Water Reading

[hargi22]

hi,
just tested my water and i know about ammonia no2 and no3
but my ph, gh and kh are confusing me
my ph is alternating between 7.6 and 7.8 i could really do with it been 8.2, been thinking of gettig some proper 8.2 set is this any good or i read that baking soda could be used?
today is the first time i checked my gh and kh
kh is 3 degrees
gh is 14 to 15 degrees but i dont understand what this means
i got 2 tufa rocks in there but what can i do to make this better for my mumba?

 

[freddyk]

First things first, don't use products like proper ph - they're highly unstable and a waste of money anyway given that there's cheaper alternatives.

The GH of 14 is perfect for Tanganyikans, and while it's higher then Malawis require they'll do well in this water too. The higher GH of the water means it's more rich in minerals, a good thing that will help keep your PH stable.

The low KH, which is the carbonate hardness, is a little low. This element doesn't directly affect the fish, but it does affect the buffering capability of the water. A higher KH means more stable water.

The PH of your water is fine, but we want it nice and stable.

The tufa rock is going to help some, and one of the easiest ways of stabilizing your water is by adding more of it. Since these fish like caves anyway this would work out well for you.

Baking soda is another option - since it is just calcium carbonate it will raise your KH as high as you'd like it, and it's really cheap too. The PH will rise to about 8.2-8.3 as a healthy side affect to adding the BS. You will need to add it with each water change, of course. The affect of BS will wear off over time, so if you don't change your water at least once bi-weekly then you should test the KH at this point and see if it's worth adding a bit more. The ideal KH is about 10-15 degrees, or about 200 ppm.

 

[hargi22]

First things first, don't use products like proper ph - they're highly unstable and a waste of money anyway given that there's cheaper alternatives.

The GH of 14 is perfect for Tanganyikans, and while it's higher then Malawis require they'll do well in this water too. The higher GH of the water means it's more rich in minerals, a good thing that will help keep your PH stable.

The low KH, which is the carbonate hardness, is a little low. This element doesn't directly affect the fish, but it does affect the buffering capability of the water. A higher KH means more stable water.

The PH of your water is fine, but we want it nice and stable.

The tufa rock is going to help some, and one of the easiest ways of stabilizing your water is by adding more of it. Since these fish like caves anyway this would work out well for you.

Baking soda is another option - since it is just calcium carbonate it will raise your KH as high as you'd like it, and it's really cheap too. The PH will rise to about 8.2-8.3 as a healthy side affect to adding the BS. You will need to add it with each water change, of course. The affect of BS will wear off over time, so if you don't change your water at least once bi-weekly then you should test the KH at this point and see if it's worth adding a bit more. The ideal KH is about 10-15 degrees, or about 200 ppm.

Can you help me with the adding of baking soda? how much do i add? and how ofter? do i dump a big load on or do i add a litle over time?

 

[freddyk]

Different water needs different amounts.

Get a 5 gallon bucket and fill it with 4 gallons of water. Add a tsp of BS, mix it up, and ideally run an airstone for a while. Measure the KH. Keep adding more BS, keeping track of the amount, until you reach the desired levels of 12-15. Now you know how much to add per 4 gallons of water to get where you want. Once you're through you should find the PH at about 8.2.

Now just guess the volume of water in the tank. If it is a 50 gallon tank and you have 4 gallons of substrate, and perhaps 10 gallons of rocks, then figure about 35 gallons of water. It doesn't have to be perfect, an estimate will do the job. If it took 1 tsp of BS to get the 4 gallons up to par, then you're looking at about 9 tsp of BS for this tank. At this point I would add 3 tsp each day for 3 days, that way the change is more gradual.