My KH of my 2ft tank is 11. How?!?

[paranoid]

Hi,

Please advise.If my KH is 11(very high!!) and pH is 7.5. My pH is relatively constant. Suspect the high KH is acting as a buffer for my pH.

Is there anything i can do to lower my KH?
Will frequent change of water help? If yes, how frequent?

Hope to be enlightened soon!

[juggler]

Looks like you got coral chips somewhere in the tank. Remove most of them to get a lower kH and pH.

With kH at 11, pH at 7.5, it points to about 10ppm CO2 only, you should increase your CO2.

BTW - any problems with your plants in this setup that makes you want to reduce kH and pH?

[bclee]

[quote:979853929e="juggler"]Looks like you got coral chips somewhere in the tank. Remove most of them to get a lower kH and pH.

With kH at 11, pH at 7.5, it points to about 10ppm CO2 only, you should increase your CO2.

BTW - any problems with your plants in this setup that makes you want to reduce kH and pH?[/quote:979853929e]

My KH is around that range too. It is due to the Seachem Onyx substrate I use. Most plants don't seem to mind except for two: Tonina sp. and Hermianthus callitrichoides. And BBA seemed to like high KH water despite of proper fertilisation and good CO2 level.

BC

[PeterGwee]

BC, how sure of you that your test pen, test kit or pH monitor's probe is still accurate? I have seen it in my tanks that BBA don't grow when the CO2 is good. I don't have any BBA anymore nor any algae I can see with my naked eyes. Generalization on things can lead folks down the wrong path....just like the old myth that PO4 causes algae.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[bclee]

[quote:72a2e8aa71="PeterGwee"]BC, how sure of you that your test pen, test kit or pH monitor's probe is still accurate? I have seen it in my tanks that BBA don't grow when the CO2 is good. I don't have any BBA anymore nor any algae I can see with my naked eyes. Generalization on things can lead folks down the wrong path....just like the old myth that PO4 causes algae.

Regards
Peter Gwee [/quote:72a2e8aa71]

Trust me... my CO2 is really quite high... because when I tweak it a little more, all my fishes go haywire... my rasbora swimming upside down, etc. . (Remember?... I was the one who always recommend pushing CO2 to get rid of BBA.)

BTW, I stop testing for pH. I just use my observation and experience. With the pH drop method I am pretty sure that the CO2 level is HIGH... ~30+ppm.

Before I switch to Seachem Onyx, my KH was <5. After the switch, KH can range from 8 - 15. That is when I find some of the plants do not do well and BBA is more persistant.

That is the reason that I make the observation that BBA seemed like high KH water than softer water.

BC

[PeterGwee]

Your CO2 reactor must be really responsive to induce such behaviour from your fishes... Anyway, I still don't believe it.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[byronshoh]

HI Paranoid,

I have exactly the same conditions. Found the cause to be the gravel I'am using.

[paranoid]

Hi All!,

Thanks for all your feedback. I also strongly suspected that i my sand have coral particles. That's becus when i bought the sand, the owner gave me 2 different types of sand reason being he only have one bag of the correct type and gave me another type for sub which he told me it's okie.

Anyway i have decided to suck up the problematic sand in my tank!

Becus of the high KH, my java moss seemed to grow very slowly and my xmas moss had turn yellowish and not growing well.

[bclee]

[quote:1ecbbeb450="paranoid"]Hi All!,


Becus of the high KH, my java moss seemed to grow very slowly and my xmas moss had turn yellowish and not growing well.[/quote:1ecbbeb450]

I doubt that KH is causing the problem to your mosses. I have moss in my tank with KH up to 12 that is doing ok.

I think you should look at fertilisation and CO2. Light may also be one of the factor but less likely because moss can grow pretty ok with low light.

CO2 may be optional for mosses. But, if you have high lighting level, giving the mosses good CO2 level will help.

BC

[limsteel]

I have KH around region of 10 too, got a small pack (size of fist) of coral chip in my tank in the way of the filter outlet. All plants are growing well, except the Tonina. It doesn't seems to grow at all and leave all turning brown and Yamato Shrimps add to the damage by feasting on the new leaves on the top of the plants.

[bclee]

[quote:4e0a38b580="limsteel"]I have KH around region of 10 too, got a small pack (size of fist) of coral chip in my tank in the way of the filter outlet. All plants are growing well, except the Tonina. It doesn't seems to grow at all and leave all turning brown and Yamato Shrimps add to the damage by feasting on the new leaves on the top of the plants.[/quote:4e0a38b580]

Same experience

Tonina sp is one of the plant that failed to grow in the high KH water. The other plant that dun grow so well in high KH water is Hermianthus callitrichoides compared to softer water.

Majority of the plants are ok.

BC

[d2hpeter]

i hv just tested KH for my 3wks old tank. Shock to see 11 dKH too.
i think my gravel is ok ie not consists of coral etc. JBL substrate fertilizer. pH about 6.9 to 7.

According to the instructions in the test kit from AquariumPharmaceutical, the KH hardness can be reduced by diluting with deionised water.
How effective is this?
it is also stated that to keep cardinals, it is preferable to hv KH between 0~3. I intend to keep cardinal but quite worried about this high KH value.
Is there any particular type of gravel that we must get to hv relatively low KH value in the first place? Please help

[smgwee]

Hi Guys,

Have you guys wonder/question the reliability these test kits? I had 2 test kit, one from the reliable source, X brand and other Y brand. Both gave me different readings. X gave me a reading of dKH 2 and Y gave me a reading of 7. I was really puzzled.

