GH

[VaughnH]

Water companies are primarily interested in keepin the pH above 7 at all times, to reduce any erosion of copper piping, which is in everyone's house now. To do that they usually increase the KH of the water. And, of course, they add chlorine and ammonia (sometimes) to prevent bacteria from growing in the water. GH is normally whatever the basic water supply has - very low for river water, very high for well water, and the magnesium and calcium content depends on the type of rocks the aquifer is in. Customers for water tend to prefer low GH water, because then soap works a lot better, without the scum you get from hard water. When people add water softeners to their household water, they are trying to get rid of calcium primarily.

 

[Tug]

Dosing Info.


Corrected dosing.

Light (1.2wpg T5HO) - High Tech (DIY CO2)

DC Water and Sewer Authority - Water Quality Test Results​

 

[Tug]

Using tap water

Tap water is cheap and water changes take less time than the testing (salt water is the exception perhaps, salt mixes cost a fair amount money). Water changes also cost less than test kits/testing and are more fool proof method of estimating the nutrient levels in your planted tank when dealing with NO3, Fe and PO4. It's also simpler and requires less knowledge of chemistry and testing against known standards. Plants are most often starved of nutrients and inaccurate test kits are largely responsible. Many people feel tap is unsuitable for plants, this is simply not true. Old myths still abound claiming excess PO4 in tap water causes algae, this has clearly been shown by many hobbyist to be patently false. The tap water has nutrients in it, then you do not have to dose these nearly as much, this is actually a good thing! Why take something out and then add it back again?

Tap is back.