Planted tank Problem

663 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Karlos5000, Jul 3, 2007

scotty703

Discussion Starter · Jun 29, 2007

A couple months ago, I started a planted 46 Gal. Tank. When I first started it, I filled it with RO Water. I really haven't had alot of luck with plants, so I thought maybe the RO filter took all the minerals out of the water. After looking around on some web sites, I thought maybe Seachem's EQUILIBRIUM might help. I also ordered a API GH & KH Hardness Test Kit. After taking a couple readings, I got 3 for dKH and above 214.8 for ppm KH/GH. The ppm KH/GH went of the top of the chart, so I really don't know how high it went, but I know there chart went to 12 drops and I had to use 17 drops. Can anybody tell me what these readings mean? What should I do next to improve my water for my plants. I also checked the ppm KH/GH coming out of my RO unit and it was around 35.8. Will this Equilibrium help my tank any?

Thank You

Save

1 - 8 of 8 Posts

Cheesehead Cory

· #2 · Jun 29, 2007

Newb helping newb - the blind leading the naked

I don't know enough about KH and GH to be helpful, but regarding what else you need you'll probably need to provide more info to get good help.

How much light do you have over that tank? Are you adding CO2? What species of plants are you trying to grow? What are you using for substrate?

Equilibrium adds micronutrients. You would probably do well to dose macro's as well. See the sticky in the "water parameters" forum for more on that.

Save

scotty703

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jun 29, 2007

Tank Setup

-46 Gallon Bow front.
-2 inch of Seachem flourite substarte
-compact fluorescent lighting 2 x 96 watts 6700k bulb and 10,000k bulb,but cut back to the one 6700k bulb(96Watts).
-No CO2, but going to install Turbo CO2 Bio-System
-Using Flourish and Flourish trace weekly.
-Plants; Ludwigia, Moneywort, Micro Sword, and just added Gr. Cabomba, and Radican. I have some other plants I don't know what they are. Any suggestions on what to get?

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/yourtanks.php?do=view&id=398

Save

Gatekeeper

· #4 · Jun 29, 2007

ph reading?

Save

essabee

· #5 · Jun 30, 2007

Give a full description:

What fish population?
Ph, NH3, NO2, NO3, Dh, Kh.

Save

scotty703

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 1, 2007

Water Parameters

Water Temp 80F
PH- 7.0
KH- 1.0 (17.9ppm)
GH- 16.0 (286.4ppm)

Save

Naja002

· #7 · Jul 1, 2007

I don't believe that Equilibrium effects Kh, but I could be wrong. I don't use it. I did look at Seachem (product description, FAQs, Forums), but I didn't find any references to an effect on Kh.

I don't see anything in Your pic or description that should effect Gh, Kh.

For the Gh--I would say the You just used Too Much. Seachem has slightly different views on what's Best/Appropriate for Planted Tanks, so You might what to keep that in mind when using their directions. Gh/Kh=Less is more.

HTH

Save

Karlos5000

· #8 · Jul 3, 2007

I use equilibrium.....

I mix 1/4 tsp with 5 gallons of water when I'm not replacing evaporative loss. My GH is 4.
I use 1/2 tsp of baking soda for Kh for the same amount of water. My kH is 2-3.

My only other point is that there is a fair amount of K+ in equilib. So if you start to dose macros, you might not need to add KSO4.

Cheers.

Save

1 - 8 of 8 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month