# KH & GH readings.



## Ex0dus (Jun 29, 2005)

Holy sh*t... So I went out tonite and got a test kit for GH & KH. Just did the test. 
KH was 10 
and GH was (drum roll) 29

WTF??

So my Kh is approx 179ppm
and my Gh is approx 501ppm??

That seems, ummm horrible? Im now really worried about my fish here








I got a r/o unit over the weekend was planning on setting it up tomorrow but I think im gonna go ahead ans start on it now. I dont even know if the r/o unit is gonna help and to what degree. Im guessing with readings so high that my tds would be out the roof? f*ck man, i really hate well water.















Can somebody explain these readings to me, exactly what they mean and are they hurting my fish?

I just thought of something, would Gh be effected by salt at all? I dosed 4 tablespoons about 5 days ago. Would that increase the Gh reading? Please let me know if this is harmful to my fish so I can try and do something about it now.

Thanks


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## Ex0dus (Jun 29, 2005)

I just went downstairs and ran boths tests again twice...
Kh - 10
Gh - 25

Guess I miscounted the 1st time on the Gh. But still, 25 seems extremly high (447ppm?)


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## harrykaa (Jan 10, 2005)

Ex0dus said:


> would Gh be effected by salt at all? I dosed 4 tablespoons about 5 days ago. Would that increase the Gh reading?


Yes salt affects the GH level.
General hardness or German Hardness (GH) describes the concentrations of the salts calcium carbonate (CaCO3), magnesium sulphate (MgSO4) and potassium sulphate (K2SO4) and sodium chloride (NaCl). Salts other than carbonate constitute permanent hardness, which can only be removed chemically.

Water with GH readings above 20 is considered very hard water (freshwater).

Hard to tell the effects of 4 tablespoons of salt, because you do not tell the size of the tank.
What was the reason for dosing the salt? Was that salt (NaCl) or sea salt?
What is the pH of your tank?

Also your KH (bicarbonate level) as of 10 dKH is a bit high. Commonly freshwater fishes tolerate dKH values of 3-10.

Regards,


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## Ex0dus (Jun 29, 2005)

I dosed 4tbs of NaCl in a 55 about 5 days prior to me taking the reading. I have my r/o unit setup and will be doing a 10% water change in each tank every other day this week. Or maybe a 10% every 2 days, not to sure yet. I need to find a damn resovior tank for this r/o unit. I just want to make sure these readings are not hurting my fish


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## Powder (Nov 24, 2004)

my kh and gh outta my old house tap were crazy high and my 3 ( now 2 ) rbp's had no trouble at all they were very healthy and happy 
not once did i have problems cause of a high gh and kh


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Keep this in mind
once you start using R/O water, well,.. think of it like this.. yaknow those bubbles ppl live in when because their immune systems are very weak? 
If you stop using R/O water, it is like taking your fish out of their 'bubble.' They won't be able to fight off sickness as well. I guess this applies to more sensitive fish than p's though.. 
I suggest doing this slowly at any rate.


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