My Water Parameters - Odd?

[Quake2player]

Now that my newly converted planted 29gal has stabilized and settled down after a few weeks... I am now looking at my water parameters a lot closer. Here's what I get when I use a multi-test strip AND I use a separate test for KH (which I'm not sure if my units of measurement are right or not):

Measurements:
PH: 6.2 (I am happy with this as neons like low PH)
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20ppm
KH: 17ppm (On the first drop w/my test kit, the vial turns yellow... I don't see blue at all, according to the documentation 1 drop = 17ppm, not sure)
GH: 300pm (very hard, no?)

My concerns:
- My GH is very high and I know neons prefer softer water (I have 17 neons, 3 rosey barbs, 1-ram, 2-SAE, 3 cory cats).
- I think my KH is very low... concern here is if I do CO2, my PH will swing wildy.

Softening?
I've read a lot about various ways of adding peat into the filter... and noticed other products such as the ones sold by Aquarium Pharm and Flistar.
- So should I bother fiddling with these softners? My tank is doin very well overall, plants and fish... so should I just go with "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", or perhaps my fish can do better in softer water?
- If I start using these products, will I have to spend a fortune on constantly dosing with it to keep the softening up?

KH: If I start to slowly mix in some baking soda, does this mean I have to "re-dose" after every partial water change?

The above sounds like just a bit more work to try to maintain "better" GH and KH parameters... as long as my fish/plants are doing fine, is any of this worth it?

 

[Jchillin]

You've hit the nail on the head. Fish acclimate to your parameters. Once adjusted, shifting it can cause problems that aren't present now. If everything is going well, do not change the ph.

If you have enough lighting (wpg) you will not need CO2. If you have too much light, you will.

The main thing is to find a delicate balance without harming plants/fish.

 

[flipz]

one thing i want to throw out there is that those test strips are not very accurate and i would REALLY recommend that you purchase a full fresh water test kit. i believe they can be found for around $20 online, and closer to $30 in most LFS... but they are much more accurate and you get a ton of tests out of them.

-brent

 

[jsoong]

I am certainly of the "if it ain't broke, leave it alone" school.

the only problem is with the low KH, which indicates low buffering capacity so the tank is prone to pH crash ..... & definitely not good if you want to add CO2.

Baking soda will raise the KH, but you have to redose with each water change, plus more as HCO3 is consummed over time. That makes for a lot of testing & work. Crush coral/limestone (other solid forms of CaCO3) will be much easier ... YOu just add an excess & the HCO3 will dissolve into the water as needed.

I think you are trying to limit the GH rise by going the baking soda route. However, the Na in the baking soda, while not measured by the GH test, is still sensed by the fish as total osmotic load .... so the end result is the same suing NaHCO3 or CaCO3 .... as far as the fish is concerned.

Usually the GH & KH go hand in hand (although not always) ... If you are using the strip test for the GH, I would suggest double checking the GH number before proceeding. <Those strips are notorious for being inaccurate.>

BTW - peat softening will remove both the GH & KH .... and you don't want the KH to drop any further ....

 

[BrianNY]

Exactly as jsoong says. You're going to have to correct the KH whether you add CO2 or not. A handfull of cc will gradually give your tank enough buffering capacity to eliminate the inevitable pH crash.

And, as Jchillin says..... Your fish will adapt happily to your water. A stable pH is much more important than trying to reach some magic number on the pH scale.

 

[BASSNMAN]

I also have ugly water. GH 300+ but KH 3. I have pressurized co2 and keep the PH at 7. I add one tablespoon of baking soda once a week to raise the KH to 10. Baking soda does not raise the GH. This is a 50 gal planted tank. Peat will help but lower your PH unless you add cc. Good luck.