kh and dh

[piranhafreak]

hi i was wondering what the correct kh and gh levels are i got a kh reading of 53.7 and the gh showed up nothing i am new with discus and i have never monitered these levels with my other fish but i am told i really should with discus so the help would be apperciated thanks

[Ardan]

Hi,
KH affects the stability of ph. Your kh is such that the ph should be fairly stable.

Gh measures minerals, a GH of 3 to 6 IMO is good (corresponds to 54 to 108 )

Do you have a water softener that is removing the minerals, or is the water naturally soft in your area?

hth

[Bigmo]

I also had a 0 gh reading, and my kh reading was 17 with a ph of 8.6 From my experience you need to increase your gh levels otherwise your discus will not develope. My discus were getting hole in the head, and dying, and I always wondered why. I now know why, it's because of the gh level being zero. Your gh levels represent the calcium and magnesium levels which the discus depend on for proper growth, and unless you increase this they will die. I'm adding a product called r/o right which adds minerals back into the water to raise the gh level. There is also another product called equilibrium which is produced by seachem which might help.

Doug,
I'd use Epsom Salt to raise the gh and Calcium Carbonate to raise the gh and kh at the same time. It is the exact same chemicals, the aquarium companies just chare 10x for them and slap a name on the bottle. I also add Discus Essential to the water, but I'm not sure even this is necessary.
Brad

[ChienHsu]

Hi! Ardan:

My tank water parameters are:

kh = 3
gh = 8
TDS = 180
ph = 7

I have used a peat plate (from Hagen) and tried to lower down ph value as well as soften the water. But, I failer. Can you tell me how can I achive the goal?

Thanks

Chien

[Ardan]

Hi Chien,
I think an RO unit would help. Mix RO water with tap water to get the GH and KH lower. Then the ph can be adjusted more easily if you want to.

hth

[Jameson]

My parameters out of the tap are;


ph- 7.4

gh- 2

kh- 2

total dissolved solids - 97 average


currently i have been using r/o right to bring gh up to 5, and baking soda to bring kh up to 5 or 6. my discus are all much less skittish, all at the front of the tank whenver i am near begging for food. before they would only come out when they saw or smelled food and hide in the plants. doing this to the hardness has had a great effect on my fish and plants, and now instead of a 5.5ph all the time, i plumb co2 in to get a netural or slightly below 7.0 ph and my fish seem thrilled. just my experience, with adults I have none, but my 3-4 inch fish are thriving and thick bodied e.t.c. their colors are amazing and have never touched hormoned food.

jc