

[MrPurplePickle]

Alrighty,

Concerned about where to go with things after my fishless cycle finishes.
When I was finally able to test Ph and KH of my tank water, my ph was 6.4..KH was 1

After adding 4 teaspoons of baking soda (240 litre tank), and with an addition of 1 teaspoon every second day
the Ph has been stable at around 7.4-7.8 and the KH stable at 4.

From most of the reading I have done, a low KH generally means a low Ph, and vice versa.

However my tap water has a PH of 8.4-8.8 and a KH of 2.
Not really sure what the implications of these readings mean, except a possible pain in the posterior.
ie: Will my Fish selection be an issue?, Will I have to play with the Ph, KH of the tap water before doing water changes?

Hope all that makes sense.

 

[waterdrop]

You probably don't need to be so conservative with the baking soda in a big tank like that during your fishless cycle. The bacteria would like to see a pH of 8.0 to 8.4 for optimal growth and you've got both high pH tap water and the baking soda to help you go more in that direction.

You probably don't need to worry so much about what all this will be like after you get fish. Its true that every tap water situation is different and its good to keep watching what your water is like and what various species of fish might prefer and continually thinking about and hopefully improving your situation over the months/years. But you may find that your parameters make for a fine tank. Don't forget that its mostly fishless cycling that pushes downward so hard on the KH and pH and that pressure will not be nearly as great after fish.

You will be on the borderline deciding whether to just maintain via your weekly water changes or whether to raise hardness some via crushed coral in a mesh bag in the filter. You also may have a double positive if you like wood decorations from not only the good looks of the wood but also its tendency to pull the pH down some. If you will be working on live plants then raising the hardness some via the crushed coral may be a plus.

Sounds to me like you've got a pretty positive situation.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[MrPurplePickle]

Thanks WD.
I actually do have plenty of plenty of driftwood.
Just trying to take everything into consideration before running into too much of a potential issue.

Cheers