Water Balance: Ph, KH, GH

[cclaver]

Hi all,

 

I am trying to assess my water balance to determine if I need corrective action.  It seems my Ph is on the low side and KH and GH are not quite in sync with each other.  I live in Tucson, AZ where the tap water is VERY hard, so I use RO for water exchanges and top offs.  Fish (4 Denison's, 1 Congo Tetra, 1 Gold bristle nose Pleco - 60 gal tank) seem to be doing fine, plants look like they could be a bit more vibrant.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Here are my water parameters from the Tank, Tap and RO:

Tank:

Ph = 6.4
KH = 4 dKH
GH = 8 dGH
Nitrite = 0 ppm
Nitrate = 5 ppm
Ammonia = 0-0.25 ppm
CO2 = 35-40 ppm

Tap:

Ph = 8.0
KH = 6 dKH
GH = 17-18 dGH

RO:

Ph = 7.0
KH = 0 dKH
GH = 0 dGH

C

[Cory]

Looks like you should be reducing the co2. 30ppm is considered full saturation, if you're getting 35-40ppm, that's only bringing pH down further.

[cclaver]

Thanks Cory,

I will make adjustment to my bubble counter.

C