kh gh help :)

[riseabovethesun]

I bought a test kit today, it's a Red Sea brand which I'm familiar with for tests, CO2 kits and substrate. I'm having a bit of trouble measuring the kh, gh and Co2. They both use the method of the start color and end color.

The kh/gh tests starts at a nice blue except when I do it it is a very faint clear tinted blue. I kept following the instructions to get it to the end color which is a peachy/pink color but mine ended up yellow basically...am I doing this right? Same with the CO2 it wasn't matching the start and end color, I can take pictures they'll be hard to see with how light it is though..

 

[riseabovethesun]

Results

Also, here are the results of all of the tests.

Nitrite: 0.1ppm
Nitrate: 20ppm
CO2: 10ppm
Ammonia: 0
pH: 7.4
KH: 12 - medium hard
GH: 9 - medium hard
Chlorine: 0ppm
Iron: 0ppm
Temperature 78-80 degrees Fahrenheit

I was having issues measuring the KH but the GH seemed a bit better. I added the first drop of solution for the GH it wasn't the right start color, too faint, once I hit about 4 more drops it was the correct color and then when I hit 9 drops total it was the correct end color. I have no idea if that's how I'm supposed to do it though? I tried doing the KH again and it still didn't come out right, I know the color charts can be a bit off but it says it's supposed to be a peachy-pink and I have a very nice yellow -- seems a bit far off.

The guide says under 40ppm for nitrate is where you want to stay is that pretty accurate? The 20ppm if thats pretty high may be why the shrimp were dying? Especially because I was thinking it may be a ferts issue, but my fert has iron in it and my iron measures dead on 0. So I have no idea?

I suppose the thing that is bizarre to me is that the fish are perfectly fine, the plants are growing super well, not decaying no pinholes, nothing but some of the test results seem a bit off. Maybe I'll try it in a few days and see how it goes.

Oh and last thing, I haven't looked into it or heard much about it but it says the photosynthesis of the plants reverses at night from day, which would make sense why people say to turn the CO2 off at night, have any of you heard of that or if thats a fact or just a theory or anything?

 

[OrangeCones]

I've not used your brand of GH/kH testing. If you are not getting the colors you should, perhaps see if the box has a phone number to call for 'technical support.' It may be out of date.

The guide says under 40ppm for nitrate is where you want to stay is that pretty accurate? The 20ppm if thats pretty high may be why the shrimp were dying?

Those that I know that breed dwarf shrimp go by this website's guide. It says under 20 for nitrate, preferably under 10. A lady that breeds red crystal shrimp and she does water changes to keep nitrate at or under 5!

Breeding Dwarf Shrimp | The Shrimp Farm

Oh and last thing, I haven't looked into it or heard much about it but it says the photosynthesis of the plants reverses at night from day, which would make sense why people say to turn the CO2 off at night, have any of you heard of that or if thats a fact or just a theory or anything?

Not sure what you mean by photosynthesis reverses, but plants do not utilize CO2 unless it has sufficient light.

Plants take in O2 and give off CO2 (respiration) just like animals do. They do this 24/7.

With sufficient light, they take in CO2 and give off O2 (photosynthesis).

The amount of O2 they consume in a 24 hour period is far far less than the amount of O2 they can produce during their 'daytime' with proper lighting.

Some recommend turning off or lowering the level of CO2 after the lights are out. Some recommend leaving CO2 on.

 

[riseabovethesun]

I've not used your brand of GH/kH testing. If you are not getting the colors you should, perhaps see if the box has a phone number to call for 'technical support.' It may be out of date.



Those that I know that breed dwarf shrimp go by this website's guide. It says under 20 for nitrate, preferably under 10. A lady that breeds red crystal shrimp and she does water changes to keep nitrate at or under 5!

Breeding Dwarf Shrimp | The Shrimp Farm



Not sure what you mean by photosynthesis reverses, but plants do not utilize CO2 unless it has sufficient light.

