Good evening,
I’m hoping someone might be able to help me with my pH/KH/GH problems.
I have a 160L tank and the current occupants are: 10 cherry barb, 6 albino cories and 1 BN pleco. There’s also a few cherry / armano shrimp which are new additions.
The tap water in my area is ridiculously soft. Both KH and GH read at zero when I first got the tank. The pH was very slightly acidic. My two LFSs have both confirmed that this is normal for our area.
So every day I am doing the NT Lab aquarium tests and dutifully recording the results. I’ve tried to up the KH and GH using a range of methods. I’ve added a lump of some rock recommended to me by my LFS, I’ve added crushed oyster shells and I’ve been using some KH & GH Up products. I’m currently up to the dizzying heights of KH = 4 and GH = 9. The problem is that the KH Up products seem to keep raising the pH too. It started around 6.5 during my fishless cycle but eventually got up to 8. With the help of a bit of pH Down, it’s currently fairly stable at 7.5 since the fish were added.
So my dilemma is what to do moving forward? It seems impossible to get the KH up to advisable levels without skyrocketing my pH. Is this correct? I thought the whole point of the KH was to stabilise and buffer against pH fluctuations, but if trying to get it to an advisable level means sacrificing my pH, it seems like a completely pointless exercise? Does anyone have any suggestions for me moving forward? I don’t really want to keep chucking Up and Down products in.
The second part of my question regards changing my pH from its current 7.5. I have my heart set on some green neon tetras, but I’m told they need 5.5-6.5 pH. If I very slowly start lowering my pH to 6.5, will the current occupants be ok with this? Or am I now pretty much stuck with the 7.5 they have now?
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I look forward to any suggestions.
I’m hoping someone might be able to help me with my pH/KH/GH problems.
I have a 160L tank and the current occupants are: 10 cherry barb, 6 albino cories and 1 BN pleco. There’s also a few cherry / armano shrimp which are new additions.
The tap water in my area is ridiculously soft. Both KH and GH read at zero when I first got the tank. The pH was very slightly acidic. My two LFSs have both confirmed that this is normal for our area.
So every day I am doing the NT Lab aquarium tests and dutifully recording the results. I’ve tried to up the KH and GH using a range of methods. I’ve added a lump of some rock recommended to me by my LFS, I’ve added crushed oyster shells and I’ve been using some KH & GH Up products. I’m currently up to the dizzying heights of KH = 4 and GH = 9. The problem is that the KH Up products seem to keep raising the pH too. It started around 6.5 during my fishless cycle but eventually got up to 8. With the help of a bit of pH Down, it’s currently fairly stable at 7.5 since the fish were added.
So my dilemma is what to do moving forward? It seems impossible to get the KH up to advisable levels without skyrocketing my pH. Is this correct? I thought the whole point of the KH was to stabilise and buffer against pH fluctuations, but if trying to get it to an advisable level means sacrificing my pH, it seems like a completely pointless exercise? Does anyone have any suggestions for me moving forward? I don’t really want to keep chucking Up and Down products in.
The second part of my question regards changing my pH from its current 7.5. I have my heart set on some green neon tetras, but I’m told they need 5.5-6.5 pH. If I very slowly start lowering my pH to 6.5, will the current occupants be ok with this? Or am I now pretty much stuck with the 7.5 they have now?
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I look forward to any suggestions.