# I tested my GH & KH



## DMHdispute (Oct 23, 2007)

And my Kh=9 Gh=20+ (i stopped testing at 20). In the instructions it says to dillute the water with deionized water, i want to know what that is, do you buy it at the grocery store? Also what are normal levels of gh and kh.

Also what are some ways to get them into good ranges?

The specs on my tank are..
75 gallon
Lights:40 watt that came with the tank, 2x65 6700k 130watt coralife
Substrate:6 bags of eco-complete
Temp: 78f
Ph: about 6.8


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

_Have you tested the tap water?..._ It's most likely the Eco-complete raising the kh/gh. If that is the case it will only last a few months, then the readings will start falling.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

High GH isn't a problem for almost all plants, so the 20+ dGH reading is nothing to worry about. KH of 9 dKH is a little high, but not enough to worry about either. As Trena said, some batches of Eco Complete have caused a rise in hardness, at least temporarily. Since Eco Complete is a mined natural material, as opposed to being a manufactured material, different batches can be somewhat different.

Most big chain grocery stores sell gallon jugs of either or both deionized and distilled water, for around a dollar a gallon. It would get very expensive to try to dilute the tank water with that for a 75 gallon tank. Distilled water has been run through a still to remove almost everything from it except pure water. Deionized water has gone through a reverse osmosis process and ion filtering to again remove almost everything except pure water. Neither is good for an aquarium, except as a way to dilute tap water to reduce the KH, or as the only water in an aquarium, but with the necessary hardness elements added back.


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## DMHdispute (Oct 23, 2007)

So basically i have nothing to worry about. Thats good because i just bought a few plants and it would be pretty upsetting to have all of them die. Thanks for the replys. In a minute ill post a couple pics of my tank just for the heck of it.


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## DMHdispute (Oct 23, 2007)

Im not sure what this fish is, ive searched but ccant seem to find one that looks exactly like it








My algae eater, its about 6 or 7 in long. The rest of my fish are either feeder fish that i thought would get eaten by a fish i used to have, or something else that looks like a feeder fish with green and blue tails.








Thats how it looks as of tonight, i just put the plants in so theres a lot of rearangeing to do.


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## KatjaT (Dec 7, 2007)

I think that your cory is _Corydoras leucomelas_


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Good start on your tank... Your KH/GH is noting to worry about. Have you taken a look at Planet Catfish to help Id your cory... http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/common_names.php?letter=c


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## Amazon_Replica (Nov 24, 2007)

Good start, a word of caution, your algae eating plecostomus will disturb and even uproot your plant. I had to remove the one in my planted tank. I don't think he was eating the plants, but more that he was so bulky he was knocking them around as he swam on the bottom.


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## DMHdispute (Oct 23, 2007)

Amazon_Replica said:


> Good start, a word of caution, your algae eating plecostomus will disturb and even uproot your plant. I had to remove the one in my planted tank. I don't think he was eating the plants, but more that he was so bulky he was knocking them around as he swam on the bottom.


Ive aready noticed him knocking the plants out of the gravel. This is my only tank so i have nowhere else to put him, but i did put all the plants that he knocks out closer together and all the way to the corner of the tank. That way i hope he will not try to swim thru them.

Also i was curiuos what the gender of my pleco is are there any ways to tell from the pic i posted?

And one more thing will feeder fish eat plants, (im not sure of the exact species but i think there jusr minnows, there just the common plain looking ones). My water lettuce went missing and ive never seen the fish eating it but it had to go somewhere, and im trying to find the culprit .


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

DMHdispute said:


> Ive aready noticed him knocking the plants out of the gravel. This is my only tank so i have nowhere else to put him, but i did put all the plants that he knocks out closer together and all the way to the corner of the tank. That way i hope he will not try to swim thru them.
> 
> Also i was curiuos what the gender of my pleco is are there any ways to tell from the pic i posted?
> 
> And one more thing will feeder fish eat plants, (im not sure of the exact species but i think there jusr minnows, there just the common plain looking ones). My water lettuce went missing and ive never seen the fish eating it but it had to go somewhere, and im trying to find the culprit .


I have a 125g and have about 6 plecos. They are all 4-6". They won't get bigger. Once in a while they knock plants out but I just replant. After a while the plants will get rooted and then it will all be fine. I try to make sure I place Algae wafers and other food in areas that are a little less dense of plant so they can feed freely. I love my plecos and couldn't imagine a tank without them. Sorry I don't know how to sex them. Enjoy your pleco - he's worth his trouble!

Feeder fish are usually just little guppies and such. They won't eat your plants. Some fish like mollys, swordtails, flag fish, will eat algae off plants. I have had them eat duckweed but that is about it.


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## DMHdispute (Oct 23, 2007)

Okay, thank you very much.
Ive actually started to consider trying to trade my pleco at the fish store, im not sure if i want to. Ill have to think about it but if he keeps knocking plants out of the gravel it will make my decision a little easyier.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Plecos are sexed by looking at their vent. Have a look at planet catfish to see if your Pleco is shown (there are many species of Loricariads), and some pics of the differences. Then, the next time your Plec is on the front of the glass see if you can see anything that looks like what you researched.


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## DMHdispute (Oct 23, 2007)

Thanks for the tip but i just traded him in yesterday, he was knocking my plants around everyday. But i got a "blue ram" in return so im pretty happy with that fish so far, although i now need to find him a nice girlfriend to swim with.


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## Amazon_Replica (Nov 24, 2007)

Some plecos stay really small, but some don't, you probably made a good choice in trading. My pleco is 14" long at this point, and can't help it but to knock everything over


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