gH/kH

[scoupland]

I'm just starting a planted tank. I tested my unfiltered water and the gH = 11 and the kH = 9. A friend in the area said he runs his water through carbon and sediment filters (75%) and or carbon, sediment, and R/O filters (25%). Is that a good strategy? I guess I can play around with mixing tap and filtered water but what should my target gH and kH be? Maybe not an exact point but an acceptable range. This is not a discus tank.

Scott

 

[drhemlock2]

i am putting together a 75 gallon planted tank and i have the same questions i know that you need to know what fish you will be keeping as well as low light and or high light requiring plants. i have tested my water here after getting a report from the local water company which by the way is a good idea. and my KH is 13 and my GH is 243 i would assume mgl. i would get the info from the water company and be sure to ask them about General hardness i forgot and had to recall them. then test your water with a good test kit i use API master test kit and got the KH/GH Api test kit just to make sure they were all the same.
doc

 

[mi5haha]

GH11 is OK for raising many ordinary species. KH9 will be difficult for Co2 to lower down PH.

Usually when GH is 11, KH is around 5 only.

 

[scoupland]

I haven't made a final decision on specific fish, but will likely have tetras of some sort, and maybe a couple of rams. For lighting I have two 48" TrueLumen Pro LED strips, so I don't know what to call that in terms of intensity. The values I got for GH/KH were from using API test kits. I will be running CO2.

In looking at contest tanks a lot have readings of KH = 3 and GH = 5. Maybe that is what I should shoot for in mixing tap and RO water. I have however seen some contest tanks with values around KH = 10 and GH = 12.

 

[dutchy]

That is because they frequently use very demanding plant species that require soft water. There are a lot of plants which will be ok with the values you have.

 

[scoupland]

I contacted my water department and they said the water measurements range from GH=7.3 to 8.4, KH=7.7 to 9.0, and pH=7.4-8.0. My API measurements were GH=11 and KH=9.

Dutchy--I guess I need to decide on what plants I want to use before I decide to mix my tap water with R/O. Is it that simple? Will plants grow better in general if I soften the water? For example, if I mixed in R/O and dropped the GH to 5 and KH to 3 would that in general create a better environment for plant growth, or is it dependent on the needs of the species of plants?

 

[dutchy]

Your testset might not be accurate, or the water department is out of range. assuming you're using CO2, GH 5 and KH 3 will grow every plant, if you want to do the extra effort that RO brings. My tank has KH 6 and GH 8, and I can grow every plant except for some sensitive soft water plants like Erios etc. But these are just a few species. If you want to grow these plants, RO is needed. If not, you can save yourself the $$ and the trouble.

It's a choice.

 

[scoupland]

I said my test kits were API but they were actually Sera, and I just go them. It is my understanding if you use the EI fertilization method, you don't need to test the water. But, I am just starting and want to know what I am starting with. Are there certain test kits that are more reliable?

Are there any websites that are reliable resources for plant info, especially GH/KH requirements for plants?