GH or KH, to chase or not?

[Scott P.]

I have been setting up my first tank in about 10-12 years. I have a question or three about water hardness.

These are the numbers in question.

PH=7.4  not very concerned about that.

GH= 3 or 3 drops with ATI test. KH= 3or 3 drops on same ATI test. I would consider this fairly soft. 

My main concern is the buffering ability of KH. That and a lot of fish/shrimp say they need harder water.

I have 2 questions.

1. should I try to raise the hardness of my water? I have read that crushed coral can raise it nice and slow. I like slow.

2. if I do raise it, how do I go about keeping it from crashing when I do water changes?

 

Thanks in advance for any advice, and yes I tried the search function. I am terrible at searching.

[DSH OUTDOORS]

I think the first question is what kind of fish are you wanting to keep?  Most live bearers and African Ciclids will need that harder water to thrive.  I have hard water from the tap so this is what I keep.  If you are looking at barbs or tetra this lower ph and lower hardness is a plus.

What kind of filtration do you have planned?  Crushed coral can be added to a hang on back filter in a bag to constantly release KH as water runs through it.  This bag can be added to the main tank or just add crushed coral to your substrate to buffer at a slower rate.  Smaller more frequent water changes should keep anything from crashing as you are diluting less KH and it will build back up between changes.

What is your water source?  Well, City water without softener or City water with a softener?

[Scott P.]

On 7/15/2021 at 10:04 AM, DSH OUTDOORS said:

I think the first question is what kind of fish are you wanting to keep?  Most live bearers and African Ciclids will need that harder water to thrive.  I have hard water from the tap so this is what I keep.  If you are looking at barbs or tetra this lower ph and lower hardness is a plus.

What kind of filtration do you have planned?  Crushed coral can be added to a hang on back filter in a bag to constantly release KH as water runs through it.  This bag can be added to the main tank or just add crushed coral to your substrate to buffer at a slower rate.  Smaller more frequent water changes should keep anything from crashing as you are diluting less KH and it will build back up between changes.

What is your water source?  Well, City water without softener or City water with a softener?

I have city water from an underground aquafer. I would like to keep a couple of Bolivian Rams and some shrimp along with some other community fish.

[GameCzar]

Shrimp need the minerals and calcium for sure.   I use wondershell in our tank, and I have heard crushed coral is a great method too.   I believe I saw one poster say they kept the coral in small bags near their filter so they could change them out easily when they were depleted. 

[DSH OUTDOORS]

My city water also comes from an underground aquafer.  There is a huge difference between my hose water not run through the softener and my sink water running through the softener.  Bolivian rams prefer a PH between 6.0 and 7.5 and a KH between 0 and 10.  I don't think you need to chase parameters too much to keep them.  I would add a small amount of crushed coral or wondershell as @GameCzar has suggested but don't get too carried away with it.  Finding the right Shrimp food could give them all the calcium they need to thrive without affecting your other fish. Of course shrimp always do better in a well established tank so I would hold off on them for a bit until you have everything stabilized in your tank.

 

[gardenman]

I like crushed coral. It slowly dissolves and adds minerals to the water. It bumps up the pH also. It's a handy tool to help stabilize an aquarium. If you're worried about water changes, store some water in containers (I use old kitty litter bottles that each hold 2-3 gallons) with some crushed coral in the bottom. You can reuse the coral by not pouring it into the tank.

[Scott P.]

On 7/15/2021 at 10:18 AM, DSH OUTDOORS said:

My city water also comes from an underground aquafer.  There is a huge difference between my hose water not run through the softener and my sink water running through the softener.  Bolivian rams prefer a PH between 6.0 and 7.5 and a KH between 0 and 10.  I don't think you need to chase parameters too much to keep them.  I would add a small amount of crushed coral or wondershell as @GameCzar has suggested but don't get too carried away with it.  Finding the right Shrimp food could give them all the calcium they need to thrive without affecting your other fish. Of course shrimp always do better in a well established tank so I would hold off on them for a bit until you have everything stabilized in your tank.

 

I didn't think about shrimp getting their minerals through their diet. Makes a lot of sense.

The shrimp are not mandatory but I would like to try them if I can get it right.

I'm not getting in a rush to add anything other than plants. The tank has been running for about a week.

So far I have half of the tank planted. Probably going to order plants for the other side this weekend.

I don't plan on fish for at least a few more weeks or more.

[Scott P.]

On 7/15/2021 at 10:23 AM, gardenman said:

I like crushed coral. It slowly dissolves and adds minerals to the water. It bumps up the pH also. It's a handy tool to help stabilize an aquarium. If you're worried about water changes, store some water in containers (I use old kitty litter bottles that each hold 2-3 gallons) with some crushed coral in the bottom. You can reuse the coral by not pouring it into the tank.

I like the way your think. I was already leaning towards the coral, but I wanted to be sure I wasn't trading one small problem for another.

[gardenman]

On 7/15/2021 at 10:30 AM, Scott P. said:

I like the way your think. I was already leaning towards the coral, but I wanted to be sure I wasn't trading one small problem for another.

If your tap water has ammonia, or nitrites out of the tap, by storing it with some crushed coral in a container the good bacteria can set up housekeeping in the container and make the water safer for your fish. It's kind of a win-win. My well water has an absurdly high ammonia content from the tap, but a few days in the bottle and the ammonia is gone. 

[Patrick_G]

I think you’re on the right track with the coral if you want to keep shrimp. Another option is to add minerals with something like Seachem Equilibrium. If you go with that method and you plan on lots of water changes you have to add Equilibrium every time you do a water change.  I chose this method for my most recent tank, but in hindsight I’d go for the crushed coral. 

[CalmedByFish]

On 7/15/2021 at 9:44 AM, gardenman said:

If your tap water has ammonia, or nitrites out of the tap, by storing it with some crushed coral in a container the good bacteria can set up housekeeping in the container and make the water safer for your fish. It's kind of a win-win. My well water has an absurdly high ammonia content from the tap, but a few days in the bottle and the ammonia is gone. 

Genius idea. It might be helpful to also stick some pothos at the surface. It can help pull out ammonia and nitrite, and even the resulting nitrates.

[Scott P.]

On 7/15/2021 at 10:44 AM, gardenman said:

If your tap water has ammonia, or nitrites out of the tap, by storing it with some crushed coral in a container the good bacteria can set up housekeeping in the container and make the water safer for your fish. It's kind of a win-win. My well water has an absurdly high ammonia content from the tap, but a few days in the bottle and the ammonia is gone. 

Tap water shows 0 on ammonia and 0 nitrites, maybe a trace of nitrate, hard to tell. I like the idea though.

[Scott P.]

On 7/15/2021 at 10:57 AM, Patrick_G said:

I think you’re on the right track with the coral if you want to keep shrimp. Another option is to add minerals with something like Seachem Equilibrium. If you go with that method and you plan on lots of water changes you have to add Equilibrium every time you do a water change.  I chose this method for my most recent tank, but in hindsight I’d go for the crushed coral. 

If I put bagged crushed coral in the filter, how long does it last on average?