Gh and Kh

[Kclskates]

I would like to know your thoughts about my water hardness.
My tap waters ph is about 7.Gh 35 and Kh 53. My tanks parameters are the same.
The ph will drop If I don't keep up on weekly water changes. I also have high nitrate levels due to a lot of waste from fancy goldfish. I recently added matrix to the filter so that will help with a lot more BB. I hope that will help with nitrate.
My question is since goldfish prefer higher Gh and kh and carbonate hardness effects ph. How do raise it? So far I heard crushed up coral in your filter will dissolve minerals into your water. What do you think?

 

[jlk]

How high are your nitrates? What size tank and stock?

If you are having issues keeping your ph/kh/gh levels stable and your nitrates are in excess on a regular basis, this likely indicates your wcs are not sufficient and/or your tank is overstocked.

Adjusting the kh/gh will help to keep the ph more stable as your levels are pretty low but just keep in mind that this will not help with an excess nitrate issue. Aragonite will be a bit more helpful than crushed coral. Limestone or crushed seashells will work as well in aiding with kh. Seachem also makes a goldfish-specific buffer called Seachem Gold. Please ask any questions!

 

[Kclskates]

Nitrates 40-80. all the pet stores say it's good and they say the Gh is good. But when I do the API liquid test, they hardness is a little low and gold fish prefer around 200ppm. I have no where near that.

My tank is a little overstocked but nothing like what others maintain. Goldfish are messy so I'm sure it doesn't help. But I still feel if I could bring up my Gh it will help stabilize my ph.

Maybe I'm getting picky cause my fish are doing really well. I just want the water to be perfect for them

 

[mrvincent]

Kh is for PH. GH is for fish mineral purpose.

In your case GH seems lower than KH, so I would raise both KH and GH. Limestone do this, carbonate calcium too.

For PH stability it's really the KH that is important, it can be easily raised via baking soda, but I would go with carbonate calcium. Double check your readings.

 

[Kclskates]

Thank you. You have really made a big difference in my aquarium with all of your advice. I even bought that book I believe you told me about called fancy goldfish.