i always try to keep my gh at 300ppm and my kh at 180ppm

 

I read in an article somewhere to not let the gh fall below 10, and I think it said to keep the kh at 6. This way the water is well buffered so the pH will not change too drastically. You would have to research the Malawi or Mbuna articles to be sure.

I also read that by deviding the ppm by 17.9 or 17.1 (dependant upon whether the test kit is American or European) you will get the gh or kh and vise versa when mulitplying.

ie. 300 ppm devided by 17.9 equals 16.76 gh.
16.76 gh times 17.9 equals 300 ppm.

180 ppm/17.9=10.05 kh
10.05 kh x 17.9=180 ppm

My tank also reads 300 ppm. But on both the gh and kh.
Seems a little high to me, but I see no signs of fishy stress or discomfort.
If I am wrong about any of this, someone please correct me.

 

Since you are trying to raise it from nothing basically, my pH is 7.8 and my GH and KH are 7. This is acceptable and my fish have been happy for 3 years. I wouldn't go too much lower than those, however.

Wouldn't it be better to choose fish that are suited for soft water?

 

Why should I choose soft water acid fish??This is very simple basic chemistry guys..I was thinking about a 13GH and 10KH..