Hello all,
I have some questions about GH(general hardness). First of all....... I know consistency is the main key to success when it comes to GH and PH.(and I am already aware of the whole PH, KH, GH relations stuff
) Now.... what I can't find information about is that.... What does GH actually provide to our fish and how does it affect the fish? Let's say....... discus or arowanas(prefers low GH, soft water) with rather in hard water of 12 dH(210ppm) and higher. Is that way too high for them to adjust themselves to?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
My tap water is....
PH-7.2
KH-2(not high enough, hence PH fluctuation)
GH-6-7(soft to medium soft)
My main problem is the KH not being high enough and PH keeps decreasing. So I add Crush Corals(calcium bicarbonate) to maintain the PH level of 7.2............. but here's the problem. CC not only raises up the KH level to raise up the PH, but ALSO raises the GH upto 12dH(120ppm) to maintain the 7.0-7.2 PH in my discus and aro tank! I do 30% wc weekly and when I test the water on WC day, PH is already going down by then (7.0) and KH level of 1dH obviously which explains the PH going down.
I think I can solve this problem by taking out the CC and start using the baking soda, then lower the PH and voila. But yea, before I do this I just want to find out/learn what GH actually does to our fish and how it affects them and whether my discus and arowanas will be ok in such high GH water(dH 12=210 ppm) before I make any changes(consistency is the key! right?
). They've been fine for almost 2 months, but seems to be decreasing appetite as time goes by and all water parameters are good except the GH, hence this post.
I appreciate your input/help!
JP
I have some questions about GH(general hardness). First of all....... I know consistency is the main key to success when it comes to GH and PH.(and I am already aware of the whole PH, KH, GH relations stuff
) Now.... what I can't find information about is that.... What does GH actually provide to our fish and how does it affect the fish? Let's say....... discus or arowanas(prefers low GH, soft water) with rather in hard water of 12 dH(210ppm) and higher. Is that way too high for them to adjust themselves to?----------------------------------------------------------------------
My tap water is....
PH-7.2
KH-2(not high enough, hence PH fluctuation)
GH-6-7(soft to medium soft)
My main problem is the KH not being high enough and PH keeps decreasing. So I add Crush Corals(calcium bicarbonate) to maintain the PH level of 7.2............. but here's the problem. CC not only raises up the KH level to raise up the PH, but ALSO raises the GH upto 12dH(120ppm) to maintain the 7.0-7.2 PH in my discus and aro tank! I do 30% wc weekly and when I test the water on WC day, PH is already going down by then (7.0) and KH level of 1dH obviously which explains the PH going down.
I think I can solve this problem by taking out the CC and start using the baking soda, then lower the PH and voila. But yea, before I do this I just want to find out/learn what GH actually does to our fish and how it affects them and whether my discus and arowanas will be ok in such high GH water(dH 12=210 ppm) before I make any changes(consistency is the key! right?
). They've been fine for almost 2 months, but seems to be decreasing appetite as time goes by and all water parameters are good except the GH, hence this post.I appreciate your input/help!
JP
