# low kh but 8.2ph from tap



## brianf40 (Oct 16, 2016)

I noticed today my kh from my tap is practically zero but ph is 8.2. My tank is 8.0 with a good kh reading. I have crushed coral as my substrate. I'm concerned about the kh in my water changes being low. I have two cups of crushed coral soaking in a 5 gallon bucket of tap water. Should I be concerned with the low kh in tap? Or will the small amount of water being changed in my tank not make a difference? Am I doing the right thing by soaking crushed coral in my buckets.

Ps I used the 5 in 1 test strip to get my readings. I have a liquid kh test kit on the way.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Wait for the liquid test kit. Test the water after it sits in a container for 24 hours. Do you have a water softener?


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## brianf40 (Oct 16, 2016)

No water softer. It's public water


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

What is the result after 24 hours?


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## brianf40 (Oct 16, 2016)

I'll check tonight. I'm thinking if my kh isn't showing something after soaking 2 cups of crushed coral in it. Then they may be bad test kit. I'm getting liquid yest on wed


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

The crushed coral (according to PhD members who do water treatment as a profession) can't dissolve fast enough to make a difference in a week's time which is usually our ideal PWC.

The crushed coral in my filters has yet to raise pH even 1/10th of a degree, still waiting after 10 years.


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## brianf40 (Oct 16, 2016)

So my water still showed no trace of KH and the ph dropped to 7.8. Definitely going to have issues with a dropping ph if i dont figure this out. Good thing i have not put any fish in my tank yet. What can i do to increase kh in my water during water changes? really dont want to go the chemical way but it looks like i may have to.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

The pH of 7.8 is the true pH of your water. And that is fine for Africans...my pH is 7.8 as well.

The higher measurement immediately out of the tap is caused by pressure within the pipes and as soon as the gasses dissipate you get the true measurement. Just aerate your water as you add it (raise the Python above the surface and let it splash in).

KH might be a problem, but I'd wait for the "real" test kit before beginning to worry.

Tank is doing well so far...what size and frequency of water changes have you been doing?


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## brianf40 (Oct 16, 2016)

I dont have any fish in it yet.( well a couple of goldfish to keep the bacteria going.) I want to figure out the ph and make sure it is stable before adding fish. Im going to test my water in the bucket after 48 hours and see if it went down again. If i have no KH i may have a ph crash later. What if my kh is 0 or very low? Im looking at maybe the kent cichlid buffer? I dont want to mess with baking soda.

MY tank kh is around 120 I contribute that to the crushed coral substrate. (according to the strips)


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## LXXero (May 4, 2016)

your water sounds like mine, it's like 8.2 if you test it right out the faucet, but if you wait 24 hours or so its more like 7.6. Very low GH/KH.

The real test is oxygen/co2 levels. if your fish create a ton of CO2 and the PH starts dropping badly, then you need to both increase oxygenation and add more buffer. if your ph is just stable at 7.8 out of the faucet and its stable at that, not something to complain about. You will just need to test it and keep an eye on it.

I use the seachem malawi buffer and cichlid salts. i haven't tried the kents although its probably fine. my water is extremely stable with this product and my tap water, I only need to add it after water changes, otherwise it will not change.


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## brianf40 (Oct 16, 2016)

Im going to let it run through for a week or two and see what my tank does. Im thinking about using a large trash can in the basement with a power head in it to mix water with some buffer for water changes. Im interested to see what my water does after 48hrs in a bucket. See if it drops anymore


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Read the ingredients and you may find the commercial buffers are primarily baking soda. That is what convinced me.


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## brianf40 (Oct 16, 2016)

Im going to test with a liquid KH test on wed. See if the strips im using are accurate.

What should be looking for in kh to hold a stable ph?
I have a 60 gallon tank so i will be doing water changes using a 5 gallon bucket. How much backing soda will i need if my water is around 0kh?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Anything above KH=4 should work. My KH is 7.

Get a python...buckets get old very quickly.

Experiment with mixing the baking soda in the 5G bucket or even a measured 1G and test until your KH is what you want. Then you will know the amount/gallon for the whole tank. Adjust for water displaced by substrate and rocks.


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## brianf40 (Oct 16, 2016)

Everytime I add a little baking soda to the bucket how long should I wait to test it b4 adding more?


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## brianf40 (Oct 16, 2016)

48 hour update

Bucket of water that has sat for 48 hours with crushed coral (about a cup) has stayed around 7.8ph.

Tank water has actually increased slightly from 7.8 to 8.0 in 24 hours. I think the crushed coral has been buffering it.

I will check kh tomorrow after i get my liquid test kit.


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## pcdiddy (Oct 8, 2016)

DJRansome said:


> Anything above KH=4 should work. My KH is 7.
> 
> Get a python...buckets get old very quickly.
> 
> Experiment with mixing the baking soda in the 5G bucket or even a measured 1G and test until your KH is what you want. Then you will know the amount/gallon for the whole tank. Adjust for water displaced by substrate and rocks.


If I may ask DJRANSOME. Just too clarify when you say KH above 4 should work. Does that mean you can safely have happy and healty cichlids and not worry about raising KH? I have about same water parameters. 7.8 ph testing with API KH kit and come up with 6 dKH. I've never had any PH issue in my tropical tank. Sorry to hijack Brain. I'm in same boat here. Not sure to break out the baking soda or go with the stable water parameters.


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## brianf40 (Oct 16, 2016)

Im going to say, stay with the stable water parameters.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

KH=6 will buffer your pH well enough.

brian says he has KH=0.


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## brianf40 (Oct 16, 2016)

Yeah kh 0 according to strips ill know more tomorrow when i get my liquid test kit.

I just dont know how my water can be 7.8ph and stay there for 48 hours with out dipping and not have any KH. Im going to guess my strips are messed up.


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## brianf40 (Oct 16, 2016)

Did a kh test with my liquid test kit

My tank was 6

tap water 2

Where do i go from here?


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## brianf40 (Oct 16, 2016)

Also ph in bucket after 72 hours has stayed at 7.8.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Brian, you also need to test a sample of your tap water in a clean glass container (with no additives or buffers) after a 24 hour rest period to see if the KH or pH changes. It is sometimes possible to see a rise or fall in both numbers after the sample has sat 24 hours.

The reason for the glass container is to reduce the possibility of leaching from a plastic container which has been known to throw off results when doing a water test.


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## brianf40 (Oct 16, 2016)

I did test after 24 hours n it was very low. This test was just a liquid test not strip but the liquid test confirmed the strip were correct


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I would add baking soda to a measured amount of water until you get KH to 4 and then see how all your test results come out on that bucket.


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## brianf40 (Oct 16, 2016)

Do you think the fact that my tap water goes through a carbon filter would affect the kh in my water?


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## brianf40 (Oct 16, 2016)

Added 1/2tsp baking soda to bucket and it raised to kh 5 and ph 8.0. Which is almost like my tank. I think I'm going to add a 1/2 tsp of baking soda to my buckets of water n go from there


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I don't know...try it without the filter.


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## brianf40 (Oct 16, 2016)

So if i match my tap water to my tank water, will it cause my tank water to increase in ph since my tank has crushed coral in it?

Thanks everyone for your help


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## awanderingmoose (Aug 11, 2016)

brianf40 said:


> Do you think the fact that my tap water goes through a carbon filter would affect the kh in my water?


According to the Brita FAQ, yes.


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## pcdiddy (Oct 8, 2016)

Brian thought I'd share this. So after a few days of this tank up and running using caribsea argonite substrate I have a ph of 8.1 and a KH of 11.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

brian did you ever check the water before the filter?


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