I took some of my tank water to my wife's work today. She works in a medical building and they use only Hach and LaMotte test kits (I feel sorry for them! :icon_smil ) I used one that said Total Hardness and measures CaCo3. It showed 20ppm. How does this relate to Kh & Gh?? thanks.
CaCo3??
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Hach and Lamotte make great field kits and are used everywhere. I'm sure just the quality you buy at the store sucks or professionals wouldn't use them.
I can't answer your question directly, only that 20 ppm CaCo3 is pretty soft water.
kara
I can't answer your question directly, only that 20 ppm CaCo3 is pretty soft water.
kara
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Total hardness is GH. It is pretty much the sum total of Ca+2, Mg+2, Fe+3, and Mn+2 ions represented as a CaCO3 equivalent. 20ppm CaCO3 is just over 1 degree GH (17.9ppm = 1dGH) which is very soft water. For a high light tank, this might mean you would need to add some extra Mg (via Epsom salts) and Ca (via a calcium salt - there are several to choose from) along with an iron-containing trace mix. It will also probably limit snail shell formation and growth - I have 50ppm and my snail shells are all slightly eroded.
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