# I'm really stuck on the water hardening process.



## fishyfingers (Apr 26, 2008)

Hi all, I've just set up a 35 gallon NPT. I've got some Kent Turbo Calcium (Calcium Chloride), which I read is fine. I've also got REEF PURE Magnesium supplement (info here). I don't know if I should use this at all. If I can, I don't know if I should follow the calcium dosage procedure, as it looks like magnesium levels will be to high. It says that 1ml/gallon will bring magnesium levels up 21.1ppm.

I did a test with a spare 1 gallon tank, and it takes 1ml to raise my gH 2 degrees, so that is 42ppm I suppose. Would that be too much or am I worrying too much.

Tap Water Details (very soft)

pH 7-8
kH 1
gH 1-2

I'm from Hong Kong and I can't find this Epsom salt stuff anywhere, they look at me as if I want moon rock or something. With some help I translated magnesium sulfate in to Cantonese and went to different stores then got fed up and bought the first magnesium supplement I saw.

Apart from baking soda what is goo for raising kH? I've got oyster shells in the filter is that a good enough precaution against a pH crash?

Another problem is temperature, it wasn't even that hot today and the water temperature was 84F, I read that it is within Walstad's range (page 185) but are there any fish to stay away from, since it will get hotter here when summer really kicks in. I will be buying a cheap aquarium fan, but i'm just making sure. I like mickey mouse platies and cherry shrimp but to be honest I not all that concerned about what animals are in the tank as long as they don't die.

Thanks

Edit: I promise pics, when I charge my camera... Then you can help me identify what plants I have... hehe


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

fishyfingers said:


> I've also got REEF PURE Magnesium supplement I don't know if I should use this at all.
> I did a test with a spare 1 gallon tank, and it takes 1ml to raise my gH 2 degrees, so that is 42ppm I suppose. Would that be too much or am I worrying too much.
> 
> I'm from Hong Kong and I can't find this Epsom salt stuff anywhere....


Lots of questions!

I'll tackle the magnesium question. I don't see a problem with using the supplement (interesting that you can't get Epsom salts in Hong Kong; its a common home remedy in USA for horses with hoof infections-- soak hooves in warm water with Epsom Salts to open the abscess). Reef Pure website states that their commercial product contains 70,000 ppm Mg. My water contains 15 ppm Mg, much more than you'll need. To keep things simple, I would add enough to give you 7 ppm Mg. That means a 1:10,000 dilution (70,000 divided by 7 ppm). Using the metric system, you should be able to calculate exactly how much to add if you want to get 7 ppm.

37 gal X 3.8 liters/gal = 140 liters and 140 liters divided by 10,000 = 0.014 liters, which is 14 ml

I think as long as you've got 2 ppm Mg you'll be fine. Therefore, if you add 5-15 ml of the supplement to your 37 gal tank, you should be fine.

I"d start a separate thread for the water temp problem so that you'll get more response. Water temps starting at 84F will definitely narrow the range of fish and plants you can keep.


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## helenf (Mar 24, 2008)

Here in Australia you can get Epsom Salt at a pharmacy - did you try there? 

I have no idea where else you can get the stuff, and I'm fuzzy on its medicinal purposes, but presumably there are some. They sure gave me a funny look when I said it was for my aquariums


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

helenf said:


> Here in Australia you can get Epsom Salt at a pharmacy - did you try there?
> 
> I have no idea where else you can get the stuff, and I'm fuzzy on its medicinal purposes, but presumably there are some. They sure gave me a funny look when I said it was for my aquariums


Here in Canada, you can also buy epsom salts in pharmacies as well.


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## fishyfingers (Apr 26, 2008)

thanks so much, i'm in a rush so i'll reply tomorrow.


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## fishyfingers (Apr 26, 2008)

Since Reef Pure is alright I'll stop looking around for Epsom Salts, I've got enough Magnesium to last me a while, and it looks as if the oyster shells are already working to help increase both the kH and gH. Dianna, thanks so much for calculating how much I need to put in. You made it seem so easy!

I think I can handle the water temps. I'll buy a timer for my air con to try and and keep the room temperature around 26, I'm also getting an aquarium fan to encourage evaporation and and I'll put a mirror in front of of my filter to keep the sun off of it. If all that fails then I'll start a new thread.

The good news is that I can already see new growth in most of the plants.

gH is now 7
kH is now 3
pH is now 7


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## fishyfingers (Apr 26, 2008)

helenf said:


> They sure gave me a funny look when I said it was for my aquariums


I got some funny looks when I was buying soil for my aquarium.


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## fishyfingers (Apr 26, 2008)

Picture time. There is no soil underneath the driftwood or the rock










The green tips are new growth.


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## helenf (Mar 24, 2008)

What is that plant with the red leaves and green tips? Lovely, whatever it is.


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## fishyfingers (Apr 26, 2008)

helenf said:


> What is that plant with the red leaves and green tips? Lovely, whatever it is.


I don't know, it's not in any of my books, I got it because it was cheap and I wanted a bit of red in the tank.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Nice tank! I think that you're off to an excellent start here.

I think the plant is _Rotalia indica_. This is a great plant! Very dependable grower. Unlike other finicky stem plants, its been able to hold its own in my 45 gal. Still doing well and frequently needs pruning.


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## fishyfingers (Apr 26, 2008)

Thanks again Diana.

I got a cheap fan, US$10, and raised the hood 3 inches with egg crate to let the tank breath. Temps average around 80F.

Pictures to show growth over 4 days.
26/05








30/05


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