# How important is dGH and dKH?



## dudemanguy (Feb 11, 2009)

Hey,

Just wondering, how important is it that i keep an eye on water dGH & dKH? Will it kill the fish if I don't pay attention to it?


----------



## Gino Santangelo (Nov 26, 2008)

Depends on the fishes osmoregulotory system. If your dealing with Rift lake fish, stick with calcium based substrate. Yet when time permits,have alittle coffe and bourbon, and read up on a great hobby.


----------



## dudemanguy (Feb 11, 2009)

Well, they are mbuna, that is rift lake right? And if I have calcium substrate, will I still have to add chemicals to raise water hardness? Or will the substrate "take care" of everything?

And I will read up more on it :wink:


----------



## Gino Santangelo (Nov 26, 2008)

If you have calcium based substrate you will not need to add additives to boost GH or KH. Your PH will stay stable around 7.8 , 8.2 depending on the type of test kit your using. But rift lake fish will be fine, and yes yours are rift lake.


----------



## dudemanguy (Feb 11, 2009)

Ok, I will try and find some calcium substrate then. My LFS does not sell it, but I'll look elsewhere.

Thank you for your help Gino!


----------



## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

You should probably test your tap water and see what you come up with.

This will let you know if you need to do anything to change the properties.


----------



## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

Your kh and gh in your tank will depend on the kh and gh from your tap. Don't go looking for substrate if you don't need too. I have 6 tanks that are all lake tanganyka with play sand substrate. IMO, the substrate will not alter your readings much at all unless you are using it in a filter. You need to find out what your ph is. Where are you located exactly? are you on well water?


----------



## dudemanguy (Feb 11, 2009)

noddy said:


> Your kh and gh in your tank will depend on the kh and gh from your tap. Don't go looking for substrate if you don't need too. I have 6 tanks that are all lake tanganyka with play sand substrate. IMO, the substrate will not alter your readings much at all unless you are using it in a filter. You need to find out what your ph is. Where are you located exactly? are you on well water?


Well, my tap water Ph is about 7.5. I will test my tap water kh and gh sometime later today. 
I am in Mississauga. No, not on well water.


----------



## BillD (May 17, 2005)

You don't need to do anything to your water. Lake Ontario water is fine for rift lake fishes and most SA species aas well.


----------



## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

For the most part fish will adjust and be happy with pretty much any GH level as long as it doesn't change abruptly. 
Fish don't care what the KH level is however if your source water has a low KH then it's not going to do much to buffer your PH and over time this will allow your PH to drop. If you do weekly partial water changes then you don't need to worry about it but if your KH is low AND you have a tendency to allow more than a few weeks go between water changes then you may want to adjust the KH.

A simple way to maintain a higher KH is to add baking soda at every water change--*but wait! *Don't just start throwing baking soda in--the sudden change in PH could be extremely stressful to your fish--even deadly if there is any amonia present. 
_First thing you want to do is test your source water for KH. _You might also test your tank KH just before a water change. If it's higher then your source water KH or high enough, (ideal KH is 180-240ppm or 10-14DH), then you likely already have something in the tank--coral substrate perhaps--that's buffering your PH.

If you find your KH is low then please post back and I'll tell you the simple steps to determine exactly how much baking soda you'll need to add in order to keep your ph buffered. 
I'll repeat though: if you do weekly partial water changes then you probably don't need to worry about your KH--period. 
_For the most part: the less you do for/with your water in terms of adjusting PH, KH and GH, the better. _

Robin

Robin


----------



## dudemanguy (Feb 11, 2009)

Robin said:


> For the most part fish will adjust and be happy with pretty much any GH level as long as it doesn't change abruptly.
> Fish don't care what the KH level is however if your source water has a low KH then it's not going to do much to buffer your PH and over time this will allow your PH to drop. If you do weekly partial water changes then you don't need to worry about it but if your KH is low AND you have a tendency to allow more than a few weeks go between water changes then you may want to adjust the KH.
> 
> A simple way to maintain a higher KH is to add baking soda at every water change--*but wait! *Don't just start throwing baking soda in--the sudden change in PH could be extremely stressful to your fish--even deadly if there is any amonia present.
> ...


well to start, my tap water: pH - 7.5; kH - 6; gH - 12. My tank is: pH - 7.6+ (my kit does not go above 7.6 because it is for my softer water tanks, but I intead to buy a high range pH kit very soon); kH - 12; gH - 11. Now the reason these are different from my tap water is that I am using "perfect pH". I also have "cichled salt" to raise the gH.

I also have two more questions Robin. This is a Mbuna tank, btw. I have read in different books and articles that kH should be about 6. Now you are saying that it should be 10 to 14? :-? lol I am a little confused. kH buffers pH, so if kH is 6, pH will be too low? When kH is at a certain level, will pH always be linked with it?

Now the other question. I have read that I need to put in cichlid salt to make gH higher so that kH and pH don't change. My gH is already 12, and the recomended doseage raises gH by 6 dH. The other thing is that the cichlids apparently need the minerals from the salt. Is that true?

These chemicals make sence, but at the same time can get quite confusing (and expensive!) 
If you could give me the baking soda instructions that would be awesome! But on that, I have another question (sorry lol). Does it matter what baking soda I use? Do some brands contain anything that could harm the fish?


----------

