Water Levels Help Pls

[DreS]

hi, i posted this in the welcome section but havent had an answer yet so thought id post in here too. hope thats ok.

my tap water kh is 240 and gh is 180. they are also the same readings that i got from our tank for the last few days. should i be concerned about this?

all readings from todays water test:

ph - 8
nitrite - 0.5
nitrate - 20
kh - 240
gh - 180

weve had the tank since last thursday and have 5 platys in there with live plants (i didnt know about fishless cycyling until after we already had fish in there). all of the platys seem to be doing ok at the moment but im worried about the water hardness as we intend to eventually have neon tetras, harlequin rasboras and schwatrtz's corys. ive read a lot about kh and gh and some seem to suggest it shouldnt be a problem but others suggest ways of lowering them so im confused.

(we have a juwel rekord 800 (110L) with live plants).

any help you could give would be great. thanks.

 

[Aqua Tom]

Lowering PH & Hardness is a science in itself that even the experts have trouble with so it realy is not worth trying. My water is ph8 with gh & kh both well over 214 (api test), so we are in the same boat.

Bear in mind that your local fish store (lfs) will be keeping their fish in the same water as you. Spend a few weeks going back to the shop to keep an eye on the health of their fish (pick one or two tanks to check repeatedly) & if the fish are ok then you should have no problem. If you realy want to compare take a sample bottle to the shop & ask for some of their tank water to take away, then test it against yours, if they are the same or very similer then away you go.

Hope this helps.

 

[DreS]

Lowering PH & Hardness is a science in itself that even the experts have trouble with so it realy is not worth trying. My water is ph8 with gh & kh both well over 214 (api test), so we are in the same boat.

Bear in mind that your local fish store (lfs) will be keeping their fish in the same water as you. Spend a few weeks going back to the shop to keep an eye on the health of their fish (pick one or two tanks to check repeatedly) & if the fish are ok then you should have no problem. If you realy want to compare take a sample bottle to the shop & ask for some of their tank water to take away, then test it against yours, if they are the same or very similer then away you go.

Hope this helps.

thanks tom. thats put my mind at rest a bit. the platys seem to be doing fine and has been a week now so fingers crossed everything will be ok.

 

[moochy13]

ive read on here that fish will adapt to differing ph etc, and as mentioned youre using the same water your lfs is using. even better your fish could be being bred in water similar to yours. your main concern at the moment should be keeping the ammonia and nitrites/nitrates low.

 

[KittyKat]

Agreed with above, keep the ammonia and nitrate below 0.25ppm or it will harm the fish permanently. The high pH means that ammonia is more toxic to your fish, even in small amounts. In fact, I would add even more plants as they will help (but this will mean you would need to be more careful when stocking later).

I find that the best way to lower the pH is by adding bogwood, more plants, waiting for the set-up to mature. Which substrate are you using? Some decor and some substrates have buffering properties which affect pH and hardness. It is true that most fish you will buy locally will be more used to your tap water parameter (what are these for you, by the way?), but I find that they will still do better in softer water. I have lived in hard water areas for most of my fish-keeping life while having a strong preference for soft water fish, so know the problem well.

 

[myrtle]

Bear in mind that your local fish store (lfs) will be keeping their fish in the same water as you.

Not necessarily. One of my lfs uses RO water for all fish that don't like hard water so it's best to ask first. Needless to say I buy all my fish from the lfs that uses the same water as I have in my tap. They don't even bother stocking fish that won't survive in hard water as they know that the majority of people buying fish from them will be keeping them in hard water.

My advice would be to concentrate on the ammonia/nitrite readings as others have said and then choose fish that suit your water as opposed to struggle to keep fish in water that's not suitable for them.

 

[DreS]

Agreed with above, keep the ammonia and nitrate below 0.25ppm or it will harm the fish permanently. The high pH means that ammonia is more toxic to your fish, even in small amounts. In fact, I would add even more plants as they will help (but this will mean you would need to be more careful when stocking later).

I find that the best way to lower the pH is by adding bogwood, more plants, waiting for the set-up to mature. Which substrate are you using? Some decor and some substrates have buffering properties which affect pH and hardness. It is true that most fish you will buy locally will be more used to your tap water parameter (what are these for you, by the way?), but I find that they will still do better in softer water. I have lived in hard water areas for most of my fish-keeping life while having a strong preference for soft water fish, so know the problem well.

we have standard gravel that came in a bag from the lfs as a substrate. not sure what its called or anything as threw the bag it came in away. wish id read up on everything before setting everything up but we all learn from our mistakes. ive got some bogwood on order and will def add a few more plants to help lower the ph.

thanks for the advice every1.

 

[Aqua Tom]

Bear in mind that your local fish store (lfs) will be keeping their fish in the same water as you.

Not necessarily. One of my lfs uses RO water for all fish that don't like hard water so it's best to ask first.

Good point. I agree, always ask first.

 

[waterdrop]

Hello DreS and Welcome to our beginners section!

You are in a Fish-In cycle and if your tests (appears they may be paper strip tests) are to be believed (which they shouldn't really) then your fish may be suffering possible nerve damage from the high nitrite(NO2) level in your un-cycled tank.

You need to perform at least one very large water change with good technique (or more likely two changes) and you need to probably be finding a good liquid-reagent based test kit (unless I'm wrong about your test kit type.) Most of us like and use the API Freshwater Master Test Kit.

The members here are great and any number of them can help you with all this, including understanding what is good technique in proper water changing!

Hardness, both general and carbonate, is the least of your concerns and is probably quite good in your tank for the cycling process you are just beginning.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[DreS]

thanks. i am about to do a large water change. our pregnant platy just had fry and there looks to be at least 40 that are alive and kicking. they are so cute.

i will also pop out and buy a liquid test kit as recommended.

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

that test kit is the best piece of kit you will ever buy good luck keep us updated!