# Question about Seachem Equilibrium



## random_alias (Jun 28, 2005)

The manufacturer's dosing recommendations are to raise the GH by 3, so your reading of 4 sounds right since you started out with maybe a GH of 1. However, for your GH to be raised by 3 and your KH to be raised by 5, almost twice as much, surprises me. 

If my testing kits are accurate ( :icon_roll ) adding equilibrium to my water (GH 0, KH 0) does almost nothing to raise my KH. I have to dose something else to increase the KH.

I do not think it is normal at all for Equilibrium to raise the KH more than the GH. At least, I have never experienced this. Still, GH of 4 and KH of 5 are pretty much spot-on for a planted tank with CO2. Now that your KH and PH have changed, you'll need to recalculate your CO2 levels of course and adjust the bubble rate as needed.

I would double check that KH reading though.


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## Spar (Aug 7, 2003)

my understanding is that Equilibrium has no CO3 in it. It is just K2SO4, CaSO4, and MgSO4. So the increase in KH along with dosing it should not have happened.

Do you have any rocks in the tank, like limestone?

are you injecting co2 to reach the 30ppm or is this just a calculation based on the co2/KH/pH chart?

If the numbers you provided are correct (i.e. testkits are functioning properly) then they are fine. Dosing Ca with equilibirum will provide plenty for the plants, even at a GH of 4.


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## Lissette (Apr 2, 2005)

Thanks for your replies.

I've checked the Kh again, and it's still 5. I'll be monitoring the Ph from now on.

I have no limestone or rocks in my tank. It kind of worries me that the kh is so high since I normally have to add baking soda to raise it. Although I did a w/c, there might have still been some baking soda left in the water. I'm just guessing.

I inject co2 by diy. I always get 30ppm with 2 bottles. I got the Co2 calculations off of Chuck's site.

I'm glad that I don't have to worry about the plants getting enough Ca.

Again, thanks for the input.

Lissette


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## aquabillpers (Nov 28, 2003)

Seachem Equilibrium doe not alter the KH, so either something else is going on in your aquarium or your test kit has gone bad. I've had that happen.

Bill


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## Lissette (Apr 2, 2005)

aquabillpers, you're saying that Kh and Gh are not linked to one another? I'm such a newbie.

During w/c I've always added baking soda, otherwise I wouldn't have any Kh. I know that this time I haven't dosed any.

I forgot about one thing, though. I do have these glass rocks in my filter to keep the sponge from rising whenever I unplug it. Could this be it? It's the type used to keep bamboo plants in place. I didn't think it would release anything since it's made of glass. But, if this is causing it, I'll take them out asap.

In the meantime, I'll do more w/c just to see if there's any difference with the kh reading.

Thanks so much.

Lissette


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## Spar (Aug 7, 2003)

kh and gh are totally independent of each other. KH is the build up of carbonates (CO3) in the water, and GH is primarily the build up of calcium and magnesium in the water.

so unless you are dosing something that has CO3 in it, the impact to KH will be zero. which Equilibrium has none of (or at least very very little of).

the glass rock is fine. no effect to gh or kh.

to test your KH testkit do the following. get a 5g bucket full of your tap water. add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to it. your KH should now be 5 (89.5ppm) plus what it was to begin with (zero in your case?).

Then add another 1/2t and ensure the new reading is 5 more (10). If it does not, then you got a screwy testkit


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## aquabillpers (Nov 28, 2003)

Well, usually when water has a high GH it will also have a high KH. But when one is reconstituting water using Equilibrium or a similar product, that changes.

Bill


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## Lissette (Apr 2, 2005)

Well, I did another test. You were right. Something must have happened yesterday. I still don't understand it.

I retested the water, and guess what? Now it's saying Kh 2 and Ph 6.0 (I'm injecting co2)! What happened? The Ph was 6.8 (it was 7.2 before co2), and Kh was 5 yesterday, I swear (or maybe not). :eek5: I checked them twice.

Where did the surge come from? I'm going nuts.

Lissette

P.S. Now that I know that Seachem doesn't raise the kh, should I add a bit more? I want a GH of at least 5 or 6. Is this okay? Thanks.


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## Spar (Aug 7, 2003)

aquabillpers said:


> Well, usually when water has a high GH it will also have a high KH. But when one is reconstituting water using Equilibrium or a similar product, that changes.
> 
> Bill


that is only because most water companies use CaCO3 to increase water hardness. Has both the GH and KH components. It is generally true that if you have hard water you have both GH and KH though... but still just a coincidence in the big picture.

There is one city near me that has nearly 0 GH and 15 KH (and I could be turning that around... forgot... either way it is an extreme at each end). not sure what they are smoking, but they are doing it.


