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Understnading GH KH and PH readings

1021 Views 2 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  Hoppy, 
W
Ok can someone please tell me if this is good bad or indifferent for plants/fish
Here are my water parameters
dkh 10 - 179ppm kh
gh 1 - 17.9ppm gh
Ph 7.9-8.2 Depending on Co2 quantity

I have 5 platies and 5 Black tetras as well as anacharis, anubias(type yet unidentified), moneywort, ,melon sword, micro sword, and an aponogeton(type yet unidentified<too small>)

I use nothing to control ph, kh or gh at the moment
The fish have been in the tank for a year but the plants were just added over the last couple weeks and seem to be doing ok EXCEPT for the micro sword which is covered in algae and seems to be dying off.
55gallon
Lighting is a 2x 54W T5HO
DIY Co2
For more info view my tank page
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bradac56
The plants won't care what pH/gH you have and for the most part your fish won't ether as long as you don't let it spike up or down to far.

I would recommend staying away from any of the products that will change your pH/Gh/etc that's generally more hassle than it's worth unless your trying to breed a certain type of fish that needs soft or hard pH. And if that's the case you'll need to put them in a separate tank anyway.

Your fish has been in the tank long enough that you would have seen problems with your water a along time ago.
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H
Two T5HO bulbs is too much for a 55 gallon tank, giving you very high light intensity. Unless you have pressurized CO2, and do the constant fiddling with it to keep the concentration of CO2 up near the maximum the fish can live with, you will be short changing the plants on carbon. That leads to algae problems, which you are experiencing.

One T5HO bulb right at the top of the tank is good lighting for a 55 gallon tank, or 2 bulbs, raised about 6-8 inches above the top of the tank is also good lighting.

The plants need fertilizing, with root tabs, with fertilizers in the water, or both. Fertilizing means adding NPK and trace elements.
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