Water Chemistry

[kiriyama]

Hi , I am running a small cichlid tank at the moment, I have in it coral sand, cichlid sand , ocean rock and tufa rock, all this takes the ph up where I want it , what I am trying to find out is the gh or kh , as I understand it the cichlids prefer hard water so I was wondering about adding a small amount of bicarbonate(spelling?) of soda at each water change , is this sometthing I should be doing or is it more likely to affect the ph?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated......

 

[drobbyb]

If you already have coral sand your KH and GH will be raised already. You wouldn't need to add baking soda.

 

[OldMan47]

If you actually want to know how hard the water is, there are GH/KH kits that will tell you just where the hardness is. Many LFS don't carry them because they are not in high demand, but they are available on line for a small cost, about like buying a pH kit.

 

[raptorrex]

Hi , I am running a small cichlid tank at the moment, I have in it coral sand, cichlid sand , ocean rock and tufa rock, all this takes the ph up where I want it , what I am trying to find out is the gh or kh , as I understand it the cichlids prefer hard water so I was wondering about adding a small amount of bicarbonate(spelling?) of soda at each water change , is this sometthing I should be doing or is it more likely to affect the ph?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated......

I'd go with drobbyb on this. i feel you , probably, need no other additives. but a "proper" test kit will, reveal all.