Adjusting hardness in your aquarium

[Rastapus]

Hey everyone,
Here is a simple explanation and instruction to fix our tap water problem. These instructions will add the necessary minerals to keep your pH stable and keep you fish healthy by allowing them to absorb these much needed elements.

GH
GH can be raised with either aquarium salt, equilibrium or replenish. Follow the dosage for your particular fish but an average level is 5 degrees. If it is a fish only aquarium salt is easy. If you have plants, use either Equilibrium or Replenish. One is a powder the latter a liquid, preference is yours.

KH
KH can be raised by using Alkalinity buffer. There are other brands available but I like the easy dosage scheme of Alkalinity buffer in particular. 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons raises your KH from 0 to 5 DKH. This is a common desired level for most community fish.

If you have African Cichlids or Goldfish/Koi etc, harder water is needed for them to thrive. With these fish aim for a level of 10 for both GH and KH.

For the community aquarium at levels of 5, dont worry about the pH, it will level off just over 7, your fish will be fine and the pH will remain stable. We rarely check pH in store anymore, hardness is actually easier to test for, and much easier to read. The fish that prefer the higher levels like goldfish thrive in a higher pH anyways so don't worry about it.
This is very easy to do, for those who think it sounds like too much work, it isn't. You only add a little with water changes to replace what you have removed, after a while it is second nature. We buffer all our aquariums with the same products we are recommending, if in doubt, come on in and we can go over it with you.

I hope everyone in the lower mainland eventually goes this route, I cannot stress enough how important these minerals are and how they improve the entire conditions of the aquarium. Your fish will love you for it.

[effox]

Thanks Grant, great simple how to guide!

For those going the cheap baking soda and epsom salts way, what are we missing out on or should be adding to the mix?

[Rastapus]

Epsom salt is only Magnesium Sulfate. Aquarium Salt has a lot more minerals then that. Baking soda is not very soluble in water and can cloud the aquarium easily, also dosing can be difficult and easy to drive the pH too quickly and too high. If people are worried about it getting complicated, baking soda can be a nightmare.

[effox]

Thanks for the heads up!

[TomC]

Thanks very much for the information. This post should be made a sticky. What brand of test kits do you recommend we buy or stay away from?

[clintgv]

Thanks for the nice and easy to understand information .
Hehe bookmarked this page

[jkam]

by aquarium salt do you mean regular NaCl? Or do you mean marine salt?

NaCl doesn't have any trace minerals or anything but marine salt has some. I always get confused when people say aquarium salt.

[Rastapus]

Thanks very much for the information. This post should be made a sticky. What brand of test kits do you recommend we buy or stay away from?

It will be a sticky when Shawn gets back. I prefer the Aquarium Pharmaceutical test kits, easy to use, easy to read. Test strips for hardness can be tougher to read.

[Rastapus]

by aquarium salt do you mean regular NaCl? Or do you mean marine salt?

NaCl doesn't have any trace minerals or anything but marine salt has some. I always get confused when people say aquarium salt.

We use Marine salt and API Aquarium salt is marine salt. If I stress Marine salt, that will add to the confusion of this topic.

[jkam]

Is the alkalinity buffer the seachem reef buffer? trying to look at the seachem site to see what I need.

Seachem. Reef Buffer

or is it this (reef builder)?

http://www.seachem.com/Products/prod...efBuilder.html



Nevermind. I found it after a ton of searching
http://www.seachem.com/Products/prod...ineBuffer.html