# Can water be too hard?



## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

I just bought a gh/kh test kit(by Hagen) today and I'm quite shocked by the results.

My GH is 500ppm(28d) and my KH is 270ppm(15.12d). How will these levels affect a NPT? With them being so high, should I still add in some crushed oyster shells to the soil or would I not have to do that?


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

this is your tap water?

Too high or too low of anything will cause improper usage of nutrients.


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

Oops. I forgot to mention that. Yes, this is my tapwater that I'm referring to.


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## Mr Fishies (Apr 9, 2006)

Red_Rose said:


> I just bought a gh/kh test kit(by Hagen) today and I'm quite shocked by the results.
> 
> My GH is 500ppm(28d) and my KH is 270ppm(15.12d). How will these levels affect a NPT? With them being so high, should I still add in some crushed oyster shells to the soil or would I not have to do that?


"Southern Ontario" is a pretty large area to consider so I can't say for sure, but that seems really high compared to numbers I remember from my old tanks and friends in the area between Toronto, Peel Region and Burlington. Maybe I've been away for so long my memory has failed?

Are you way in the south, like Niagara area or are you on a well? Either way, my experiences won't count. Maybe your local fish store will do tests on a bottle of water you bring to them to validate your results? It's possible that the test kit was on a shelf for too long (old) or is just wonky.

Ian


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

Mr Fishies said:


> "Southern Ontario" is a pretty large area to consider so I can't say for sure, but that seems really high compared to numbers I remember from my old tanks and friends in the area between Toronto, Peel Region and Burlington. Maybe I've been away for so long my memory has failed?
> 
> Are you way in the south, like Niagara area or are you on a well? Either way, my experiences won't count. Maybe your local fish store will do tests on a bottle of water you bring to them to validate your results? It's possible that the test kit was on a shelf for too long (old) or is just wonky.
> 
> Ian


I live about 20 minutes away from Kitchener if that is of any help. I know that the test is new and hasn't been on the shelf for long because there was a new shipment on the shelf when I got it. I would give them a sample of my water but they use the Hagen master test kit and the same gh/kh test kit that I have is part of the master one so wouldn't it end up showing the same results?

Are these levels something to be concerned about?


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

check the web for you city's water parameters.. Pretty much every city in the States have it on the web.

If your water is really that high, you might want to use Reverse Osmosis.. Or dillute your water with distilled water.


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## aquabillpers (Apr 13, 2006)

I tried to find some information about "how hard is too hard" to grow aquatic plants but I couldn't find anything.

I suggest that you try to grow a number of different kinds of plants and stick with the ones with which you are successful. The Tropica plant descriptions contain comments about the hardness needs of various plants. http://www.tropica.com/default.asp

Under no circumstances should you add anything to that aquarium that would make the water any harder, though. 

Good luck.

Bill


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

mistergreen,

I'll check online or even call to see what our city's water parameters are.  One thing I do know is that our city has been known to have a problem with hard water, unfortunately.

aquabillpers,

Thank you for the link. I'll check it out. 

As for not adding anything that will make the water harder. Does that mean I shouldn't add anything like dolomite lime or crushed oyster/sea shells to the soil?


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## Mr Fishies (Apr 9, 2006)

I would say that you don't want to add oyster shells, lime or anything else that is going to lead to increases in GH/KH (if that's possible with the numbers you already have!).

With the water conditions you have it may be hard to find plants that do well without significant searching around and/or internet ordering (seems we Canucks are a bit limited in choice that way).

As someone just past "rookie", after my first two El Natural tanks and the amount of mess(es) I made uprooting removing and moving plants to figure out what would work, I'll ask: Would you consider starting with a tank (if you've not already set up your tank) like the one in El Natural - Past & Present to see what plants work? Once you have plants that are happy with your soil and water, it would not be as big a leap to drain it and add a full soil/gravel substrate.

Just my 2 cents, but that's my "plan" for the next tank I set up later this year/early next year.

Ian


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

That water is definitely on the hard side. You shouldn't need to add any calcium source if you use that tap water in the tank. Most of the commonly available Cryptocorynes and Vallisneria species should do quite well in that water.


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

Ugh! Leave it up to our city to have crappy water! :doh:

I'm going to go out to Home Depot this week to check out different soils to try. I called out there and asked about EarthGro, the kind that DataGuru used in the step-by-step guide she made on setting up a NPT but they said that they didn't sell that kind.

If I do what mistergreen suggested and dilute the tapwater with distilled or R/O, would that be better for the plants and tankmates in general? Also, when some of the tank water evaporates over time as well as doing water changes, would I just use the distilled/R/O water or would I use tap? I can easily get both distilled and R/O water here in town so if I have to divide the water half and half, I will. I take it that I wouldn't have to add in anything to harden the water even if I use distilled/R/O with the tapwater, right?

As for plants, Rohape suggested these to me before I knew what my gh/kh was. I can find these at most of the LFS in my area. Would they be okay to use? I'll also look around to see if any of them sell the plants that AaronT suggested. 

Hygrophila difformis
Almost any type of Ludwigia
Hornwort
Almost any type of Cabomba
Almost any type of Rotala

I definitely am going to get hornwort as a floating plant and maybe some water lettuce. I hope the plants that I posted above will be good to use for my tank. Maybe some of you can tell me if these plants would do well or not in my water.

Mr Fishies,

I never thought about setting up my tank like that. It's definitely something to consider since I have not yet set it up.


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