confused about water hardness

[~Erik3.8.07~]

since i was planning on getting fish soon that would really like softer water, i finally went to get some hardness test. I got a KH test kit, and it took 3 drops for it to turn yellow. So what does this mean? Is that soft or hard? Are there any other hardness tests that would be better to get?

[jeffs99dime]

sounds like you have 3 degrees Kh or 53.7 parts per million Kh. you shook the test tube right?

[~Erik3.8.07~]

of course, just dont know if that means its soft or hard

[MeganL3985]

I know nothing about the KH tests...but how do you know you need softer water if you just got the test kit?

[MeganL3985]

This page has a pretty good load of info for reading and testing KH

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.](KH)_Kits~vendor~.html

[jeffs99dime]

have you tested your GH yet. if your KH is low like that, it usually means your water will be acidic. let me guess, your ph is pretty low, right. i know that in south jersey, the water is very acidic there

[~Erik3.8.07~]

I know nothing about the KH tests...but how do you know you need softer water if you just got the test kit?

i know i'll want softer water because im planning on getting peacocks fairly soon and i know they like soft water, i just dont know if my water is soft or not

[~Erik3.8.07~]

have you tested your GH yet. if your KH is low like that, it usually means your water will be acidic. let me guess, your ph is pretty low, right. i know that in south jersey, the water is very acidic there

my p.h. is about 7.2-7.4, i probably will have different water then what you have expierenced, here on base we have our own wells seperate from the surrounding communities, but no, i havnt gotten a gh test kit yet, my lfs was sold out when i went this past weekend

edit: o and thx for the link megan :)

[jeffs99dime]

i know i'll want softer water because im planning on getting peacocks fairly soon and i know they like soft water, i just dont know if my water is soft or not

i am willing to bet that it is. all my family lives down that way (jackson, toms river, lakehurst, barnegat) and my cousin has had several tanks of SA's and the water is perfect for it there. i wish the water here was like that. lol

[MeganL3985]

ohh i see...

[Fishalicious]

Your PH is a better indicator - 7.2 is just above neutral going into hard water

The KH is just a buffer for the PH - I find it amazing that you have such a low KH but a higher PH - going by your KH your PH should be around 5-6 so I guess you have something in your tank that raises the PH - decoration or something.

What peacock are you thinking of getting? The peacock cichlid?

[A340]

I don't know what test kit you have, but according to the Hagen kit you would multiply the number of drops it takes for the water to turn yellow by 10 and that is the KH (in mg/l) you have in your water. So, if you have a Hagen test kit, you would have about 30mg/l KH which "is normally associated with a low pH" according to the test.

[~Erik3.8.07~]

What peacock are you thinking of getting? The peacock cichlid?

yup, specifically either Aulonocara hansbaenschi or Aulonocara baenschi

[A340]

yup, specifically either Aulonocara hansbaenschi or Aulonocara baenschi
You do realize though, that Peacock Cichlids as most other Rift Lake Cichlids do prefer somewhat hard water and a higher pH?

[Fishalicious]

The Aulonocara baenschi is a beautiful Malawi Cichlid !!! One of my faves in the Malawi world.... raise your PH to 8 and they should be happy if the tank is large enough... I guess you are going to keep them in a species tank? Lot's of rocks formations to hide in and you are ready to go ;)

If it is a species tank then you can use coral sand as a substrate which will raise your PH to the right level seeing you are on PH 7.2 and you won't have to use any chemicals etc. to raise it....

[~Erik3.8.07~]

You do realize though, that Peacock Cichlids as most other Rift Lake Cichlids do prefer somewhat hard water and a higher pH?

from what i read, for a lake malawi setup, they like soft to medium water

[Fishalicious]

Malawi & Tanganiyka Cichlids most definately need hard water and not soft... 7.5 PH minimum and 8 being better <mmmh wonder where you got the soft info from> Dwarf cichlids require soft to medium ...

[~Erik3.8.07~]

The Aulonocara baenschi is a beautiful Malawi Cichlid !!! One of my faves in the Malawi world.... raise your PH to 8 and they should be happy if the tank is large enough... I guess you are going to keep them in a species tank? Lot's of rocks formations to hide in and you are ready to go ;)

If it is a species tank then you can use coral sand as a substrate which will raise your PH to the right level seeing you are on PH 7.2 and you won't have to use any chemicals etc. to raise it....

thats exactly what i was planning on doing, im gonna get a trio (1 male 2 females) and hope to breed them. which is why im so concerned with the water chemistry

[~Erik3.8.07~]

[QUOTE=Fishalicious] <mmmh wonder where you got the soft info from> QUOTE]

right here:
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
second paragraph

[A340]

from what i read, for a lake malawi setup, they like soft to medium water
You got bad information, Rift Lake Cichlids (Lake Malawi, Tanganikyia, Victoria) have quite hard water with a high pH. As Fishalicious recommended, using coral sand or crushed coral as a substrate is a great way to raise your pH, that is what I did for my Malawi set up and it worked great.

[A340]

[QUOTE=Fishalicious] <mmmh wonder where you got the soft info from> QUOTE]

right here:
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
second paragraph
Someone should drop them a line, that info is inncorrect. Lake Malawi's KH is usually between 200-250ppm which equals 12-18 dH.

This just goes to show how important it is to do research, there are so many sources of information today, that it is very difficult to distinguish accurate from inaccurate. Even on this forum.

[~Erik3.8.07~]

well that changes things a bit, i was just gonna use peat to soften water, but guess i need a new plan now, how important is water hardness for these guys for breeding?

[Fishalicious]

For breeding the water should be to their needs but if you add coral sand the KH and PH will automatically go up to a nice level for them...

These guys are seriously aggressive when breeding so keep in mind to have a tank big enough for the non breeding female to hide out in ;)

[Lady Hobbs]

Your tester should come with a chart. I couldn't find one on my hardness test, either, and finally found it was under the label on the bottle.

[~Erik3.8.07~]

Your tester should come with a chart. I couldn't find one on my hardness test, either, and finally found it was under the label on the bottle.

under the label? lol that seems weird, i'll have to check, thx hobbs

[~Erik3.8.07~]

For breeding the water should be to their needs but if you add coral sand the KH and PH will automatically go up to a nice level for them...

These guys are seriously aggressive when breeding so keep in mind to have a tank big enough for the non breeding female to hide out in ;)

dont worry i'm gonna have lots of caves an stuff for her to hide out

[A340]

As far as I know, most KH tests start out one colour when you add the regent and you are supposed to count how many drops you put in until it reaches the required colour and then multiply in by a certain value giving you your KH level.

As far as getting your pH, KH and GH up, as Fishalicious mentioned, crused coral or coral sand works great, it also looks very nice especially if you have a twin strip bulb with a 10 000k daylight bulb and a blue actinic bulb.