Kh 2 too low?

[cbong]

My Kh is constantly at 2 and pH is low at 6.2 pH. Is this ok or should I increase the Kh?

[vinz]

It's ok if they co-relate to a healthy level of CO2.

As long as the water has a KH above 1, your tank is buffered against wide pH swings due to changes of CO2 levels through the day. If you want to maintain a higher pH, then raise your KH... I would suggest 4 dKH, in that case.

[|squee|]

Mine's around 1 to 2 dkH for my tank with Aquasoil Africana, so far I haven't experienced stuff like "pH swings". My livestock aren't that sensitive anyway.

[cbong]

This new tank of mine is using peat moss and Seachem flourite. Could this be the cause of low Kh?

Btw, if the water is acidic, wouldn't it give a wrong reading for the pH level of the water, and hence doesn't truly reflect the amount of CO2?

[confusekid]

This new tank of mine is using peat moss and Seachem flourite. Could this be the cause of low Kh?

Btw, if the water is acidic, wouldn't it give a wrong reading for the pH level of the water, and hence doesn't truly reflect the amount of CO2?

Yes, you are right but there is still way to measure the CO2 level. As long as you know what is your pH without CO2 then any drop in pH will be cause by CO2 and from there you can estimate the CO2 amount in your tank.

Jack

[PeterGwee]

This new tank of mine is using peat moss and Seachem flourite. Could this be the cause of low Kh?

Btw, if the water is acidic, wouldn't it give a wrong reading for the pH level of the water, and hence doesn't truly reflect the amount of CO2?

Yes, but the flourite does increase the KH due to some coral chips present. It sort of evens out each other ime.

Maybe so but you can get around the issue by adding slightly more based on plant/critter responses if something does not seem right (presence of BBA and etc.). The key is the ability of your CO2 system to keep the CO2 level stable during the photoperiod and within a short period.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[cbong]

Yes, you are right but there is still way to measure the CO2 level. As long as you know what is your pH without CO2 then any drop in pH will be cause by CO2 and from there you can estimate the CO2 amount in your tank.

Jack

Tested the pH before photo period, turned out to be 6.4 pH. 2 hours into injecting the CO2, the pH dropped to 6.2pH. Is this ok?

[augi_ow]

bro.. u having problems with flourite ahz... i'm having troubles too... KH keep staying at 1 after adding baking soda... worse still.. i using ADA amazonia soil... PH like at 4.5 now.... i have peat moss in my filter but doesn't seem to buffer that well... luckily move all my lifestock out to temporary tank otherwise sure die after all the buffering solution i add to my tank.... =)

[cbong]

All my livestocks are fine. Except that my yamatos are not as active as before.