How do i lower my hardness
- Thread starter Jayrod7
- Start date
It's lot harder (no pun intended) to make water softer than it is to make water harder.
You need to purchase softened water or a water softener or if you're really fancy a reverse osmosis (RO) filter to make your water softer...
Best way I've found is to go to the grocery store and buy bulk RO water from the grocery store <using their in store RO filter> (it's fairly cheap) and then mix that with city water...
Fish and plants generally don't like water that is 0d of hardness (RO water). So it's good to add some city water in there so they can get some of the minerals they need.
You'll have to experiment what ratio of city to RO water you need to achieve the degree of harness you wish.
You need to purchase softened water or a water softener or if you're really fancy a reverse osmosis (RO) filter to make your water softer...
Best way I've found is to go to the grocery store and buy bulk RO water from the grocery store <using their in store RO filter> (it's fairly cheap) and then mix that with city water...
Fish and plants generally don't like water that is 0d of hardness (RO water). So it's good to add some city water in there so they can get some of the minerals they need.
You'll have to experiment what ratio of city to RO water you need to achieve the degree of harness you wish.
kH
Carbonate hardness or temporary hardness. Measures the buffering capacity or the ability to absorb and neutralize added acid without major changes to pH. Think of buffering capacity as a big sponge, the higher the buffering, the bigger the sponge.
gH
General hardness (GH) refers to the dissolved concentration primarily of magnesium and calcium ions. Other ions can contribute to water hardness but are usually insignificant and difficult to measure. When fish are said to prefer "soft'' or "hard'' water, it is gH, not kH that is being referred to. gH will not directly affect pH although "hard" water is generally alkaline due to some interaction of gH and kH.
Here is a good web resource that has everything you ever needed to know about water hardness...
http://www.drhelm.com/aquarium/chemistry.html
Carbonate hardness or temporary hardness. Measures the buffering capacity or the ability to absorb and neutralize added acid without major changes to pH. Think of buffering capacity as a big sponge, the higher the buffering, the bigger the sponge.
gH
General hardness (GH) refers to the dissolved concentration primarily of magnesium and calcium ions. Other ions can contribute to water hardness but are usually insignificant and difficult to measure. When fish are said to prefer "soft'' or "hard'' water, it is gH, not kH that is being referred to. gH will not directly affect pH although "hard" water is generally alkaline due to some interaction of gH and kH.
Here is a good web resource that has everything you ever needed to know about water hardness...
http://www.drhelm.com/aquarium/chemistry.html
