What's appropriate water hardness for planted tanks?

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/19/2023 at 1:33 PM, martinmin said:

The gap between GH and KH is too big?

I can't say.  I would verify things with a liquid test kit for the sake of it.

KH for me at 40 (tested at the tap on an off-gas test) meant that my PH dropped to ~6.3 pretty easily.  I added 20-30 ppm of buffer to get it stable.

[martinmin]

But API master kit doesn't test gh and kh, right?

On 5/19/2023 at 8:21 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I can't say.  I would verify things with a liquid test kit for the sake of it.

KH for me at 40 (tested at the tap on an off-gas test) meant that my PH dropped to ~6.3 pretty easily.  I added 20-30 ppm of buffer to get it stable.

"I added 20-30 ppm of buffer", what's buffer?

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/19/2023 at 8:37 PM, martinmin said:

"I added 20-30 ppm of buffer", what's buffer?

The literal term comes from chemistry: a substance capable in solution of neutralizing both acids and bases and thereby maintaining the original acidity or basicity of the solution"

Buffer simply meaning something used to raise the values of a specific nutrient.  Think of it like your easy green fertilizer.  It's an ingredient you can use in your recipe to keep the tank, fish, or plants happy.  It comes in a variety of forms, but in my case I use pre-made powders. 

GH Buffer:  Seachem Equilibrium or Seiryu stone
KH Buffer:  Seachem Alkalinity buffer to raise KH, Seachem Acid buffer to lower KH

This might be helpful to see visually.  Here's an example:

This method is very common for things like dwarf shrimp, african cichlids, and other species that have specific requirements.

Caridina shrimp:  Active substrates buffer the water down to an acidic PH (sub 7.0) and low TDS by absorbing nutrients in the water.  There is also RO water "buffers" that are used specific for these shrimp that will get the correct mineral contents when added in a certain ratio.

Neocaridina shrimp:  It is very common to use RO water and "buffers" in the form of shrimp salts which are premade to match parameters the species need.

African Cichlids:  Again, you have the same type of thing as Caridina shrimp, but instead of buffering the PH down by absorbing nutrients, the method is to use coral substrate to buffer the minerals of the water higher into the ranges where the fish originate.  There are also cichlid salts used to provide nutrients for the fish. 
 

[martinmin]

On 5/20/2023 at 1:50 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

The literal term comes from chemistry: a substance capable in solution of neutralizing both acids and bases and thereby maintaining the original acidity or basicity of the solution"

Buffer simply meaning something used to raise the values of a specific nutrient.  Think of it like your easy green fertilizer.  It's an ingredient you can use in your recipe to keep the tank, fish, or plants happy.  It comes in a variety of forms, but in my case I use pre-made powders. 

GH Buffer:  Seachem Equilibrium or Seiryu stone
KH Buffer:  Seachem Alkalinity buffer to raise KH, Seachem Acid buffer to lower KH

This might be helpful to see visually.  Here's an example:

This method is very common for things like dwarf shrimp, african cichlids, and other species that have specific requirements.

Caridina shrimp:  Active substrates buffer the water down to an acidic PH (sub 7.0) and low TDS by absorbing nutrients in the water.  There is also RO water "buffers" that are used specific for these shrimp that will get the correct mineral contents when added in a certain ratio.

Neocaridina shrimp:  It is very common to use RO water and "buffers" in the form of shrimp salts which are premade to match parameters the species need.

African Cichlids:  Again, you have the same type of thing as Caridina shrimp, but instead of buffering the PH down by absorbing nutrients, the method is to use coral substrate to buffer the minerals of the water higher into the ranges where the fish originate.  There are also cichlid salts used to provide nutrients for the fish. 
 

“Seachem Equilibrium： Equilibrium is a mineral supplement designed to have the ideal mineral balance for the aquarium. It is best used for reverse osmosis water or any water lacking minerals. ”

But the Easy Green all-in-one fertilizer is supposed to contain a balanced mineral level, then why do we need Searchem Equilibrium again? 

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/20/2023 at 7:32 PM, martinmin said:

“Seachem Equilibrium： Equilibrium is a mineral supplement designed to have the ideal mineral balance for the aquarium. It is best used for reverse osmosis water or any water lacking minerals. ”

But the Easy Green all-in-one fertilizer is supposed to contain a balanced mineral level, then why do we need Searchem Equilibrium again? 

Easy Green Contents:

Quote

Guaranteed Analysis:
—  Water Soluble Nitrogen (N) 2.66%
—  Available Phosphate (P2O5) 0.46%
—  Soluble Potash (K2O) 9.21%
—  Water Soluble Magnesium (Mg) 0.7%
—  Boron (B) 0.015%
—  Water Soluble Iron (Fe) 0.13%
—  Water Soluble Manganese (Mn) 0.036%
—  Molybdenum (Mo) 0.00098%
—  Water Soluble Zinc (Zn) 0.0072%
NPK 2.66 - 0.46 - 9.21

Seachem Equilibrium Ingredients:

Esssentially Equilibrium contains things that your plants might be deficient in.  You don't "need" it at all. But it might be a useful too if your plants are showing deficiencies in those particular elements.  Certain fish and invertebrates will need a minimum amount of GH in the water to reduce things like calcium deficiencies.  I can't speak fully on that topic, but as an example shrimp need a minimum amount of GH so they can fully molt and form shells once molted.

