water hardness

[bonsai dave]

Hi there. I have really soft water where I live. My gh and kh are low . How can I raise the gh safety ? any suggestions

[Scribbles]

What are your GH and KH? Are you having problems keeping your PH stable?

Chris

[bonsai dave]

Yes I'm. I lost a male apisto last night. I did a 40 % water change today.
Kh= 0
Gh= 0- 30
ph.6.5.
I'm using api 5 in 1 test strips.
What are your GH and KH? Are you having problems keeping your PH stable?

Chris

[Scribbles]

Test strips are not as accurate as liquid tests so there is a margin of error. Is your PH stable?

Chris

[bonsai dave]

I'm going to get a new liquid test kit this weekend.I also have a mardel ph and anmonia intank monitor. a Yes the ph drops to about 6 .
Test strips are not as accurate as liquid tests so there is a margin of error. Is your PH stable?

Chris

[Eddie]

Your KH controls or buffers your PH. You can add crushed coral or even baking soda in a pinch. Crushed coral would be better. You will need to age/condition your water prior to water changes. You can add a bag of crushed coral to your water storage container and this will pump up your KH, keeping your PH stable.

HTH

Eddie

[bonsai dave]

Thanks to every one for the help. Much appreciated

[exv152]

For GH you add magnesium and calcium (mainly), Seachem Equilibrium is good, or Seachem Alkaline buffer, some people even use epson salts. As for KH, you can add crushed coral in the canister or buy a liquid KH buffer, both work well. Baking soda doesn't last and can in fact make your pH swing wildly if your KH is 0.

[Greenheinie]

Two questions:

1) Where do you buy crushed coral? Decent pet shops/aquariums sell it?

2) How long would baking soda buffer for? Would it work well between weekly water changes?

[kaceyo]

You can buy saltwater aquarium gravel that is crushed coral. But it's not cheap. You can also use crushed oyster shells which are sold at any farm supply outfit, and is very cheap.

Kacey

[daboo]

To keep the pH stable I recommend using Seachem's acid and alkaline buffer. If you add only alkaline buffer your pH will go high. Having the two together gives a more stable mixture. Discus like it more acid so I keep my pH around 6.4 - 6.8. Note that if you use this method do it gradually - don't shock the fish into drastic pH changes.

[exv152]

Two questions:

1) Where do you buy crushed coral? Decent pet shops/aquariums sell it?

2) How long would baking soda buffer for? Would it work well between weekly water changes?

Crushed coral is often sold as saltwater substrate, or you can use substrate used for african cichlids. Add some to your canister filter by putting it in a bag. Baking soda also helps but you need to add it in small amounts, and make sure not to over do it. Raising the KH is one thing, but you'll also need to do something about the GH, which is mostly magnesium and calcium and for this I find Seachem Equilibrium is the best.

[crkscrew]

I also use the Seachem equilibrium, acid buffer and akaline buffer. I am using RO water and this makes the PH very stable and keeps KH and GH constant even with weekly 50% water changes.

[mmorris]

Yes I'm. I lost a male apisto last night. I did a 40 % water change today.
Kh= 0
Gh= 0- 30
ph.6.5.
I'm using api 5 in 1 test strips.

A Gh of 0-30 is quite a range! Still, I don't think your Gh is an issue. The more you mess with your water the more problems you are going to have. Like Eddie said, add some crushed coral to your water storage container. Alternatively, put a cup or so in a lady's nylon stocking, knot it off and put it in your canister filter or hob. Water should flow through it to some degree. Check the ph and kh daily and adjust the amount of crushed coral as needed. As far as I can tell that is all you should need to do.