Water PH

[Vivienne]

Just taken delivery of my test kit and started off by testing the tap water. Figured it must be pretty soft since we get no limescale build up and need no salt in the dishwasher. Result has come back as 7 - neutral. Does this suit particular groups of fish or are there some I should probably avoid ? Also I have come across other hardness terms KH and I think it was CH. I'd really appreciate an explanation.

 

[annka5]

Was it KH and GH perhaps? GH is sometimes called "temporary hardness" and is measure of different minerals than is KH. It can be removed by boiling the water, and its this that gives you limescale.
KH is the one that is way more annoying to change. The 2 are closely linked, and I'm sure there will be someone along in a a bit who can tell you what minerals each measure. - I'd just need to mumble calcium and scuttle away.
Given you're in a softwater, neutral PH area, you're life is likely to be easier if you avoid African cichlids, and congo tetra (but not other tetras e.g. ones from S America) - the kind that come from the big African lakes, as they tend to need hard, alkaline water. I can't think of others which would be really tricky, though this is unlikely to be a definitive list!!

 

[Vivienne]

Thanks - I must have been searching for the wrong terms. Want to keep things simple. Definitately don't want to try altering hardness - try tp pick fish that are happy with what I've got !

 

[Griz]

A lot of people (including me ) would love to have 7.0 out of the tap. You are fortunate.