Hi all,
API kh test results of 10 and ph of 6.4
It's not right OFC. Test kits are not accurate esp at hobbist level.
I agree with
@Zeus, they are fairly unlikely parameters, and you certainly don't have 119 ppm CO2. If you don't add CO2 you will have somewhere between 0.5ppm (the theoretical equilibrium value with atmospheric CO2) and the <"
usual assumption of 3ppm">.
ammonia and nitrites are steady at 0 (can be done with either pure ammonia or a few cheap fish to start the cycle)
Welcome, we don't tend to recommend either "sacrificial" fish, or ammonia addition, as "cycling" techniques. We have a slightly different approach to cycling to most forums, this is because we only keep planted tanks and that more recent scientific research (on biological nitrification) has shown that a much wider range of organisms are involved in nitrification than was originally realized. Have a look at <"
Filter cycling?"> and links.
however also consider that phosphorus and potassium will raise your gH value
The PO4--- may raise pH and alkalinity, but it won't change dGH, which is a measure of multivalent cations (like Ca++). Same applies to K+, it is a base but it doesn't change dGH, because it is a monovalent cation.
If you add a salt like potassium chloride (KCl) it has net neutral effect on pH, because it is the salt resulting from the reaction of a strong acid (the source of the Cl-) and a strong base (the K+) ion. Phosphate is a weak base, so PO4--- containing compounds can be either acidic or basic, which is why you can have <"
phosphate buffers">.
So it will result in harmful pH swings even if you only add a little at a time. If you have high pH and high kH it's better to try to remove some of the carbonate with things like driftwood or peat moss rather than try to neutralize your tank with an acid which is what chemicals like vinegar or pH down would do. If you have large swings in pH it's probably due to a low kH value where any variation in water chemistry results in a large pH change.
That is the one, as you get towards pure H2O pH is less and less useful as a measure. The only real way to lower hardness is to use a low hardness source like rainwater or RO, a lot of <"
our members"> have very hard water and <"
produce stunning results">.
Generally gH should be around 10 at a maximum (about 200 ppm) and kH should be much lower - closer to 3 degrees or 50 ppm. If your kH levels really are 10 your water is incredibly hard
It is a bit different in the UK, a lot of us will have water with ~20 dGH/dKH, most of our water tends to have about the same dGH and dKH values, which is largely to do with our aquifers being limestone (CaCO3) that hasn't undergone <"
dolomotization">.
The derivation of both dGH/dKH <"
is a bit strange"> but because it is based on the amount of CaO. If all your hardness is derived from CaCO3, both 1dGH and 1dKH are equivalent to 17.86 ppm CaCO3.
cheers Darrel