I went on to buy a water hardness test kit Z for laboratory use, though it is expensive, I just want to test how reliable these water hardness test kits (for aquarium used) are. This Z brand test kit measures in ppm or mg/l of CaCO3. And the accuracy is 0.3 mg/l of CaCO3 which is equal to the about 0.02dkh

After testing the water of my tank, the results using Z was 82.08mg/l of CaCO3 which is about 4.56dKH. This is a picture of my Z brand test Kit.



Regards
Gwee Sia Meng

[vinz]

[quote:dca6b80fe3="PeterGwee"]BC, how sure of you that your test pen, test kit or pH monitor's probe is still accurate? I have seen it in my tanks that BBA don't grow when the CO2 is good. I don't have any BBA anymore nor any algae I can see with my naked eyes. Generalization on things can lead folks down the wrong path....just like the old myth that PO4 causes algae.

Regards
Peter Gwee [/quote:dca6b80fe3]

Peter,

BBA can grow even in tanks with good levels of CO2. I have them too and my CO2 is way above 30ppm (as I discovered recently). BBA just happens to be the first to show up when CO2 levels are too low.

Making sure that the CO2 level is good is just the first step in solving BBA (and most other algae). The other fert levels have to be fixed too, if they are out-of-whack. IME, circulation plays a part too. I find BBA (and some other algaes) favour areas with fast current or stagnant water. The issue with circulation is probably related to availability of nutrients in those areas.

As you said, "Generalization on things can lead folks down the wrong path."

[PeterGwee]

Vinz, your tank is huge....have you measure different points of your tank? Is the CO2 level the same? Did you test the CO2 levels at different times of the day?

I have BBA problems last time due to a lousy pH probe which I have since retired and thought my CO2 levels was always high. My CO2 response time was also slow that time and had to take about 3-4hrs just to have a 0.1 drop of the pH. Why don't you try upping the CO2 level by an additional 5-10ppm but monitor the critters during the increase. If things seem fine, go for full 10+ppm rise. You should not get any new BBA growth.

One more thing, NH4 spikes does grow all sorts of algae as well if the NH4 produced exceeds plant uptake rate. Your arowana eating too much?



Regards
Peter Gwee

[geoffrey]

Peter,

My tank is 2.5ft and my pH is 6.5;KH is 7. That means a CO2 read of >60ppm. Factor in error in test kits, I should easily get 20~30ppm. I also used the pH delta method and pH delta was about 1.4ppm, indication of fairly sufficient CO2 too. Lights below 3wpg with CO2 running 24/7. But I still get BBA. Why?

I was bored, so I fiddled with fert levels. I lowered the 3 important macros downwards to 5ppm of NO3 per week and 3ppm of K from the KNO3 I dosed for NO3 and 0.5ppm of PO4 per week too. CO2 and TE maintained. I not only have BBA but BGA, thread algae and hazy green algae on my tank walls 3 days after water change.

CO2 alone is not a cause of BBA, poor fertilising regime can cause BBA too. Anyway, there is now at least something to keep me busy for the next few weeks until my tank recovers

[geoffrey]

CO2 alone is not a cause of BBA

Let me rephase that....CO2 limitation alone can cause BBA but it is not the only one.

[PeterGwee]

Geoffrey, I didn't say it is the only way but is the most likely cause of things. NH4 and lack of fertilization(stunted plants) can cause issues with all types of algae..not just BBA.

In your case, poor test kit resolution means no way of telling the flux in CO2 level in the early parts of the day and the later ones. I have done 24/7 but switch back again to 12hr period only as I found the CO2 levels were too low mid-way through the cycle and BBA strike and wipe out my $10 worth of Monosolenium tenerum. I had to hit really high CO2 levels in the early day in order to keep the CO2 in good range for the later parts of the day when doing 24/7, which I feel is bad for the critters. Too much danger involved.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[geoffrey]

I understand your situation. I experience it too. Did you noticed your CO2 cavity in your reactor varied between day and nght? Small cavity during the early hours and big during the evening. That would probably explain the irregular ppm you are getting in mid-day.

Gas expand and contract with temperature and that affects your dissolution in mid-day. This is only a hunch...take a look and you'll know what I mean. It doesn't happen to me alone. Spoken to many of the folks here and they've seen the same thing. That's why I'm not expending on a solenoid. I prefer runnning 24/7 even though I'm making the earth warmer (don't trash me for that).

Good, at least that clear up some stuff about planted aquarium. CO2 is not the only issue for BBA. If you get it right, do look at other factors. But always start with CO2, then NO3, then K then TE and PO4. Chances are they are under-provided.

[PeterGwee]

Geoffrey, I don't have any issues now with flux in CO2 level unlike last time. The gas expanding theory should not be the case for the flux but poor method of mixing and circulation. I wrote to Tom about it and he recommend me his powerhead reactor method which I used and was very impress by it. I can hit 20-30ppm range within 1hr after the lights came on without issues and the flux in pH is only 0.1...Why don't you try it?

Regards
Peter Gwee