Plants take in O2 and give off CO2 (respiration) just like animals do. They do this 24/7.

With sufficient light, they take in CO2 and give off O2 (photosynthesis).

The amount of O2 they consume in a 24 hour period is far far less than the amount of O2 they can produce during their 'daytime' with proper lighting.

Some recommend turning off or lowering the level of CO2 after the lights are out. Some recommend leaving CO2 on.

I probably worded it wrong! I just meant that at night plants use oxygen and give off CO2 then in the day they use CO2 and give off oxygen, that's what this little booklet says which I'd just never heard of. I'm thinking about turning my CO2 off at night and just wondered how drastic it might affect it or if I should just leave it on? Are my nitrate levels at least okay for the tank in general minus any kind of breeding? I read so many mixed reviews I'm trying to find some kind of inbetween! Especially since this is the first time since February that anything besides the nitrite, ammonia, and pH have been tested *eek* I'm awful I know.

 

[lauraf]

Nitrates at 20ppm are fine for your tank. But when it gets to that level, that's when it's time for your water change. Higher than 20ppm can be stressful to you fish.
When I put my low-tech CO2 system in, I also read about the risk of a CO2 overdose if left on overnight. If you don't have a high-tech CO2 system, you probably don't need to worry. I had a timer set up at first to turn it off automatically each evening, but then had a bit of a disaster, and since have not touched the CO2 power control (unless I am changing the canister contents, which is once a month). Anyway, that's what's been working for me. No issues keeping it running 24-7. If you are concernd, try leaving it on overnight for a few days, observing carefully each morning to see if your fish are showing any signs of 'suffocating'. I think our member anshuman had a problem once . . . .
And I only have a test kit for KH (Sera) - I add drops to the vial until it goes through the necessary colour changes from blue to green to eventually yellow, and count the number of drops to ascertain the KH level. My water's really soft - it usually turns in under three-four drops . . . .

 

[riseabovethesun]

Nitrates at 20ppm are fine for your tank. But when it gets to that level, that's when it's time for your water change. Higher than 20ppm can be stressful to you fish.
When I put my low-tech CO2 system in, I also read about the risk of a CO2 overdose if left on overnight. If you don't have a high-tech CO2 system, you probably don't need to worry. I had a timer set up at first to turn it off automatically each evening, but then had a bit of a disaster, and since have not touched the CO2 power control (unless I am changing the canister contents, which is once a month). Anyway, that's what's been working for me. No issues keeping it running 24-7. If you are concernd, try leaving it on overnight for a few days, observing carefully each morning to see if your fish are showing any signs of 'suffocating'. I think our member anshuman had a problem once . . . .
And I only have a test kit for KH (Sera) - I add drops to the vial until it goes through the necessary colour changes from blue to green to eventually yellow, and count the number of drops to ascertain the KH level. My water's really soft - it usually turns in under three-four drops . . . .

Thanks for the input! Mine is supposed to go from blue to pink basically, but goes from clear tinted blue to yellow. So I'll need to figure that out. Since I did the test today it is probably because of the water change because I usually do them on the weekend! Glad to know it's at least within the normal amount and not higher, I'll work on keeping it there.

 

[lauraf]

BTW, you are not awful. But it's good to know where your nitrates are at. I wouldn't be too stressed about the other water parameters, unless your fish are showing signs of suffering or dying. Then ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are the key readings; the others may show why they aren't doing well.

 

[riseabovethesun]

BTW, you are not awful. But it's good to know where your nitrates are at. I wouldn't be too stressed about the other water parameters, unless your fish are showing signs of suffering or dying. Then ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are the key readings; the others may show why they aren't doing well.

Thanks that sounds good. The price difference in buying test kits just made it better to buy the one with everything so I figured I'd just test everything and see where it is at. And like you say when things start to suffer (hopefully they don't!) at least I can have some equipment to figure out why. And I won't waste all the tests using it every week! I'll make sure the nitrates don't become higher and that if anything they will become lower or stay the same.

So much to learn!