Tank Setups • what should be adjutsed first GH or KH

[wgift46]

New to the world of ciclids. Present readings KH 40 GH 180 Ph 6.0. What should I ajust first?

[prov356]

Depends entirely on what species of fish you're going to keep. Also, on whether you're going to be breeding or just keeping them for display.

[wgift46]

Just for display. African

[prov356]

Assuming you mean African rift lake, then you want to bump up KH using sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). Get KH up to 8-10 or so. To convert multiply the numbers I'm giving by 17.9, so you're KH of 40ppm is about 2-3ppm, very low. That's why your pH is so low, more than likely. I just find it easier to refer to KH and GH in degrees rather than ppm because it equates with number of drops when testing with the liquid kits. Adding the baking soda will raise and stabilize pH. I'd leave GH alone, it's fine. See also Practical Water Chemistry for more info.

How you raise it can get tricky. Best to get this adjusted when you first set up and cycle the tank. Going forward, you can dissolve some baking soda and add it at each water change. Hard to go too high with KH, a range is good. More isn't necessarily better or bad. There's a max that sodium bicarb will raise KH. It's about 8.2-8.4. Dissolved organics (nitrates) are acidic and consume buffers, dropping KH. So, keep up with the water changes and keep an eye on KH and let pH fall where it will. The fish will be fine.

HTH

[wgift46]

Thanks Tim, I now have a starting point.