[nabokovfan87]

Some plants might be "nutrient hogs" so to speak and use a certain nutrient more than others.  Sword plants are known to take a lot of root tabs.  Ferns are known to utilize added iron and/or potassium to keep from being deficient.  Moss does pretty well with a little extra iron too.  Each plant may have slightly different nutritional requirements, but in general easy green is designed to work well with a lot of plants.

[martinmin]

On 5/20/2023 at 8:45 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Easy Green Contents:

Seachem Equilibrium Ingredients:

Esssentially Equilibrium contains things that your plants might be deficient in.  You don't "need" it at all. But it might be a useful too if your plants are showing deficiencies in those particular elements.  Certain fish and invertebrates will need a minimum amount of GH in the water to reduce things like calcium deficiencies.  I can't speak fully on that topic, but as an example shrimp need a minimum amount of GH so they can fully molt and form shells once molted.

So to look at the two mineral list, the only difference is that, Equilibrium contains Calcium, but Easy-green doesn't, and others are mostly overlapped, though the percentages are different. Is that right?

[Lennie]

On 5/21/2023 at 7:36 AM, martinmin said:

So to look at the two mineral list, the only difference is that, Equilibrium contains Calcium, but Easy-green doesn't, and others are mostly overlapped, though the percentages are different. Is that right?

Equilibrium is for boosting Gh

gh test reads mainly calcium and magnesium content in the water. Liquid fertilizers have very minimum amount to cause any affect on gh.

So if you wanna boost gh in a planted tank, besides fertilizers, you can use equilibrium.

If you like your gh the way it is, skip equilibrium. Equilibriums real purpose is increasing gh in planted tanks without sodium content basicaly

[martinmin]

On 5/20/2023 at 11:03 PM, Lennie said:

Equilibrium is for boosting Gh

gh test reads mainly calcium and magnesium content in the water. Liquid fertilizers have very minimum amount to cause any affect on gh.

So if you wanna boost gh in a planted tank, besides fertilizers, you can use equilibrium.

If you like your gh the way it is, skip equilibrium. Equilibriums real purpose is increasing gh in planted tanks without sodium content basicaly

 

Is GH the same as the value tested by a TSD meter? 

[Galabar]

Currently, I'm adding to 4 gallons (of very soft water) 1 tsp of SeaChem Equilibrium to get about 6.5 Gh and 1/4 tsp of Instant Ocean SeaBuffer to get about 3.5 Kh.  However, maybe I'm bringing up my Kh a bit too much...

Edited May 21, 2023 by Galabar

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/20/2023 at 9:36 PM, martinmin said:

So to look at the two mineral list, the only difference is that, Equilibrium contains Calcium, but Easy-green doesn't, and others are mostly overlapped, though the percentages are different. Is that right?

Correct!

On 5/20/2023 at 11:29 PM, martinmin said:

Is GH the same as the value tested by a TSD meter? 

Here is a really well done and useful video on TDS.  Think of TDS as stuff in the water that isn't H20 Ions.  It could be anything.  I will also attach a blog post on KH and GH which dives into what specific ions are involved in those two parameters.

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/ph-gh-kh

On 5/20/2023 at 11:45 PM, Galabar said:

Currently, I'm adding to 4 gallons (of very soft water) 1 tsp of SeaChem Equilibrium to get about 6.5 Gh and 1/4 tsp of Instant Ocean SeaBuffer to get about 3.5 Kh.  However, maybe I'm bringing up my Kh a bit too much...

3.5 dH is right at 60 ppm.  That's my minimum.  You should be able to be in the 3.5-4.5 dH range without much issue.

[Seattle_Aquarist]

Hi All,

First of all the species of aquatic plants we use in our aquariums come from all corners of the world and therefore all water conditions; acid pH, alkaline pH, soft, moderate, and hard water so there is really no 'perfect' water parameter.  Secondly if maintaining healthy fish in my tanks is the primary goal hen the water conditions they require is the water parameters I attempt to achieve.  That said over the years I have strived to choose plants that will flourish in the water parameters of the fish I keep.

However, if I were to optimize the water conditions that are 'best' for fish and plants I would try to achieve the following:
pH = 6.8
dKH = 2 dKH - 5 dKH (35.8 ppm - 89.5 ppm)
dGH = 4 dGH - 7 dGH (71.6 ppm - 125.3 ppm)

Since dGH is primarily comprised of calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) and that is what dGH tests kit measure it is important to have sufficient of both nutrients for healthy plant growth.  I target a 3:1 - 4:1 ratio of Ca:Mg for my tanks typically 20 ppm - 30 ppm of calcium and 5 ppm - 10 ppm of magnesium.  As for iron first of all I use the type of iron that is appropriate for the pH of my tank, currently I do a DIY blend of EDTA, DTPA, and ferrous gluconate.

Keep in mind that most plants can grow well, even flourish, outside of the water parameters that are 'ideal'.  The keys I have found over the years is adequate amounts of light, macro nutrients, secondary nutrients, micro nutrients, and a substrate grain size that isn't too large for roots to grip or that compacts and inhibits root growth.  Hope this helps! -Roy