gemelee Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Has anybody else in Hamilton noticed a rise in the pH of the tap water in the last week? I was also wondering how this would affect the gH? Is there someone in Hamilton with a gH and kh test kit that could help me out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtiskaw Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Just tested with my API kit - KH=3 and GH=0. My pH meter is at a friends place at the moment. Last time I tested the KH was zero as well. Seems about right for Hams, soft and lots of phosphate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gemelee Posted July 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 So the kh has gone from 0 to 3? Will this affect my fish in anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuhli loach Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 What are KH and GH? I'd only ever heard of PH. Is it something I should get a water test for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtiskaw Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 So the kh has gone from 0 to 3? Will this affect my fish in anyway? It's been ages since I last tested, so I can't say if this is a sudden change. If anything it's good for your fish, as higher KH helps buffer against pH changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtiskaw Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 What are KH and GH? I'd only ever heard of PH. Is it something I should get a water test for? This link should explain it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 The Council that supplies the water will know what the chemistry is. They will not know what KH and GH are---it is a german terminology that for some reason aquarists seem to use. They are more scientific and list the chemicals present generally in mg/l which unscientifically is ppm w/v. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gemelee Posted July 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 The Council that supplies the water will know what the chemistry is. They will not know what KH and GH are---it is a german terminology that for some reason aquarists seem to use. They are more scientific and list the chemicals present generally in mg/l which unscientifically is ppm w/v. I talked to somebody from the water department a few months ago, they also emailed me through a full report of the water, however the report was already a couple months old so I'm thinking they only test every so often and it has only been since then that the pH has changed. I was just curious as to how this may affect the hardness as I have soft water fish. I am still managing to keep the tank at around 6.8 it doesn't bother me too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted July 16, 2013 Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 I was just curious as to how this may affect the hardness as I have soft water fish. I am still managing to keep the tank at around 6.8 it doesn't bother me too much. I think you've got it round the wrong way, a change in hardness would be far more likely to alter the pH, but a change in pH isn't going to do anything to the hardness (though it could be a symptom of a change in hardness). If your tap water has a very low hardness (GH=0 you said?) then the pH will easily fluctuate due to any number of factors, and as long as the extremes are avoided it doesn't really matter. My old east Auckland tap water was very soft yet would come out of the tap off-the-scale blue (pH), after 24 hours in a barrel with an air stone, a heater and some prime it was back down to mid-sevens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 16, 2013 Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 Councils are pretty careful to avoid the pH becoming acid as it corrodes the hell out of copper pipes and dezincafies brass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted July 16, 2013 Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 That is why I suspect most tap water I've encountered has had a high pH but a low hardness. I'm not sure what they use to adjust the pH up (do you know Alan?) but it doesn't seem to last or create much hardness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtiskaw Posted July 16, 2013 Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 I think you've got it round the wrong way, a change in hardness would be far more likely to alter the pH, but a change in pH isn't going to do anything to the hardness (though it could be a symptom of a change in hardness). If your tap water has a very low hardness (GH=0 you said?) then the pH will easily fluctuate due to any number of factors, and as long as the extremes are avoided it doesn't really matter. My old east Auckland tap water was very soft yet would come out of the tap off-the-scale blue (pH), after 24 hours in a barrel with an air stone, a heater and some prime it was back down to mid-sevens. I agree with the wrong way round aspect, but my understanding is KH is what helps buffer against pH swings, not GH. GH does measure carbonate, but also several other minerals, so it's more accurate to consider KH when worrying about pH swings. Plus gemelee wants soft water... gemelee - I wouldn't worry about a few degrees of KH. Every time I've tested Hams tap water the GH has been zero (as far as an API test kit can discern), so if your pH is stable then just keep doing what you're doing. If it isn't, then try raising your KH a few degrees. I run some lime chips in my filters to bump up the KH. There's a landscape supplies place in Frankton that'll sell you a few handfuls for a dollar. It takes a bit of trial an error to figure out how much you need, but they last for ages and ages. If lime chip don't raise it enough you can try crushed shells, which have more surface area. The same place sells them too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted July 16, 2013 Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 Plus gemelee wants soft water... gemelee - I wouldn't worry about a few degrees of KH. Every time I've tested Hams tap water the GH has been zero (as far as an API test kit can discern), so if your pH is stable then just keep doing what you're doing. If it isn't, then try raising your KH a few degrees. I run some lime chips in my filters to bump up the KH. There's a landscape supplies place in Frankton that'll sell you a few handfuls for a dollar. It takes a bit of trial an error to figure out how much you need, but they last for ages and ages. If lime chip don't raise it enough you can try crushed shells, which have more surface area. The same place sells them too. Just be careful you don't push it too far and raise the pH I have a handful of crushed lime in my filter (in the 430L tank) as my pH was well under 6 at one stage. It now sits about 6.8 - 7 with lots of driftwood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gemelee Posted July 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 Thanks for all great info everyone! :gopo: The pH in my tanks are pretty stable, usually 6.8 , 7 at the highest. So I'll just keep on doing what I'm doing.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 16, 2013 Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 They use sodium hydroxide to raise the pH usually. They used that in one well here until they could get a better well down deeper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted July 16, 2013 Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 +1 on sodium hydroxide. they actually have testing on water daily (or sometimes hourly), just they only do reports every few months. the water treatment plants are normally quite open about what they do, just walk into the reception at the treatment plant and ask, they normally have someone around that can talk to you for a few minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 16, 2013 Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 Full chemicals cost a lot of money so are not done regularly. The regularity is required by the Dept of Health and is related to the population it serves. Some tests such as chlorine levals or pH are probably done more regularly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtiskaw Posted July 16, 2013 Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 I wonder if my fish will get bad teeth now there's no fluoride in Hams water? :nilly: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.