[LLongjr]

I have Electric blue rams and a german blue rams, im reading they need a KH of about 12?

Will they not spawn in water this soft? Ive also been loosing all m snails shortly upon them hatching. What would be the best long term fix to raise the KH of an 80 gallon aquarium or should I sell off these fish and just find something that enjoys softer water?

 

[latchdan]

Gbr require acidic water with ph around 6 to 6.5 with kh of 12 i doubt its below 8.
Where you reading the need kh of 12?

Bump: They like soft water you should be fine. Sails like hard water.

 

[JustJen]

GBR definitely don't need a KH of 12 - they are a softwater fish. I've got them in a KH of 19 and a ph of 8.2+, and they've adapted and done well - but mine are certainly not the norm, and I went out of my way to source fish that were bred in water that was harder/more alkaline than their norm so the transition wouldn't be as rough. The snails may well be having issues due to the soft water, but the rams should be happy as clams

 

[LLongjr]

Thats a drag because I really like snails. Glad the water seems about right. Naturally my PH is 7.6 out of the tap, but my Co2 brings it down to about 6.8 Maybe I just dont have a female or they dont like each other..

 

[GrampsGrunge]

Does Albany source it's water from the Willamette River?

If it does, the only reason it's 7.8 is because the water company doses a bit of Sodium Bicarb for basic pH to protect metal pipes from it's normally softer, slightly acid water.

It's also why your CO2 system corrects the pH easily, Sodium Bicarb isn't as persistent in pH buffering as Calcium.

If you are concerned about the water being too soft you can always add a small amount of dolomite to the gravel to add a bit of carbonate buffering.
But the present wisdom here lately is that lightly buffered and moderate general hardness water isn't the bad thing it was previously thought to be. The fish and plants will take the pH swings in stride.

BTW did you know that the Willamette River is more alkaline than the McKenzie?

 

[Diana]

Check the GH , not the KH.
GH for most soft water fish should be in the single numbers, and if I remember Rams are good with GH around 5 German degrees of hardness or less for breeding. Mine bred at about 3 dGH.
KH should be whatever it takes to stabilize the pH in the right range. Note the word "range".
When you add CO2 you would like to see a drop of 1 unit of pH. Example, from 7.5 without CO2 to 6.5 with CO2.
You could start with the KH about equal to the GH and see what that does to the pH.