Ph Good, Gh Low?

[Darth]

Hey guys, just tested my tank. everything is good but my general hardness is about 12, would this be because of the driftwood??? A mate said if i put in a piece of coral it should harden the water a little??? Sound like a good idea? Will sandstone help? My tank wont really suit a bit of random coral but if it will help.... Any thoughts??

 

[MrPurplePickle]

Hi Darth,

A GH of 12 degrees would be considered reasonably hard, certainly not low. And would not be caused by your driftwood.
Adding coral will increase KH, carbonate hardness. Do you have a measurement for that?

 

[Darth]

I dont have a KH reading.... What sort of levels should i be looking at for both? I am looking to keep harlequin rasbora

 

[MrPurplePickle]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. In the 'wild' they would prefer slightly acidic water.
In reality, these will be locally bred with local water. As long as your Ph is not at the extremes it should be fine.
More important to keep it stable.

(I've never tested GH, my KH is very low so I keep an just keep an eye on the Ph to ensure it doesn't crash)

 

[Darth]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. In the 'wild' they would prefer slightly acidic water.
In reality, these will be locally bred with local water. As long as your Ph is not at the extremes it should be fine.
More important to keep it stable.

(I've never tested GH, my KH is very low so I keep an just keep an eye on the Ph to ensure it doesn't crash)

Cheers heaps Pickle, I feel much better about it now

 

[waterdrop]

Hi Darth,

Was looking back at your threads and couldn't really tell whether you have a random set of liquid tests or whether you are using paper strip tests? Also couldn't really tell how long the tank has been running and how long the fish have been in. You mention at one point that the black gravel has been in 2 weeks and that there are fish. Are you currently in a "fish-in" cycling situation or is the tank very old and established?

I only ask because in our "New to the Hobby" subforum we often get newcomers who haven't ever heard of "biofilters" or the "cycling" required to create them and its a thing the forum can help with a lot.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Darth]

Hey waterdrop, it is a new tank for me. An experienced friend gave me water from his tank and some bioload. The tank was running for about 1-2 months before anything went in there, then my friend had a heap of BN so gave me 6. Probably not the best way of doing things, only found this site when I joined so I'm slowly feeling my way through things. Water tests have all been very good so far, pH has stayed a constant 6.5-7 and ammonia 0....

 

[waterdrop]

How long were the 6 BN's in the tank?

 

[Darth]

How long were the 6 BN's in the tank?

They have been in there for nearly a month i guess

 

[waterdrop]

Oh, good, that means they've already "fish-in" cycled the filter long ago probably. Why does the general hardness figure of 12 (degrees or ppm?) bother you?

 

[Darth]

After reading a little more about it, i guess it doesn't, as long as my fish are happy and I can put the plants and harly rasbora in it with no worries i'm good. Thanx heaps for checking my thread Drop, appreciate it

 

[OldMan47]

I have my rasboras in harder water than that and they are fine. Plants can be another matter. It would be best to avoid plants that are for soft water only.

 

[Darth]

Thanks OldMan.... shall consider that for sure...