Gh/Kh units?

[daninthesand]

I just measured the hardness of a batch of aged tap water with a Hagen test kit. It comes in as

GH 100ppm (IE it took 5 drops of reagent for color change)
KH 80ppm (IE it took 8 drops of reagent for color change)

the "ppm" units is how the test kit defines its results. It also says ppm is the same as mg/L as CaCO3 (calcium carbonat).

I see most people post their GH/KH in numbers like 5 and 6 etc. with no units. Is there a conversion from ppm to these other units?

How soft whould you say this water is? The test kit suggests the above values are "slightly hard" (the kit's words).

What is your opinion of these values as to discus grow out and breeding suitability?

[Ardan]

Hi Dan,
Divide by 17.9 to get it to the units usually used. =

GH 100= 5.5

KH 80 = 4.5

Fine for grow outs. Maybe want to mix 50% RO water for breeding.
Moderately hard as is.

hth

hi daninthesand

The formula would be XX ppm-mg/l * 0.056 = dGH or dKH

HTH
Ronald

[daninthesand]

Perfect. just what I needed.

Thanks. Ardan and Ronald.

Is this again a case of Fraction and Dezimal ?

Ronald

[daninthesand]

If I wanted to alter the Ph of my tap water using muriatic acid (HCl) is my water's hardness suitable for safe non-crashing adjustments? What about if I bring my ppm's down by half using RO. What then...is it still gonna be stable if I bring the pH down?


Daniel

PS> I know! I know! If it ain't broke don't fix it. But I'm curious. ;D

Daniel
I have tried it with HCL and my para were GH 60 ppm and KH 20 ppm. I was not able to stabilize the Tap. Might have been something else that has destabled it but I don't know.
I have stabalized it a bit with Crushed Coral.

Now I use only R/O with much better results.

HTH Ronald

[Ardan]

At that KH, you would need a lot of acid.
If you used 50% RO then it would take a lot less acid. should still be stable and not crash.
Experiment in a bucket.
Its best to change the ph in an aging barrel, not in the tank.

hth