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Hi all.
The GH of my tap water is around 1-2. Well, I made a batch of nitrate with Grant's Stump Remover and GH of the solution is 9. I didn't realize that the Grant's increased the hardness. Has anyone else had this happen?
The solution was sitting in a closed 2 liter for a while. Could this somehow have changed it (I wouldn't think so)?


Side question: What is the difference between GH and kH? If different, how do I get kH from GH?

Thanks

I'd question your GH test kit. KNO3 is neither Ca nor Mg.

Use CaCl and MgSO4 for GH or SeaChem Equilibrium.

Regards,
Tom Barr

GH - General Hardness, is the concentration of calcium and magnesium ions dissolved in the water. It's what we refer to when we talk about soft or hard water.

KH - Carbonate Hardness, is the concentration of bicarbonate and carbonate dissolve in the water. It's what we refer to as buffering capacity.

Usually, hard water (high GH) will be well buffered (KH above 4 degrees), but not always. As far as I know, it is impossible to get your KH if you know your GH, you will need to test it seperately.

TDS - Total Dissolved Solids has also soemthing to do with hardness, as it measure what it says, the total of all dissolved solids in the water. This is mostly important if you are looking into breeding soft water fish.

Hope it answers your question and didn't confuse you even more.

Thanks.

So, I can't use my pH and GH(instead of kh) to determine my co2 content?

Unfortunately, you can't. You need to know your KH to determine CO2. Even when KH levles are known, you cannot determine CO2 levels with 100% accuracy, it just gives you a rough idea.