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## Spar (Aug 7, 2003)

Lissette said:


> Well, I did another test. You were right. Something must have happened yesterday. I still don't understand it.
> 
> I retested the water, and guess what? Now it's saying Kh 2 and Ph 6.0 (I'm injecting co2)! What happened? The Ph was 6.8 (it was 7.2 before co2), and Kh was 5 yesterday, I swear (or maybe not). :eek5: I checked them twice.
> 
> ...


KH never jumps around to that extreme (5 to 2 degrees in a couple day period). You will only see a jump of at most 1d unless you are flat out overstocking the tank, and I am assuming that you are not. so... time for a new testkit. Did you do the 5g bucket trick yet? You can do it with 1g too. Just dose 1/8t and it should increase KH by ~ 6.25. Since 1/8t is hard to measure exactly you will probably see a slightly off result, but near.

how much baking soda had you been adding after water changes? you can go back and get a rough estimate of what your KH should be if so. Remembering that 1t per 50g's increases KH by 1d.

edit>> increasing the equilibrium to 5-6d GH won't hurt. I recently began dosing this too. Have had 5d for ages, and now increasing to 6.5d.


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## Lissette (Apr 2, 2005)

Spar,

I think that you're right about the test kits. It's time for some new ones.

In my 29 Gal. I usually dose 1/4 tsp to reach 1d. I've done this for almost a year, and it works everytime. I love the simplicity. That's why yesterday's test results were puzzling.

I've got small tetras in my tank, and a few shrimps. I don't think that I'm overstocked.

I'll certainly add more Seachem just to see what happens. I want to fix this problem before it gets worse.

Thanks for the advice.

Lissette :icon_bigg


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## aquabillpers (Nov 28, 2003)

Spar said:


> that is only because most water companies use CaCO3 to increase water hardness. Has both the GH and KH components. It is generally true that if you have hard water you have both GH and KH though... but still just a coincidence in the big picture..


That's true, in part. But dissolved CaCO3 is probably the most common mineral found in "wild" fresh water, at least in most parts of the world. My well water is about 16 degrees GH and 12 degrees KH, becuase the bed rock here is limestone. Local streams are softer because they are influenced more by surface water or shallow springs, but they still would be classified moderately hard.

CaCO3 contributes to both the GH (from the Ca) and the kH (from the CO3), although not on a 1 to 1 basis.

Here's a link to a discussion of GH and KH, anong other things: 

http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/hardness.htm

Bill


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## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

*New Question*

I regularly dose Equilibrium along with some basic greg watson dry ferts.

now that i have a few crayfish in one tank, and snails in another,
i was hoping the 8% Calcium in Equilibrium would be enough for them.
am I wrong?
i'm not concerned about them breading, just their good health.


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## Seraph0 (Oct 6, 2006)

I'm glad I read this. I didn't know Seachem Equilibrium has K2SO4 in it. Is there any way to find out how much? To adjust EI dosing accordingly...

BTW - Another similar product by Kent called RO Right DOES add KH along with GH.

And my Eco-complete seems to add its own KH into the water over time.

Grr... This thing needs to stabilize.


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## andrewwl (May 3, 2004)

Can someone link me to an article describing why plants need a certain hardness? Up until now I thought acidic, most soft water was desired.


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## Left C (Nov 15, 2003)

Seraph0 said:


> ...I didn't know Seachem Equilibrium has K2SO4 in it. Is there any way to find out how much? To adjust EI dosing accordingly...


The FertFriend calculator has Equilibrium, Seachem's planted tank products, Kent's products and others. 

You'll have to convert your gallons to liters to use it. In case you need it; 1 gallon is 3.7854 liters. FertFriend

There's other calculators that may be useful also. 
Tools

Here's some info about Equilibrium. Equilibirum

Please note that the K2SO4 in it is expressed as K2O units.

"Guaranteed Analysis (Amounts per 1 g) 
Soluble Potassium (K20) 23.0% 
Calcium (Ca) 8.06% 
Magnesium (Mg) 2.41% 
Soluble Iron (Fe) 0.11% 
Soluble Manganese (Mn) 0.06% 

Derived from: potassium sulfate, calcium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, ferric sulfate, manganese sulfate.
F1506
Elemental potassium is present at a concentration of 195,000 ppm (19.5%). Archaic fertilizer laws force us to list potassium in terms of equivalence to a material that is not present (K2O) rather than the more scientificaly sound method of simple elemental equivalence."


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## Seraph0 (Oct 6, 2006)

VERY valuable information and links. I thank you for that reply!


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## Left C (Nov 15, 2003)

You're welcome.


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