gwandana Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 Can I ask what you maintain the GH and KH at in your Malawi tank? I see that the lake has GH 4 to 6 and KH 6 to 8, Yet so many sites recommend a GH of +7 and KH 10 to 12. Confused, any advice would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killiguy Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 Ive been keeping Rift lakes on and off since the early 80s and I now never measure hardness ,TDS,KH etc.I add a Rift lake salt have a coral substrate and measure the pH from time to time.As a rule if the water has a pH of 8.0 it will be hard enough for Malawis (Its very difficult to get soft alkaline water,depending on what your testing for of course,Ca++Mg++etc) In my experience Rift lakes esp Tangs are very intolerant of acid water so that is the parameter to concentrate on.Im sure III have my opponents on this one though,but when you have 65+ tanks you get very selective what and when you test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAZ Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 Actually Lake Malawi has the following water parameters :- PH : 7.8 to 8.5 GH : 10 to 20 KH : 8 to 12 Temperature : 23 to 28 c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 A Ph of 8 will not guarantee hard water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwandana Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 Actually Lake Malawi has the following water parameters :- PH : 7.8 to 8.5 GH : 10 to 20 KH : 8 to 12 Temperature : 23 to 28 c What is the source of your info Waz? Every site I look at gives me the stats that I posted. Maybe they are wrong? coz so many profiles for fish specify the water to be what you say. Confusing lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosco Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 As a rule if the water has a pH of 8.0 it will be hard enough for Malawis (Its very difficult to get soft alkaline water,depending on what your testing for of course,Ca++Mg++etc) Canberra water is 7.8-8.0 with a carbonate hardness around 40-60ppm thus it is soft. If left to settle for 1-2 days then the pH drops quickly because it is not hard. I will test it again when I get home but that was 6 motnhs ago cheers rosco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason250 Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 When water is refered to as "Hard Water" is this refering to Kh or Gh. I was under the impression from much reading that its refering to the Gh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killiguy Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 A Ph of 8 will not guarantee hard water. It is possible to have water with a pH of 8 which is not hard but the pH doesnt stay there very long because of the lack of buffering agents.Geelong water has a pH of 8.0 but only 80-90ppm carbonate hardness and like Canberra water if left the pH drops quickly. If you have buffering agents in your tank via Rift lake salts +- coral sand then a pH of 8.0 will be associated with hardness. Is it the hardness or the pH that the Rift lakes need??I know with Apistos its the softness of the water as determined by conductivity that is critical to egg hatch,you can pour all the pH down in you like but if the conductivity is not low the eggs wont hatch(infact the more chemicals you put in the higher the conductivity gets!!!) Hardness probably means different things to different people.I think the purest measurement is conductivity,other tests may only test for Ca or Mg etc and may give a false reading.Ion exchange resins supposedly "soften" the water but all the do is exchange one ion for another (Ca and Mg for Na)and the conductivity is unchanged Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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