NEw tank have test results need help

[imcgary]

I am in the process of setting up my new 125g. I have a water softner installed on my house. when i tested the tap water i got a readings of KH of 12dH, GH 0dH, and PH 8. I then added seachem's Acid and Alkaline buffers as reccommended to get the PH to 7. I also used prime as directed. I was going to add Bio spira this morning so i can start stocking the tank this evening but when i tested the water in the aquarium KH is up to 18dH, PH 8 and GH 0dh

Is this ok. The tank is going to be a heavily planted community tank.

I will be injecting CO2 and i have about 3.12 wpg

 

[dapellegrini]

Alkalinity is KH, so you dosed more in on top of the 12 you have... I think you might have meant to dose Seachem Equilibrium, with would bring up your GH.

 

[imcgary]

i just tested the my other aqurium that i have not done a water change on since i have installed the water softner and got reading of KH 11dH, PH 8, and GH 13dH. Everything is doing great in that tank Colors of fish and plants are all great. Im am planning on moving everything from the old 46bow into the 125g. what do i need to do to get the KH down and GH up

 

[dapellegrini]

The best way would be to do a couple of big water changes and then dose in some Equilibrium to bring your GH up from 0 to around 6. You should be able to find Equilibrium at your LFS (not Petsmart or Petco though)... If you have some time, you could order the GH booster from Gregwatson.com (same stuff but a lot cheaper).

 

[Purrbox]

It's not a good idea to use water that has been through a water softener in your aquarium. The water softener works by replacing the hardness with salt, which in high amounts is not good for your fish or plants. Best bet is to either bypass the softener to get the water for your aquariums or to switch to Potassium Chloride in the softener. It's more expensive but is at least adding some nutrients that your plants can actually use.

 

[imcgary]

thanks for that suggestion Purr. I didnt even think about the salt affecting the plants and the fish. The potassium chloride is definately a good idea i will have to switch over to that.