Adjusted newly planted tank

[Jtrain]

O.K. I went out today and bought some crushed coral and 3 bags of smaller media gravel for my plants. I also bought a KH and GH test kit. Needless to say adding these couded up my water. I did a 25% water change after I was done and these are my reading:

PH: 7.2
Nitrates: 10.0
GH: 53.7
KH: 71.6


I suppose that it will take a little bit of time for the CC to raise my KH. I used Chuck's planted aquarium calculator and found out that my CO2 is 8 ppm. This is before I install my Plant Gro CO2 Natural System. Do these numbers seem good? I think I am on the right path to learning what is needed for my planted tank. BTW My tank is 20 gallon and I have 1.5 WPG.

 

[BrianNY]

Hey Jtrain. I wish we had the KH readings before we started discussing cc. As malkore said in your previous thread, a KH of 3 gives you enough buffering capacity without adding cc. Your KH reading equated to the German scale is just over 4 making cc unnecessary.

About Chucks calculator..... It assumes the addition of CO2. I know this may sound confusing but unless you are adding CO2 the calculator is meaningless.

You're learning, and that's a good thing.

 

[Jtrain]

I didn't do a KH or GH test until right after I put the CC in. I have yet to put the CO2 system in (still waiting for UPS). I didn't want a PH nosedive after the CO2 and I thought that by increasing the buffering capacity of the tank, I could help assure the health of my fish. I just tested today. My KH and GH are both 89.5. My Ph seems to be around 7.3. It seems that since I added the CC and gravel, my Ph is higher. I put some Neutral 7.0 Regulator in after I tested and I am going to put some salt in to bring up the GH. I dosed with Plant Care Solutions Fertilizer and water conditioner 0-0-7 for 20 gallons and I dosed 6 Plant Food Tabs for 20 gallons. I am hoping that my GH will rise to about 150 ppm. I figure that this will supply enough calcium and magnesium. Let me know if I'm on the right path here.

 

[Purrbox]

JTrain, it would be best if you slowed down and started listening to the advise that you have already received.

You don't need to buffer your KH/GH with the initial readings that you gave. In addition if you raise the KH your PH will also rise. The only time that they move independantly is when injecting CO2. By adding Neutral 7.0 Regulator you are just fighting against the CC that you added and possibly invalidating any CO2 measurements depending on what buffering chemicals in contains.

I would recommend that you stop dosing both of these. In addition I see no reason to add the salt, if added in too large of an amount it could be harmful to your plants and you don't need to be raising you GH that high.

I am unfamiliar with the fertilizers that you mentioned, so someone else will need to weigh in on whether they are a good selection or not.

 

[Jtrain]

O.K. I won't attempt to change the KH or GH. I'll let the CC do its thing and if UPS ever shows up, I'm sure that my ph will drop a little. Thanks for the input.

 

[malkore]

I replied to your PM. There was no need to add crushed coral, and in fact it may hinder your CO2 levels a smidge.

 

[Jtrain]

The KH level I posted - 71.6, was AFTER I added the CC. (not before) I did not have a GH/KH test kit before that trip to my LFS.

 

[malkore]

CC takes days....weeks to adjust the Kh. A few hours or days would be a miniscule change...if any.

Without prior testing of Kh, you shouldn't have tinkered with water chemistry.

Would you add a bottle of pH down without knowing your pH levels?