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	How to reduce water GH (hardness)
illest Hobbyist Posts: 103 Kudos: 32 Votes: 0 Registered: 21-Apr-2003	Just how do you reduce GH? I have a 29 gallon that had a few pieces of lace rock in it and the hardness registers to be 300mg. My tap wter comes out at 100mg. Was it the lace rock that added to the hardness thats now killing my plants? 0-60 soft 61-100 slightly hard 101-200 moderatley hard ]200 very hard
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:19
FRANK Moderator Posts: 5108 Kudos: 5263 Votes: 1690 Registered: 28-Dec-2002	Hi, I suspect that the "lace" rock is a form of lava (either red, black, or gray varieties) and if so, would not affect your GH. What else is in the tank as far as ornaments and substrate? You could dilute it by topping off the tank for evaporation with distilled water but that could get expensive. Frank -->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:19
joe fishy Fish Addict Posts: 605 Kudos: 1355 Votes: 65 Registered: 21-Apr-2003	IME, hardness does not really seem to harm plants. Some, in fact, appear to benefit. Hardness is more of a concern if you're trying to have a lower pH to breed certain species of fish (such as tetras or cichlids from South America). If you need to lower kH, add driftwood, filter with peat, or put in anacharis/elodea. If your plants aren't doing well, look at your light level, substrate, and nutrients available from fish or fertilization. Good growing to you!
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:19
illest Hobbyist Posts: 103 Kudos: 32 Votes: 0 Registered: 21-Apr-2003	ok there was for a long time grey slate from eastern ky that was in there, that may have done it, its been gone for some time now, only thing that remains are tiny pieces thats broke off here and there, ive pretty much gotten rid of most of them since i noticed them. also my piranha tank(55gallon) is showing a ph of 4.0 or lower... how would i get that back up without buying chemicals? btw the plants are green hygro...with a uh single strip 29gallon lid with a GE aqua ways fresh and saltwater bulb, 20 watt [span class="edited"][Edited by illest 2004-07-29 15:34][/span]
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:19
greenfootball Fish Addict Posts: 613 Kudos: 360 Votes: 0 Registered: 23-Jul-2001	4.0 or lower!!! wow. anyways, to lower GH you can add salt i believe, obviously you cant just add as much as you want, if you do, you might as well switch to saltwater. to raise GH... add limestones. to raise KH you use baking soda, i dont know how to lower it, but i think those water machines next to supermarkets have pretty low KH and GH.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:19
TheGoldenDojo Fish Addict Posts: 575 Kudos: 559 Votes: 8 Registered: 04-Apr-2004	61-100 slightly hard Water with a GH of 3 is not even slightly hard! Discus thrive in water a GH that low!
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:19


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