Best way to raise GH

[Patrice]

What is the best way to have as stable General Hardness (calcium and magnesium).

If my GH is at 60(3) and i need 60(3) more to have a minimum of 120gh (6) . What can i do?

I am thinking that adding fertilizer will remedy this. But won't that stress the fish because of water fluctuation. Any suggestion?
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...buffer-146665.html?highlight=General+hardness

 

[Craigthor]

GH Booster.

 

[OasisKeeper]

Choices are off the shelf aquarium products or for a more DIY approach, Epsom Salts or a couple other possibilities a little less common. For DIY, google for aquarium GH calculators, they will give you the weight of the addition. You will need a small scale to do this.

 

[Patrice]

GH Booster.

i am looking for an other way.

Correct me if i'm wrong, I think gh booster is fertilizer so its probably not a solution for me, because its going to complicate my pps-pro. Adding calcium in my fertilizer may do the same thing. Still all of this will fluctuate the GH like i said before. And for fluctuation is bad. Thanks, at least.

 

[OasisKeeper]

They are all fertilizers in the sense that both Calcium and Magnesium are major growth elements. Epson salts are primarily magnesium sulfate. You can get food grade gypsum (calcium sulfate) from a home brewing store. Both the these add sulfates of coarse. Calcium Chloride is also available from similar sources but also adds chloride ions. Calcium Carbonate is argonite, chalk, and several other products but it will also increase carbonate hardness (KH).

GH booster I believe contains 3 of the 4 above.

As you can see, there is no free lunch, the Ions always come in pairs.

 

[jetajockey]

I'd go with CC/Aragonite personally. Dosing salts works but you'd have to do it with water changes. I add a little to some of my tanks because my water is extremely lacking in the buffer department.

If you are dosing regularly though, you could just incorporate dolomite powder or as mentioned mgso4 into the routine. The shifts are very minor so it's not really that big of a deal, at least I've never seen an issue dosing this way either, I'm just too lazy to keep up with it routinely.

 

[aqua_chem]

GH is Mg and Ca. I dont think changes in those particular micros are a huge problem. The ambient gh will also probably dwarf what you put in with pps pro.

My GH is about 10. That meams I have around 170 ppm (or 70 , depending on how you measure it. That dwarfs co2 AND nitrate. Adding pps will be around a 1% change.


You can up gh by adding epsom salt, MgSO4.

 

[OasisKeeper]

My GH is about 10. That meams I have around 170 ppm (or 70 , depending on how you measure it. That dwarfs co2 AND nitrate. Adding pps will be around a 1% change.

I'm going to try to state this a different way, the real brains here can come kick my butt around the block if I get it wrong.

GH, comprised of calcium and magnesium are unlikely to limit growth. There is plenty of them, even in relatively soft water.

Carbon is probably the biggest factor, which is why we spend the big bucks to try and pump it in with CO2 rigs. Nitrogen, the other big one, is easy peasy using KNO3 or other sources.

If I understand it correctly, PPS is an approach to try and guarantee that you will never bottom out on any requirement and there for get every tiny bit of growth you can. But you never really know anyway, unless you set up side by side experiments. The only real question for most of us is: Are we happy with the growth rates we are getting.

 

[Patrice]

You all form nice hard question in my head.

So my options are = argonite / GH booster / dolomite powder / gypsum / Calcium Chloride.

I am adding already a lot of Epson salt for the plants (fix) plants where melting). KH is at 3 and shrimps are at 1 and 2 KH so i don't need argonite. They other problem is, i don't have a lot of nitrogen.

I can't make a decision sorry. I know now, i need they calcium. Thanks. But what type do I need for my situation? reminding you guys i am using pps-pro.

And to remove they fluctuation, i guessing that i have to add more fertilizer in the day and some at night to keep the 120 gh range?

if i am hard to be understood..it normal lol. Just say so.

(fix)=remove error -_^

 

[Craigthor]

You all form nice hard question in my head.

So my options are = argonite / GH booster / dolomite powder / gypsum / Calcium Chloride.

I am adding already a lot of Epson salt for the plants (for nitrogen, plants where melting). KH is at 3 and shrimps are at 1 and 2 KH so i don't need argonite. They other problem is, i don't have a lot of nitrogen.

I can't make a decision sorry. I know now, i need they calcium. Thanks. But what type do I need for my situation? reminding you guys i am using pps-pro.

And to remove they fluctuation, i guessing that i have to add more fertilizer in the day and some at night to keep the 120 gh range?

if i am hard to be understood..it normal lol. Just say so.

Just curious how you are using Epsom Salts for Nitrogen? Epsom Salt is jsut Magnesium Sulfate which is a fertilizer/ chemical in itself.

As for GH it is a ratio of Calcium to Magnesium. Too much of one will casue deficiencies of another. Make it easy one yourself and use teh GH booster which has a good mix of both calcium and magnesium.

 

[aqua_chem]

Whats your native gh?

 

[Patrice]

Whats your native gh?

If you meant, from the tap water. Its 30 GH when added with fertilizer it become 50 GH.

 

[aqua_chem]

Your gh goes up 20 ppm from dosing That seems pretty steep for some reason.

As I doubt that the components of gh are limiting factors, I would doubt that there is a particularly strong case for excess or fluxuations causing problems, algae or otherwise.

If this is a long term project, I would recommend getting the gh booster just to have the right ratios.

 

[Craigthor]

Your gh goes up 20 ppm from dosing That seems pretty steep for some reason.

As I doubt that the components of gh are limiting factors, I would doubt that there is a particularly strong case for excess or fluxuations causing problems, algae or otherwise.

If this is a long term project, I would recommend getting the gh booster just to have the right ratios.

In a previous post it was stated they re adding alot of Epsom Salts which would be the cause of the constant rise in teh GH.

Craig

 

[aqua_chem]

Out of curiosity, why do you want a specific gh?

 

[aqua_chem]

In a previous post it was stated they re adding alot of Epsom Salts which would be the cause of the constant rise in teh GH.

Craig

She said that this was for nitrogen... I was hoping that this was a mistake and she ment something else. Does pps always add Mg?

 

[Craigthor]

She said that this was for nitrogen... I was hoping that this was a mistake and she ment something else. Does pps always add Mg?

Problem is Epsom Salts does nothing for nitrogen. It is Magnesium Sulfate not Nitrates would be in it. In order to add Nitrates she would need to dose KNO3.

 

[OasisKeeper]

Yah, I think it does. But sounds to me like over dosing. Your supposed to premix the stuff in a liter or more, then dose small amounts at intervals.

 

[aqua_chem]

Problem is Epsom Salts does nothing for nitrogen. It is Magnesium Sulfate not Nitrates would be in it. In order to add Nitrates she would need to dose KNO3.

Hence the confusion. I was thinking she was confusing KNO3 and epsom salt, but dosed the correct salt.

 

[Patrice]

Your gh goes up 20 ppm from dosing That seems pretty steep for some reason.

As I doubt that the components of gh are limiting factors, I would doubt that there is a particularly strong case for excess or fluxuations causing problems, algae or otherwise.

What does that mean in laming terms?

GH is not the cause of making a algae outbreak? That a other problem i have. Its probably because i have to low nitrate. to fix that i have to add fishs or add drops off ammonia (not recommended i know) would solve the problem.

You are right, i don't like the big fluctuation in my GH. fish or shrimp probably feel the effect and that why your here and i am here to find a way. It seem GH booster is the way to go.