Why do you need to test both the dH and the pH?

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Well done Nicki. A simple question with an assortment of answers and opinions.
I too had questions about Ph,Gh and Kh.
My basic understanding is that Ph is a measure of acidity/alkalinity with 7 being neutral. Some fish like acid < 7 and some like alkali > 7. Most will adapt quite well to any reasonable Ph but they do like it fairly constant.
Kh, carbonate hardness, is sometimes referred to as alkalinity. This is not to be confused with the Ph alkalinity but rather the buffering capacity of the water to resist swings of Ph, mainly towards an acid crash. A higher Kh does make the water a higher Ph, i.e. more alkali but also makes the water Ph more stable.
Gh is the general hardness, i.e. A measure of the dissolved minerals in the water. This does not affect the Ph to any great degree but some fish prefer a higher Gh and some a lower Gh. Again, most fish will adapt as long as the Gh doesn't swing wildly.
So back to your question - do you need to check Gh and Ph? I would say no, but if you have problems with acid water then I would check Kh. My Kh was at zero and I raised it to 6 to make my Ph more stable. My Gh was at zero and I raised it to 6, personal choice, to suit my fish.
I check Ph regularly and Gh/Kh prior to weekly water changes.
In all cases, stability is what I aim for.
Hope that helped a bit.



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Internet forum like this one is full of people giving lots of good information but unfortunately some bad information as well.

All the more reason to have some basic understanding of the science behind keeping an aquarium

Most fish deaths you have described come from poor water conditions, not so much because of what comes out of the faucet but the conditions that have been created inside of the tank due to over feeding, temperature, lack of water changes and even trying to "adjust" water parameters like pH with buffers and such. Add fish waste to the mix and that confined tank is trouble brewing.

All the more reason to do periodic water testing after a tank has been cycled

BTW I have kept and raised most of the fish you have mentioned here for years plus discus and angels with nothing more than an ammonia tester, which has only been used when setting up a new tank.

If you want to ignore your tap water and tank chemistry, that's your business. Encouraging others do to so is irresponsible.
 
All the more reason to have some basic understanding of the science behind keeping an aquarium



All the more reason to do periodic water testing after a tank has been cycled



If you want to ignore your tap water and tank chemistry, that's your business. Encouraging others do to so is irresponsible.

I can see this is turning into something other than an exchange of opinions and facts that have been proven. You are adding words to my point...

How is encouraging frequent water changes and maintaining a clean and healthy environment for the fish irresponsible?!

And you do have a point, it is not my business to care if someone new to the hobby is told to add buffers and spend hard earned cash on test kits to "adjust" their "parameters" rather than finding out the cause of the problem which for the most part is lack of tank maintenance.... this is responsible?

Speaking of cycling, how many desperate uninformed people do I see being told to add chemicals to a tank because their cycling tank going on 2 weeks is taking too long, this is responsible?
There is something magical about cycling that is called... "Leave the tank alone, it will cycle"

A big expensive chemistry set does not make a good aquarist.
 
Then how would you lower pH and gH, especially if both are really high without hem rebounding back to a high pH and gH? I will try to acclimate both without hurting the fish.
 
I can see this is turning into something other than an exchange of opinions and facts that have been proven. You are adding words to my point...

Yes, it's called a response. I see that you're not interested in making a counter-argument.

How is encouraging frequent water changes and maintaining a clean and healthy environment for the fish irresponsible?!

That's a clever attempt at a rhetorical straw man, but that's not what I said. I said that encouraging other people (who don't know any better) to ignore testing their tank water was irresponsible. Those test kits are a fraction of what one typically spends to set up an aquarium, and are very useful in helping to ensure safe nitrate levels and to catch unforeseen changes in other parameters. Testing an established tank once every 4-8 weeks isn't exactly a burden on an aquarist.

Do you have kids? Do you take them to the doctor for periodic checkups? Or do you just cross your fingers and hope that nothing goes wrong?

And you do have a point, it is not my business to care if someone new to the hobby is told to add buffers and spend hard earned cash on test kits to "adjust" their "parameters" rather than finding out the cause of the problem which for the most part is lack of tank maintenance.... this is responsible?

You seem to be confusing the concept of testing tank water for high nitrates/nitrites/ammonia and pH fluctuations with adding buffers and other chemicals to *change* water parameters. These are two completely different concepts.

I do not actively encourage people to mess with their tap water chemistry. In fact, I tell them to select the species that are compatible with their tap water. If asked how to alter tap water chemistry, I advise the safest way to do it (such as adding RO water to soften hard water).

A big expensive chemistry set does not make a good aquarist.

And there is no honor in willful ignorance.
 
Then how would you lower pH and gH, especially if both are really high without hem rebounding back to a high pH and gH? I will try to acclimate both without hurting the fish.

GH can be lowered by adding reverse-osmosis (RO) water to your tap water during water changes. RO water has a low concentration of "hard" ions and will soften your tank water.

Lowering pH is more tricky. The safest way to do it is to add peat moss pellets to a filter bag and stick it in your filter. This will SLOWLY lower your pH a little. It will also make your water a little dingy (I think it looks cool... your mileage may vary). There are buffers (phosphate, I believe) available that claim to lower pH safely. I've never used them and am not sure if I'd encourage others to do so.
 
We are told "get the most expensive test kit as you must test weekly and those strips are not accurate" so I buy the test and some dechlorinator and it all comes to $40, then I read in this thread that all that testing is not necessary.

Really?

I see on here when someone asks for help others will ask for more info on the situation, but when someone gives all the details they are told, "too wordy."

The OP is asking for help and opinions and members get into a pissing contest.

Forums = fail

I got more help just doing regular research. Sometimes practical hands on advice is good, but who needs the drama? I was interested in the OP's question as I want to learn, but I didnt want to spend this time reading a soap opera.

Why not just answer the question and leave the rest out?

Signing off. It hasnt been fun.
 
We are told "get the most expensive test kit as you must test weekly and those strips are not accurate" so I buy the test and some dechlorinator and it all comes to $40, then I read in this thread that all that testing is not necessary.

Really?

I see on here when someone asks for help others will ask for more info on the situation, but when someone gives all the details they are told, "too wordy."

The OP is asking for help and opinions and members get into a pissing contest.

Forums = fail

I got more help just doing regular research. Sometimes practical hands on advice is good, but who needs the drama? I was interested in the OP's question as I want to learn, but I didnt want to spend this time reading a soap opera.

Why not just answer the question and leave the rest out?

Signing off. It hasnt been fun.

I will admit of being guilty to the drama as you call it and you are right, well 95% right.
Opinions differ, BTW, nothing wrong with you checking basic parameters, I personally feel going overboard can be very intimidating to a newcomer, I'd love to see more towards "keeping it simple" and I'll leave it at that.
Where my opinion is different than yours...
You can learn a lot in this forum, it is not a failure, I still learn new things everytime I read through this forum, even in the midst of a little drama.
 
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