Lowering KH and GH

Hi all,

Just wondering how to do i lower the KH ( Carbonate hardness ) and GH ( General hardness ) in my tanks.....?

Both Readings are at the high end with KH:180 ppm and GH:160 ppm. I would like to lower each KH to 140ppm and GH 120ppm as these would be average results for both as i think my fish would be better with the water being abit softer for them.

I have DI unit so is this a way of lowering both KH and GH levels...? I no it can be done with a RO unit but dont have the money for one or the need really....?

Are there other ways of doin this that wont cost a bomb...?

Alan

Collect rainwater

Best way R.O

Rain water yeah... but would never get enough.

Just dont see the point in a RO unit yet only running a 180l and a 60l so i wont get the use out of it right now.

Is there anything esle i can use....?

Alan

Salt ionizing materials are very good.ie Indian almond leaves/Peat moss in a net bag in your filter/sump and Bogwood, . Blackwater extract from tetra contains tannic acids also that can soften/lower PH of your water. The problem with this is water changes, if your tap water had a higher kh/gh/ph then your going to be bouncing your parameters around all the time.

To do it properly its a good idea to have some sort of water preperation tank, plastic septic tanks work well if large amounts are needed. Just dump loads of bogwood and almond leaves in it and fill with water and use it for your changes, just keep it topped up.There is then no need to add any of these materials to your tank. All of these materials will yellow your water so the trick is to add some activated carbon and some filter wool to your filtration, when you do a water chenge with the prepared water the water will be yellow but after a while it will be cleared by the filter.

Bare in mind that this will soften your water extremely, around ph 6.3 and almost no hardness. But it will be quite consistant between and after changes.

So your desired parameters might not be attainable using this method if you want a bang on specific hardness/ph. In that case RO is the best option. You get a blank slate and can mineralize to your hearts content using any hardening products eg African cichlid conditoiner, RO right, KH up, PH up etc.

you can also use these products with the method I explained above (In bold) to set your parameters, but this is allot of messing around.

Rain water is the easiest way and we have a plentyfull supply! A simple conversion of your house gutter can collect large amounts of it although some filter media should be placed between the gutter and the collection tank, preferably carbon and wool. you can then remineralize with something like the products mentioned above

so Either way you will need a water softening vat, either rain collection, tank filled with tannic acid releasing materials or RO vat AND you will also need another vat for remineralizing before adding to your tank IF you want to be in total control of your parameters.

If you just want soft water thats gonna be consistant in its parameters then a single vat of bogwood, almond leaves or peat moss is all that you will need.

One last thing, all of these efforts can be in vain if your tank contains any rocks/substrate that will harden the water again, so make sure you know exactly what your working with from start to finish.

Hope that helps., and made sense!!

How thats alot to take in...... Thanks.

Im gonna look into adding some peat my parents have a house in roscommon and there is some bog pretty near so ill ge some and run it in my 54l and test to see how much i need etc

Oh and ill be on the hunt for some nice bits of bog wood too ill get a jeep full ha