Hi Folks,
The above thread title is a question posed by Dennis Wong on his web site, the 2hr Aquarist:
https://www.advancedplantedtank.com/blogs/ph-kh-gh-tds/hardwater-softwater-decoded
The reply given is "There is absolutely no need to do so, unless you are doing specifically to accommodate livestock that favors a certain pH/KH value. Contrary to popular belief - low KH doesn't give rise to pH crashes without additional triggers. This is a remnant of ancient aquarium dogma".
Let's extract the essence of what Dennis Wong is saying and that is "low KH doesn't give rise to pH crashes without additional triggers". But, these triggers can, and do, occur. It's happened to me. I once bred German Blue Rams (GBRs). I had 41 juvenile fish in a 50 litre tank. One day, I measured the tank water pH and it had dropped considerably. I don't have the figure readily at hand. And, when I measured KH, it had also dropped significantly. Again, I don't have a figure readily at hand. But, at a push, I should be able to find it in one of my many aquarium logs. I remedied the situation by gradually adding sodium bicarbonate to raise KH and thus pH. I think this situation had been caused by the biological filter nitrification utilizing carbonate (for a supply of carbon) and its acidification of the tank water. Fortunately, not a single fish suffered in the process.
I aim to maintain my tanks at a minimum alkalinity/carbonate hardness of 4dKH.
JPC
The above thread title is a question posed by Dennis Wong on his web site, the 2hr Aquarist:
https://www.advancedplantedtank.com/blogs/ph-kh-gh-tds/hardwater-softwater-decoded
The reply given is "There is absolutely no need to do so, unless you are doing specifically to accommodate livestock that favors a certain pH/KH value. Contrary to popular belief - low KH doesn't give rise to pH crashes without additional triggers. This is a remnant of ancient aquarium dogma".
Let's extract the essence of what Dennis Wong is saying and that is "low KH doesn't give rise to pH crashes without additional triggers". But, these triggers can, and do, occur. It's happened to me. I once bred German Blue Rams (GBRs). I had 41 juvenile fish in a 50 litre tank. One day, I measured the tank water pH and it had dropped considerably. I don't have the figure readily at hand. And, when I measured KH, it had also dropped significantly. Again, I don't have a figure readily at hand. But, at a push, I should be able to find it in one of my many aquarium logs. I remedied the situation by gradually adding sodium bicarbonate to raise KH and thus pH. I think this situation had been caused by the biological filter nitrification utilizing carbonate (for a supply of carbon) and its acidification of the tank water. Fortunately, not a single fish suffered in the process.
I aim to maintain my tanks at a minimum alkalinity/carbonate hardness of 4dKH.
JPC
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