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#1
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GH/ PH Levels!?!?
Does anyone have any ideas about how to reduce GH without affecting
the PH? I have too much Calcium and Magnesium in my tap water and would like to reduce it without compromising the PH levels. My GH right now is 10deg, which is roughly 180-200ppm. I think this is too high and it is also affecting my plants as high concentrations of Magnesium/ GH block the uptake of Potassium (the reason my plants are yellowing in an otherwise healthy tank.) Thanks in advance, Nick D. |
#2
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GH/ PH Levels!?!?
Nick,
From where do you have the data that high GH blocks the uptake of potassium ? What plants are effected by this ??? PH and GH are not to close to each other, it is the KH that effect the PH. (Carbonate Hardness) You can soften your water by filtering with peat or use RO water - but not knowing your tank specs make also difficult to answer. I have in my planted tank water are hard: My PH is 7.2 GH is 12dh - Hard water Plants seems happy and green! HTH Amit "Nick D" wrote in message om... Does anyone have any ideas about how to reduce GH without affecting the PH? I have too much Calcium and Magnesium in my tap water and would like to reduce it without compromising the PH levels. My GH right now is 10deg, which is roughly 180-200ppm. I think this is too high and it is also affecting my plants as high concentrations of Magnesium/ GH block the uptake of Potassium (the reason my plants are yellowing in an otherwise healthy tank.) Thanks in advance, Nick D. |
#4
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GH/ PH Levels!?!?
"Amit" wrote in message
... Well I think we both have the same symptoms of the Amazon sward plant! Don't mention its driving you mad we're in the same boat. I was posting several questions regarding this plant (I also took some pictures of it as well) the thing with mine is that I 've bought them several weeks ago and the leaves are narrow and long and it seems that the plant is replacing it original leaves! Swards in most cases replace their roots after replanting, surely it can be the reason for certain disbalance with all the symptoms of macronutrient deficiency, as they are real rootfeeders. I won't recomend to enforce job spikes or some other "caloric" food upon them during this period. Better to wait until they begin to grow. -- ~SP~ "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." Albert Einstein |
#5
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GH/ PH Levels!?!?
Well I think we both have the same symptoms of the Amazon sward plant! Don't
mention its driving you mad we're in the same boat. I was posting several questions regarding this plant (I also took some pictures of it as well) the thing with mine is that I 've bought them several weeks ago and the leaves are narrow and long and it seems that the plant is replacing it original leaves! I am giving it another chance.... I also think I've posted too many question in this group whether planted do better in soft water - And most of replies were the opposite. All posts and articles regarding echinodorus mention that it does well in hard water and con tolerate PH levels up to 9.... One thing people mention is the use of jobes spikes - I've never tried it. Bare in mind that Amazon swards need plenty of room and are doing better in larger tanks. As for your setup maybe you are dosing to much iron ???? I think that extra iron can cause chlorosis - same symptoms as you describe.... I'd also reduce the light duration for 10 hours,I am also adding CO2 Try this: Reduce lighting duration, try only 2 Amazon plants instead of 4 and make sure they have plenty of room. Trim away yellow and dying leaves and see how goes.... If someone here can confirm Karen Randall article (Well It must be correct...) I'd glad to hear. Amit "Nick D" wrote in message om... Chuck Gadd wrote in message . .. On 27 Nov 2003 10:52:40 -0800, (Nick D) wrote: Does anyone have any ideas about how to reduce GH without affecting the PH? I have too much Calcium and Magnesium in my tap water and would like to reduce it without compromising the PH levels. My GH right now is 10deg, which is roughly 180-200ppm. I think this is too high and it is also affecting my plants as high concentrations of Magnesium/ GH block the uptake of Potassium (the reason my plants are yellowing in an otherwise healthy tank.) I don't think 10 degrees GH is too high. Probably not high enough to cause problems with potassium uptake. Which plants are having problems? What are the other tank parameters? For overall yellowing, I'd look at light levels, and nitrate levels. Chuck Gadd http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua Hi...thanks for replying. Check out this Link from the 'Magnesium Master'. http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plant.../msg00193.html It would be useful if they was a website outlining all Macro & Micro Nutrients, and which nutrients _block_ other nutrients. It is driving me mad that my Amazons are disintegrating along the tips and edges and yellowing overall, with holes in the leaves to boot. This has been happening for months now! People just keep telling me its Potassium deficiency. I think that Magnesium also blocks Iron, as well as Potassium, so this could be the problem. Infact, last week (in a frustrated rage) I dumped a whole 250ml bottle if Seachem Potassium supplement into my tank and there has been no changes whatsoever! New shoots are yellow and weak, while older leaves are fading away. Tank Specs: 2 Platys 5 Cardinals 1 Cory 1 Pleco 1 Dwarf Frog 2 Hatchets 29 Gal.- Setup 8 mo. ago Light: 1x20watt Hagen Sun Glo & 1x20watt Aqua Glo (On 14hrs/day) Temp 76F Ph 7.0 Gh 10deg Kh 11deg Nitrite 0 Ammonia 0 Iron .75 mg/l Trace Elements Added Weekly Flourite Gravel Bed 4 Amazon Swords (2 Already Yellowing after buying 1 week ago, others disintegrating around tips and edges) 2 Melon Swords (Yellow & Browning) 1 Anubias Barteri (Yellow Holes & Brown Marks) Cabomba (Growing Out of Control) Osirius (Could be Doing Better) Wisteria (Holes in Leaves) Hygros (Twisted and Yellow Leaves) Plants are growing new shoots but very pale and not very fast. Thoughts anyone?? Thanks, Nick D. |
#6
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GH/ PH Levels!?!?
On 27 Nov 2003 10:52:40 -0800, (Nick D) wrote:
Does anyone have any ideas about how to reduce GH without affecting the PH? I have too much Calcium and Magnesium in my tap water and would like to reduce it without compromising the PH levels. My GH right now is 10deg, which is roughly 180-200ppm. I think this is too high and it is also affecting my plants as high concentrations of Magnesium/ GH block the uptake of Potassium (the reason my plants are yellowing in an otherwise healthy tank.) Hi, Jumping in, and I *could* be wrong here, but I don't believe that high gH is your problem. kH or Carbonate hardness is what effects pH. I also wonder about your reported dkH level of 11 and a pH of 7.0?! Either you are injecting CO2 (and too much at that - those values work out to 33ppm - enough to kill fish), or your kits are not reading correctly. Sounds more like a nitrate deficiency to me, or possibly low light levels - or both! I didn't see ANY nitrate ferts listed in your list of additions. Two twenty watt tubes is generally not considered 'high light'. Add some macro fertilizers, either $tore bought or homemade. Trace mixes are just that - trace elements, not macro element fertilizers. Don't laugh, I am serious here - but I use a mix of stump remover, no-salt and fleet enema for my macro nutrient supplements. In your tank, this would work out to somewhere around 1/2 tsp of potassium nitrate, 1/4 tsp of no-salt, and 1 ml of fleet enema. Swords are heavy root feeders, and generally do better with ferts added to the substrate around their roots. They generally need high light levels as well. Also, many plants sold in chain pet stores are not true aquatics. For instance, many plants sold as Amazon (Brazilian) Swords at PetSmart are actually Spathiphyllum - NOT an aquatic, but a house plant known as Peace Lily or White Flag. They will slowly rot underwater - be sure of your plant IDs. Here is a link with a pictorial library for IDing your plants: http://www.tropica.com/plant_print.asp Try the Krib for general info: http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/ Another good plant link with detailed info on kH, pH and CO2 levels: http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/ And try some crypts, they will do great in your tank at it's current light levels. Good Luck, Greg |
#7
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GH/ PH Levels!?!?
Chuck Gadd wrote in message . ..
On 27 Nov 2003 10:52:40 -0800, (Nick D) wrote: Does anyone have any ideas about how to reduce GH without affecting the PH? I have too much Calcium and Magnesium in my tap water and would like to reduce it without compromising the PH levels. My GH right now is 10deg, which is roughly 180-200ppm. I think this is too high and it is also affecting my plants as high concentrations of Magnesium/ GH block the uptake of Potassium (the reason my plants are yellowing in an otherwise healthy tank.) I don't think 10 degrees GH is too high. Probably not high enough to cause problems with potassium uptake. Which plants are having problems? What are the other tank parameters? For overall yellowing, I'd look at light levels, and nitrate levels. Chuck Gadd http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua Hi...thanks for replying. Check out this Link from the 'Magnesium Master'. http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plant.../msg00193.html It would be useful if they was a website outlining all Macro & Micro Nutrients, and which nutrients _block_ other nutrients. It is driving me mad that my Amazons are disintegrating along the tips and edges and yellowing overall, with holes in the leaves to boot. This has been happening for months now! People just keep telling me its Potassium deficiency. I think that Magnesium also blocks Iron, as well as Potassium, so this could be the problem. Infact, last week (in a frustrated rage) I dumped a whole 250ml bottle if Seachem Potassium supplement into my tank and there has been no changes whatsoever! New shoots are yellow and weak, while older leaves are fading away. Tank Specs: 2 Platys 5 Cardinals 1 Cory 1 Pleco 1 Dwarf Frog 2 Hatchets 29 Gal.- Setup 8 mo. ago Light: 1x20watt Hagen Sun Glo & 1x20watt Aqua Glo (On 14hrs/day) Temp 76F Ph 7.0 Gh 10deg Kh 11deg Nitrite 0 Ammonia 0 Iron .75 mg/l Trace Elements Added Weekly Flourite Gravel Bed 4 Amazon Swords (2 Already Yellowing after buying 1 week ago, others disintegrating around tips and edges) 2 Melon Swords (Yellow & Browning) 1 Anubias Barteri (Yellow Holes & Brown Marks) Cabomba (Growing Out of Control) Osirius (Could be Doing Better) Wisteria (Holes in Leaves) Hygros (Twisted and Yellow Leaves) Plants are growing new shoots but very pale and not very fast. Thoughts anyone?? Thanks, Nick D. |
#8
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GH/ PH Levels!?!?
On Fri, 28 Nov 2003 15:15:02 -0500, Greg
wrote: gH is your problem. kH or Carbonate hardness is what effects pH. I also wonder about your reported dkH level of 11 and a pH of 7.0?! Either you are injecting CO2 (and too much at that - those values work out to 33ppm - enough to kill fish), or your kits are not reading 33ppm won't kill fish. Many people have used levels as high as 40ppm without problem. But I prefer a safe max of about 25ppm or so, just to give myself some margin for error. of additions. Two twenty watt tubes is generally not considered 'high light'. Add some macro fertilizers, either $tore bought or homemade. I ran 4 20w tubes over my 29g, and it was probably only medium lighting. And try some crypts, they will do great in your tank at it's current light levels. Anubias would do great too. Chuck Gadd http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua |
#9
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GH/ PH Levels!?!?
On Fri, 28 Nov 2003 13:51:30 -0700, Chuck Gadd wrote:
33ppm won't kill fish. Many people have used levels as high as 40ppm without problem. But I prefer a safe max of about 25ppm or so, just to give myself some margin for error. I guess I *should* have said - may kill *some* fish... I have had trouble with some cory catfish croaking at levels 30ppm... It's hard to be *precisely* accurate when spewing advice in 1 minute or less... ;-) I ran 4 20w tubes over my 29g, and it was probably only medium lighting. I was being generous... ;-) I had a setup on a 29g that was 6 tubes with electronic ballasts that I *barely* considered high light... FWIW, Greg |
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