• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Kh low

john arnold

Member
Joined
28 Jun 2018
Messages
363
Location
Somerset
hi
Has anyone had rocks that lower the kh as I found some lovely rocks in Scotland and did iwagumi layout and kh is 3 gh 8..and all montecarlo and rotala melted in a week gonna use seachem alkalinity buffer to raise it a little
 
all montecarlo and rotala melted in a week
I suspect this is product or shipping related rather than low KH

My tap is very soft, KH 0-1, GH 1-2 (pH 6 - 6.5) - MC and various Rotala species do fine
 
I put some of rock in a bowl for few days and it measures kh 1 so rock defo lowered kh...so what do you think happened I have pressurised Co2 tropica soil plenty of flow and ei dosing and plants were 123 grow from aquarium gardens
 
Hi all,
I put some of rock in a bowl for few days and it measures kh 1 so rock defo lowered kh
It won't have done. If there was a rock, that you could add to the tank, that would reduce dKH a lot of people would be very happy.

Something like a Sphagnum peat or Clay, could reduce dKH <"via ion exchange">, but a rock won't have any CEC.

If it is an inert rock (very likely in Scotland) it won't have any effect on dKH.
use seachem alkalinity buffer to raise it a little
If you want to raise dKH, just add a bit of tap water.

cheers Darrel
 
Remember that KH measures “temporary” hardness (Seachem alkaline buffer is also “temporary” as is bicarbonate based)

Have you spoken with the AG team re melt?

IME, tIssue culture plants seem to be more prone to inexplicable “melt” than potted plant (there really isn’t much plant material there and it’s usually quite delicate stem/leaf structure that’s easily damaged by poor travel conditions or physical bruising during handling)
If you’re convinced it’s not tank related, I’d email Tropica directly and see what explanations they might offer
 
Hi all, It won't have done. If there was a rock, that you could add to the tank, that would reduce dKH a lot of people would be very happy.

Something like a Sphagnum peat or Clay, could reduce dKH <"via ion exchange">, but a rock won't have any CEC.

If it is an inert rock (very likely in Scotland) it won't have any effect on dKH.If you want to raise dKH, just add a bit of tap water.

cheers Darrel
Hello

I respect your comments as in past you have helped me a lot but haha the rock has decreased the kh as the water was measured before and after the rock was added and it decreased unless there is something on rock that is doing it I did scrub them so I dunno...
 
Remember that KH measures “temporary” hardness (Seachem alkaline buffer is also “temporary” as is bicarbonate based)

Have you spoken with the AG team re melt?

IME, tIssue culture plants seem to be more prone to inexplicable “melt” than potted plant (there really isn’t much plant material there and it’s usually quite delicate stem/leaf structure that’s easily damaged by poor travel conditions or physical bruising during handling)
If you’re convinced it’s not tank related, I’d email Tropica directly and see what explanations they might offer

I did ring AG and he said he had no idea and just increase Co2 .. I thought in past the 123 cultures came in a gel all of these were just liquid I don’t know if that points to a problem but yeah I thought about contacting tropica
 
Hi all,
I respect your comments as in past you have helped me a lot but haha the rock has decreased the kh as the water was measured before and after the rock was added and it decreased unless there is something on rock that is doing it I did scrub them so I dunno...
Really would like to know which rock, because i can't see that happening either.
That is the great thing about science.

All you have to do is ask "is there a chemical mechanism by which the rock could lower carbonate hardness?" as soon as you find out that there isn't one, it tells you that you can discount the rock, so that just leaves the test kit.

Because the test kit measures alkalinity, rather than dKH, you could have a rock which potentially reduces pH, if it contained a lot of <"iron pyrites "Fool's Gold"">.

cheers Darrel
 
Hi all,That is the great thing about science.

All you have to do is ask "is there a chemical mechanism by which the rock could lower carbonate hardness?" as soon as you find out that there isn't one, it tells you that you can discount the rock, so that just leaves the test kit.

Because the test kit measures alkalinity, rather than dKH, you could have a rock which potentially reduces pH, if it contained a lot of <"iron pyrites "Fool's Gold"">.

cheers Darrel


Ok ok I’ve been told haha.. so that leaves me with a puzzle still.. there is a little crushed quartz I picked up from Bodmin moor as a sandy type path but I thought I tested that in separate bowl too so then that leaves me with bad plants from tropica ......
 
Back
Top