Having Trouble Adjusting Kh

[wombat1100]

Hi guys,
I am currently have a problem adjusting my Kh in both of my tanks, they read <1 deg of Kh 0ppm and even after adding the Kh powder at the advised qty ( 1 tsp per 20lt) the readings are the same.
As a result of course my Ph is very low (around 6.0)and I cant seem to get it to come up.
I have never tried to adjust Kh before and i am unsure if i should keep adding the Kh powder or not?
any help or advice is appreciated
Dazz

[Jools]

Dazz

What else do you have in the tank?
Is there alot of drift wood that could be softening your water?
What substrates do you have in your filter? Some newer type substrates are known to bring down PH levels, just ask Marc&#33;&#33;&#33;
I would suggest putting shell grit in you tank, wether it be in the gravel and or in the filter, this helps to buffer the PH up by adding carbonate to the water. I would also recommend using RIFT LAKE salts rather than just KH up as the rift lakes have other buffers in them to help keep your PH up for longer.
Cheers
Joolz

[wombat1100]

Dazz

What else do you have in the tank?
Is there alot of drift wood that could be softening your water?
What substrates do you have in your filter? Some newer type substrates are known to bring down PH levels, just ask Marc&#33;&#33;&#33;
I would suggest putting shell grit in you tank, wether it be in the gravel and or in the filter, this helps to buffer the PH up by adding carbonate to the water. I would also recommend using RIFT LAKE salts rather than just KH up as the rift lakes have other buffers in them to help keep your PH up for longer.
Cheers
Joolz[/b]

Hi Jools, I have a couple of bits of driftwood in there, and i knew that would add to the problem , i was going to try shell grit in the canister filter, it just has Dacron and ceramic noodles at the moment , but i didn&#39;t think you could buy shell any more, wasn&#39;t it banned or something?
Dazz

[joz]

Shell grtit sounds like the go but you might also try some ground coral if you can get,it would do the same thing.

[PeteFromTassie]

Are you sure your KH test kit is okay??? I&#39;d suggest taking some water to a LFS and getting them to test it&#33; KH ajustments raise pH and can be a bit of a shock to fish&#33;

Did you say you were in Macleod??

I would NOT recommend adding rift lake salts, they are designed for African Cichlids, not general tropicals&#33; What about your GH levels? Okay??

Cheers,
Pete.

[wombat1100]

Are you sure your KH test kit is okay??? I&#39;d suggest taking some water to a LFS and getting them to test it&#33; KH ajustments raise pH and can be a bit of a shock to fish&#33;

Did you say you were in Macleod??

I would NOT recommend adding rift lake salts, they are designed for African Cichlids, not general tropicals&#33; What about your GH levels? Okay??

Cheers,
Pete.[/b]


Hi Pete, I have tried 2 different test kits with the same result for Kh and Ph,I am concerned because I want to raise my Ph as it is at 6.0, my gh is at 120ppm ,i have just purchased the shell and i will try it in my canister filter, i opted away from the rift lake salts as it raises the gh too high for the fish I&#39;m keeping , or planning to keep.
I am in Macleod by the way Pete.
Dazz

[wombat1100]

OK I have bought some crushed sea shell so I will add it to my canister filters and see how we go.
Dazz

[PeteFromTassie]

Keep us updated man, I reckon that&#39;ll help&#33;

Catch up for a beer sometime??

Cheers,
Pete.

[wombat1100]

Well its been 48 hrs since i put the crushed shell into my canister filter and the results are good.
Ph is up from 6.0 to nearly 7.0 the Gh is at 90ppm, the Kh is up from 0 to 50ppm so I hope this will remain stable and the fish react well to it, thanks for the help guys.
Dazz

[wombat1100]

Oh and a beer would be good Pete&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;
Dazz

[joz]

Good to hear about your success with the shell,just keep an eye on your PH though as shell will dissolve over time and you&#39;ll be needing to add more.
Also with adding salts,must be carefull as many catfish do not like salt at all.
It kills them,just ask me :(

[wombat1100]

Thats a good point Joz,
now I&#39;m looking at getting some clown loaches, and if i remember right they are scaleless fish so salt is a big problem, can anyone shed some light now that I have already added the shell grit to the tank, will it be OK to add some clown loaches??
Dazz

[sharkybubba]

hey guys, im also having troubles with my kh now :unsure: ...

its ridiculously high, i stop testing after 440ppm.... my gh is not to bad, around 125ppm which is a little high but not sky rocketing and my ph is between 6.8-7. ive been doing frequent water changes to lower my gh as this was particulalry high but now thats fine i cant keep a hold on my kh...any suggestions?

[mac_man_luke]

What substrate do have have? anything such as white rock etc?

[GoGuppy]

hey guys, im also having troubles with my kh now :unsure: ...

its ridiculously high, i stop testing after 440ppm.... my gh is not to bad, around 125ppm which is a little high but not sky rocketing and my ph is between 6.8-7. ive been doing frequent water changes to lower my gh as this was particulalry high but now thats fine i cant keep a hold on my kh...any suggestions?[/b]

Hi SB

Have you made any changes lately, or done something differently, such as add bicarb to the water?
It&#39;s a bit unusual for the KH to go up so dramatically and the pH to remain around neutral, particularly if you&#39;re not injecting CO2 to the system :wacko:

One thing you could do in the meantime (other than more water changes...) is get a packet of peat granuals from your LFS and either place these in your filter or simply put a handful on an old nylon stocking and just place this in your tank near the filter return. The peat is a bit expensive but it lasts a long time.
Let us know how you go.

Cheers.

[sharkybubba]

hey guys,

@ MML: i just have a basic gravel that i got from the LFS, but no not white rock- i dont think :blush: .

and @ GG: the only thing i have added chemically to my water is bio-min, which i reduced a little because it made the GH rise and bio safe to remove the chlorine- thats it, i should also point out that two days ago my kh was just a little high, but no where near what it is at the moment&#33; :(

i guess i&#39;ll have to hit up the girl at the aquarium and see if she has some suggestions1 thanks for your help guys, much appreciated&#33; :biggrin: