Do I need to dose SeaChem Equilibrium?

[o2bubble]

Hi, need to check with bros here if I need to dose the above after water change.. my GH is 4-5 and KH 3 and using traces from ADA step 1 (changing to Tropica soon after finish) and ADA ECA + Green Gain. According to my understanding, SeaChem equilibrium is mainly for raising the GH level. Given I'm happy with GH 5 (my tap water is already 5), do I still need to dose it? Any other benefits or additional traces/minerals provided by it that may be beneficial to dose a little of it?

[Tristan]

dosing seachem equilibrium will add potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron to your water. If you're happy with your water calcium/magnesium levels and you're dosing with ADA/TMG which already provide iron and potassium, then you won't need to dose equilibrium.
btw is that the GH and KH of your tap water? my tap water has been at 0 GH and 0KH for as long as i can remember, which is annoying cuz i always worry about osmotic shock whenever i do a large water change.

[boxedfish]

which part of singapore do u stay that have 0Gh and 0KH? i also want to move there to stay!!

[o2bubble]

Thanks for the advise. My tapwater is actually 1 kh, 5 gh. I live at upper bukit timah just beside bukit timah hill. Last time, when I was at woodlands, the tapwater was 0-1 kh, 2 gh. wonder why the big difference in gh. Maybe due to water comes from BT hill with more minerals? hehe I had to add some equilibrium when I was at woodlands..

[Cross]

Hi, need to check with bros here if I need to dose the above after water change.. my GH is 4-5 and KH 3 and using traces from ADA step 1 (changing to Tropica soon after finish) and ADA ECA + Green Gain. According to my understanding, SeaChem equilibrium is mainly for raising the GH level. Given I'm happy with GH 5 (my tap water is already 5), do I still need to dose it? Any other benefits or additional traces/minerals provided by it that may be beneficial to dose a little of it?

Equilibrium more for ro/di water that is deficient in minerals. It raised pH slightly though from my experience

[vinz]

It should raise pH somewhat as it does raise KH.

[Left C]

Equilibrium doesn't raise pH or KH because it doesn't contain any carbonates, bicarbonates, phosphates, or any other buffers.

Equilibrium does increase the GH because it contains calcium, magnesium, potassium, magnesium and iron (derived from: potassium sulfate, calcium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, ferric sulfate, manganese sulfate). As mentioned, the calcium, magnesium and potassium are the main components that control the GH.

From: http://www.seachem.com/support/forum...ht=equilibrium
"Its important to note that GH and KH are completely separate entities. KH is a measure of your carbonate hardness and measures the amount of carbonates (both bicarbonate and carbonate) someone has in their tank. GH mainly measures the mineral content (magnesium, calcium, potassium). So it is impossible for any of your GH to come from your KH, or vice versa. Its also important to note that KH is not a definite measure of your buffering capacity; again it only measures the amount of carbonates in your tank (which are, in fact, good buffers, and that's why people equate it with buffering capacity). Carbonates and bicarbonates typically want to keep your pH fairly high because they have high pKs, which is the measure of the dissociation constant and can explain why such a little amount of bicarb boosted your pH and not your KH. So re-evaluating your numbers, at a pH of 7-ish you may not be able to achieve a KH as high as 6, but don't worry, its just chemistry. Your water will still be well buffered."

[aquarius]

Is GH important for the success of a C02 enriched and non C02 planted tank cos i've never measured it and only measure KH for both set-ups?

Do we need to raise the KH to 3 or 4dkh in a low tech non C02 tank? Is Kh important for low tech non C02 tanks?