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Water. H2O. A colourless, tasteless and odourless substance without which there would be no life on this planet. In an aquarium there are many things that make up the aquatic environment.
Ammonia. NH3. A colourless, toxic gas with an irritating, tear-producing odour.
Too much ammonia will have severe consequences on all aquatic life. Readings should be 0ppm at all times.
Some ways to remove ammonia.
Add activated carbon or zeolite to your filter, perform a water change or add a commercially available ammonia remover.
Nitrates. HNO3. Concentrations above 150ppm (depending on test) may be hazardous.
Some ways to remove nitrates.
Perform a water change, add a commercially available nitrate remover.
Note; Juwel now do a nitrate removal sponge, for their systems.
Nitrites. HNO2. Extremely toxic to most aquatic life. As little as 0.2ppm is harmful to most fish.
Some ways to remove nitrites.
Perform a water change, add a commercially available nitrite remover.
pH. This is an extent of the acidity of water. The scale is pH0 (very acidic) to pH14 (very alkaline) pH7 is neutral.
Some ways to lower pH.
Filtering water over peat, Adding bogwood to the tank (both have a limited effect),
Inject carbon dioxide (CO2), perform water changes with RO (Reverse Osmosis) water or use a commercially available acid buffer.
Some ways to raise pH.
Aerate the water, driving off the carbon dioxide (CO2), add crushed coral or seashells to the filter, Add rocks containing limestone, use a coral sand substrate or use a commercially available alkaline buffer.
kH. This is an extent of the, temporary, hardness of water. This is derived mainly from carbonate and bicarbonate ions and directly reflects the buffering capacity of the water. It can be removed by boiling the water. (This is why lime-scale builds up on heater elements.)
Some ways to raise kH.
Aerate the water, driving off the carbon dioxide (CO2), add a commercially available product to increase buffering capacity or add NaHCO3 (baking soda) Note; 5ml (1 teaspoon) of baking soda added to 50 litres of water can raise the kH by approx 4 OdH without effecting the pH greatly.
Some ways to lower kH
Injecting carbon dioxide (CO2), add a commercially available product to decrease the buffering capacity or perform water changes with RO (Reverse Osmosis) water.
Note: You can mix tap water with reverse osmosis water to attain the desired kH level.
gH. This is an extent of the hardness of water. This is derived mainly from the concentration of magnesium and calcium ions. (Other ions can add to water hardness but are usually irrelevant and not easy to measure.)
Note; It is gH, not kH that is being referred to when talking about fish that prefer soft or hard water. gH will not directly affect pH although "hard" water is generally alkaline due to some interaction of gH and kH.
0 to 4 OdH or 0 to 70 ppm = very soft
4 to 8 OdH or 70 to 140 ppm = soft
8 to 12 OdH or 140 to 210 ppm = medium hard
12 to 18 OdH or 210 to 320 ppm = fairly hard
18 to 30 OdH or 320 to 530 ppm = hard
Anything above this is very hard
OdH = German degrees hardness (the standard measurement), which is equal to 17.9 mg/L or ppm.
gH & kH range for aquatic life
0-3 (0-50 ppm)..........................discus, arowanas, elephantnoses, neon & cardinal tetras and live plants.
3-6 (50-100 ppm).............most tropical fish including angelfish, cichlids, most tetras, botias and live plants.
6-11 (100-200 ppm)..................most tropical fish including swordtails, guppies, mollies and goldfish.
11-22 (200-400 ppm)...............Rift lake cichlids, goldfish and brackish water fish.
Some ways to raise gH
Adding limestone to the aquarium (this will also increase kH which in turn will increase pH)
Adding CaCO2 (calcium carbonate) will raise gH and kH
Some ways to lower gH
Add peat to your filter, use a commercially available water softening product or mix tap water with reverse osmosis (RO) water.
Phosphate PO43-.
Phosphates can cause an algae bloom and consequently an oxygen deficient environment for aquatic life.
Some ways of removing phosphates.
Perform a water change or add a commercially available phosphate removal product to your filter.
Submitted by sandy
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