PPM target for a planted tank

[Ruud]

Hello all, 

I have very hard water here in Spain and have been starting running my own RO unit since a week to improve the water on my planted tank. I have also been playing around with a PPM meter. My tap water runs at around 340PPM whilst my tank is around 380ppm at the moment, after a 30% water change with RO water at 45ppm. 

My question is.. after a water change I am adding fertilizers and such for my plants. Is my assumption correct that these would be increasing my PPM levels again? What is a 'healthy'  PPM target for a planted tank with substrate in general - if there is such a thing?

Pardon my ignorance 🙂 trying to understand it all and improving my water as much as I can now I finally have a RO unit. 

Cheers from Spain

Ruud

 

 

[Fish Folk]

Hello Ruud!

Before we consider your question, I have one for you: who do you cheer for in La Liga?

Briefly, I do not think you are low in hardness for your plants. Additives designed for plants provide balanced chemistry benefits that a TDS / GH test cannot precisely account for. What may become important is balancing this with any fish you want to add. Bear in mind that algae will vie for many of the same nutrients that your plants use. Excess unused nutrients generally results in algae growth.

Now… in longer reply your inquiry: water hardness is divided into two parts (1) Carbonate hardness [KH] and (2) General hardness [GH]. My understanding is that KH is more variable — occasionally called “temporary hardness” while GH is more of a constant in your water. Here is an article briefly surveying both relative to a planted tank. A note about measurements: when someone writes about having “1-3 KH” or “5-8 GH” they are typically referring to the number of drops counted out in a standard titration water test. The exact ratio of PPM to these numbers looks something like…

Here is another article addressing this issue for planted tanks. Generally speaking, I think that most plants can thrive in reasonably hard water. There are a few that are better suited for soft water (e.g. read here). But on the whole, hard water will meet the mineral needs of plants. Nitrogen “fuel” rich plant food may need to be added for best results — Easy Green, Flourish, etc. Keeping fish in a healthy eco system will help provide Nitrate via a cycled tank (fish excrete Ammonia through gills and some from waste  > Nitrosomonus colonies convert Ammonia to Nitrite > Nitrobacter colonies convert Nitrite to Nitrate > Plants then absorb Nitrate as fuel). Here is a video discussion of the long term affect of Nitrates on fish, and how to deal with them…

In a number of our aquariums, I add emersed-growing Pothos plants to help absorb excess Nitrate…

In other tanks, plants draw Nitrates out while growing immersed in aquarium…

No matter how you do it, a planted tank will tend to soften water over time. Some aquarists add crushed coral to bump up KH — especially for shellfish and Livebearers. In the top photo, that giant chunk of white limestone (Texas Holey Rock) is constantly leeching off into our soft water to help balance it. But the lower photo aims at very soft water for those Discus.

Years ago, I decided not to try to aim at a different water than what came from my tap and what hardscape or substrate could gently modify. This may not be an option for everyone — and you may really enjoy the R. O. remineralization process — but keeping things simple saves a lot of hassle in the hobby.

Hope something here is helpful.

Now…

Visca el Barça!

😎

Edited November 4, 2022 by Fish Folk

[Ruud]

So being Dutch and living 20 mins outside of Barcelona, and the history Dutch football players have with Barca (think Cruijf among others) off course I route for FC Barcelona 🙂

My concern is not too soft water. My water is hard and I want to soften it. My current parameters are PH7.5 , KH10 and GH around 5. Its a 100L planted tank with substrate, double hang on filters. 

I guess I was a bit shocked to see whats for me a high ppm level in my aquarium water (higher than my tap - I guess due to evaporation) and wondering if I should focus on that or not by doing a massive water change with RO. My RO unit is not working super well as I lack pressure (need to get a pressure bomb) to get my RO water closer to 0ppm. Unfortunately my tap water is extremely hard so working with the water I have will not work if I want a south american tank. 

Your tanks look spectacular btw

[Fish Folk]

On 11/4/2022 at 9:02 AM, Ruud said:

So being Dutch and living 20 mins outside of Barcelona, and the history Dutch football players have with Barca (think Cruijf among others) off course I route for FC Barcelona 🙂

My concern is not too soft water. My water is hard and I want to soften it. My current parameters are PH7.5 , KH10 and GH around 5. Its a 100L planted tank with substrate, double hang on filters. 

I guess I was a bit shocked to see whats for me a high ppm level in my aquarium water (higher than my tap - I guess due to evaporation) and wondering if I should focus on that or not by doing a massive water change with RO. My RO unit is not working super well as I lack pressure (need to get a pressure bomb) to get my RO water closer to 0ppm. Unfortunately my tap water is extremely hard so working with the water I have will not work if I want a south american tank. 

Your tanks look spectacular btw

Love Dutch influence in Barça story! Happy they’ve kept Frenkie de Jong.

Are you aiming for a beautiful Dutch style aquascape? Also hoping for soft-water fish tank? Yes.. you may need RO in that case.

 

[Ruud]

I would love a Dutch style tank but still far from that. Yes I have the RO up and running but am low on water pressure which affects the PPM and production of the Osmosis water. Waiting on a pump to fix that. 

So should I watch the PPM in my aquarium water or just focus on getting the PH, KH and GH to a nice soft level? Like I said I am adding carbon and fertilizer that I guess would increase the PPM again after I have tossed in the RO water. 

Here is a pic of the tank as is, I have recently added a few fast growing plants to help beat black beard algae on the wood, still need to plant them in the soil. 

[Mmiller2001]

On 11/4/2022 at 5:20 AM, Ruud said:

My question is.. after a water change I am adding fertilizers and such for my plants. Is my assumption correct that these would be increasing my PPM levels again?

Yes, and also remember that a TDS meter measures soluble and insoluble organics in the water. 

To alleviate dosing questions, I've found that dosing the RO water coming in is easier to calculate. If you have a 4 liter bucket, dose the 4L bucket of RO with your GH minerals and fertilizer. This way, no matter the amount changed, you maintain your target ppm in the tank. If I have a tank with a GH of 5 degrees and KH of 2 degrees, I dose the RO storage to those parameters. I can change any amount of water while keeping the exact numbers inside the aquarium.

TDS meters are incredibly powerful when you know what you are dosing. I dose my 0 TDS RO water to 85ppm, that a ratio of Ca and Mg that's about 4.5 to 5 degrees GH. Many times I will get distracted and forget if I dosed. If I drop my TDS meter in, see 85ppm, I know I dosed it correctly. You can do the same for the fertilizer also. After the RO water is fully dosed, that ppm should be recorded. Do the water change and the tank TDS should be close to the ppm of the new water coming in. If suddenly you test the tank, and see a TDS much higher or lower, you know something is wrong and you can take measure to correct the problem.

Disclaimer: I typed this before having coffee.

 

 

Edited November 5, 2022 by Mmiller2001

[Mmiller2001]

On 11/4/2022 at 5:20 AM, Ruud said:

What is a 'healthy'  PPM target for a planted tank with substrate in general - if there is such a thing?

This is dependent on the live stock chosen.