What does the following TEST mean???

[discus_maniac]

PH = 5.05
GH = 40 mg/L
KH = 20 mg/L
I got a 4 foot tank, 2X large angels, 9X small Discus, 2X clowns, 1X small catfish, 9X neon.

Is everything OK????

[axelfaz]

i would bring your ph up slowley to 6.8 or 7.0
and raise your kh up to a min of 40 the low kh means u have nothing buffering your ph and it can crash with a ph that to low this could be diastarious
IHTH

Cameron

[discus_maniac]

i would bring your ph up slowley to 6.8 or 7.0
and raise your kh up to a min of 40 the low kh means u have nothing buffering your ph and it can crash with a ph that to low this could be diastarious
IHTH

Cameron

So i need to....
1. Increase Alkalinity (PH UP)
2. How do i raise KH to 40 what is the method??
Sorry i am still really new hope someone can help me

[Merrilyn]

KH is carbonate hardness of the water, and helps to keep your pH stable. You can add shellgrit or crushed coral to your tank to add the necessary calcium to the water.

Shellgrit is probably the easiest to obtain, from the supermarket. It's the same stuff they feed to poultry and cage birds, and you'll find it in the pet food section.

You can either hang a small bag of shellgrit near the outflow of your filter, or simply toss a handful in each back corner of the tank.

[BigFoot]

I dont know if you got baking soda down under. Butt it works great for raising kh. Becarefull it is very stronge.

[Merrilyn]

Indeed we do BigFoot. Here it's called baking soda or bi carbonate soda.

Raises the pH quite effectively.

Thanks for the tip.

[discus_maniac]

KH is carbonate hardness of the water, and helps to keep your pH stable. You can add shellgrit or crushed coral to your tank to add the necessary calcium to the water.

Shellgrit is probably the easiest to obtain, from the supermarket. It's the same stuff they feed to poultry and cage birds, and you'll find it in the pet food section.

You can either hang a small bag of shellgrit near the outflow of your filter, or simply toss a handful in each back corner of the tank.

So i need to buy a filter bag and put in the shellgrit near the outflow of my fillter right???

Also i would like to ask....everytime after i do a 15% water change, clean the bottom of my tank....an hr later the dirt just come back on...is that mean i am overfeeding my fish???
They just seem to be hungry all the time, everytime i come or walk pass the tank they think i am going to feed them food.

Cheers

[Merrilyn]

They sound like normal healthy discus to me :P If they eat all the food you put in, then you're not over feeding them at all. If there is uneaten food left over each time you feed, then that indicates you need to cut back a bit.

Usually adding water to a tank stirs up the sediment and makes it float around, eventually settling on the bottom of the tank, where you see it and think you've done a bad job of cleaning.

Get a small brush, like a bottle brush from the supermarket, and keep it exclusively for your tank. Then before you do a water change, use the brush to clean the surfaces of anything in the tank, like the glass walls, plants, driftwood or decorations. Leave it for about an hour to let the sediment settle, then vacuum it up with your water change hose.

When you add your fresh water, do it very gently, and you should soon see an improvement.

[discus_maniac]

Hi Merrilyn,

Went to a few supermarkets can't find shellgrit
Can i use the pipi's shell as a replacement????

[Merrilyn]

Yes you can. All shells contain calcium. Just rinse them well before use. :P