My KH value in my tank is at 17. This is way above what the recommended value of 3-10 is supposed to be. The PH is at 8 and the GH is at 16. What do I need to do get these levels down? I need to do something pretty soon, I would think!
KH value high...
- Thread starter adiliegro
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savga
Aquarium Advice Freak
Most fish adapt pretty well to local water conditions. The general rule of thumb is that if you can drink the water it is probably ok for most common aquarium fish. If you really want to bring the kH down without spending alot of money you can buy RO purified water from many grocery stores. Get a 5 gal carboy or two and fill them. Then when you do your 20% weekly water change, use half tap water and half RO to refill the tank. That should get you to the range you want gradually.
Your water sounds very similar to my tapwater in Arizona. For what its worth, its perfect for cichlids. Most hardy fish will do fine in it, as well.
In my heavily planted tank, I run half tapwater and half R/O water, then run CO2 injection for the plants. Lowering the KH by mixing allows the CO2 to bring the PH down to right at 7 safely. This allows me to keep fish that wouldn't do well in our tapwater (i.e. rams).
Messing with PH is tricky. Your fish will be much happier with a stable PH than one that fluctuates, even if it is a little high for their liking.
In my heavily planted tank, I run half tapwater and half R/O water, then run CO2 injection for the plants. Lowering the KH by mixing allows the CO2 to bring the PH down to right at 7 safely. This allows me to keep fish that wouldn't do well in our tapwater (i.e. rams).
Messing with PH is tricky. Your fish will be much happier with a stable PH than one that fluctuates, even if it is a little high for their liking.
Voodoo Chilli
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Truer words have never been spoken.
Out of curiousity- what type fish do you have and is their behavior causing your concern for changing the hardness values?
I have two Yellow Labs and one Brichardi in there. One of the labs is just staying in one spot all of the time just kind of hovering. He isnt swimming and having fun like the other two are. I thought maybe he was sick or something.
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
I think your Africans will be very happy in your tap water, but if I recall you are cycling the tank with these fish so it might have more to do with ammonia and/or nitrite present in the water. How is the cycle going?
Actually, the cycling is going well...the ammonia is down to 0 and the nitrites are starting to fall and the nitrates are going up. I put in some "cycle" as well as some rocks and gravel from an already established tank hoping to speed things along.
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
If the fish are looking poorly I would do a water change and be sure you have aeration in there, plus the salt - and I think you are using Rift Lake Cichlid Salts, right? Nitrite may be to blame here.
Actually, the problem with that one fish, I think, is that the other one keeps chasing him out of open water. I was watching them today and the "sick" fish kept swimming into open water and the other lab kept chasing him back as soon as he saw them. They are now chasing each other.
I am using the Seachem Cichlid Lake salts...the nitrites are beginning to come down as the chemicals arent as orange as they were yesterday and are looking more on the yellow side (in my kit, yellow means less than 0.3mg nitrites...orange is exactly 0.3mg)
I am using the Seachem Cichlid Lake salts...the nitrites are beginning to come down as the chemicals arent as orange as they were yesterday and are looking more on the yellow side (in my kit, yellow means less than 0.3mg nitrites...orange is exactly 0.3mg)
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
You can add an air stone and/or lower the water level in the tank so the filter return splashes.
This might not be the end of the trouble between the lab and the brichardi. Do you have plenty of rocks and hidey holes?
This might not be the end of the trouble between the lab and the brichardi. Do you have plenty of rocks and hidey holes?
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
Well, mbuna are scrappy sorts, for sure! Do you know the gender? Truly this might be an issue that can't be helped, even in a perfectly fine, cycled tank. Hopefully all this will resolve with the resolution fo the cycle and the fish will claim their territories, and all will be well.
You can try rearranging the "furniture" in the tank and see if that helps, if it is simply plain ole aggression.
You can try rearranging the "furniture" in the tank and see if that helps, if it is simply plain ole aggression.
Voodoo Chilli
Aquarium Advice FINatic
The pH and hardness levels are just about perfect for Rift Lake species: if there's anything regarding your water parameters that could be affecting the fish, it'd be the nitrite level. ANY detectable levels of nitrite can stress fish, so that is one possibility...
It could also be a territory issue, or perhaps the larger lab is a male and the smaller one is female and she's unresponsive to his "advances". I'd suggest having adequate rockwork and "hidey" holes and possibly even remove the fish, rearrange the tank, add the smaller lab first and then add the more aggressive one.
It could also be a territory issue, or perhaps the larger lab is a male and the smaller one is female and she's unresponsive to his "advances". I'd suggest having adequate rockwork and "hidey" holes and possibly even remove the fish, rearrange the tank, add the smaller lab first and then add the more aggressive one.
Jdills1347
Aquarium Advice Regular
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2004
- Messages
- 89
Yes an airpump and sometype of airstone.
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