# very hard water



## ptom (Jul 3, 2014)

Hi,
I have moved to a place with very hard tap water: ph 7,6 GH 25 KH 19

Is it not too hard for low tech tank? based on the pH KH chart CO levels look ok and I guess most plants will adjust to such water?

I want to set up two small tanks with plants fish and shrimps. Is there anything specific to such high hardness I should keep in mind? I guess the soil I buy should be without further Ca additives?

Thanks!


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## rthomas529 (Jun 26, 2014)

ptom said:


> Hi,
> I have moved to a place with very hard tap water: ph 7,6 GH 25 KH 19
> 
> Is it not too hard for low tech tank? based on the pH KH chart CO levels look ok and I guess most plants will adjust to such water?
> ...


I live in st. Louis my water is very hard as well. My ph is higher than yours around 8-8.2 if I remember correctly. It doesnt seem to harm my plants but its not ideal. You can cut it with distilled water. A very small amount goes a long way. I add about 1 liter to every 5 gallons. Just enough to bring the ph down to 7.2 DO NOT EVER ADD DIRECTLY TO YOUR TANK. Just to the water your adding to your tank. This will allow you ph and hardness to come down slowly. Bad things will happen if you try to bring your parameter down quickly.


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## ptom (Jul 3, 2014)

Thanks,
Without access to distilled water which solution do you think would work better: BRITA treated water or even BRITA filtered and boiled water? Perhaps best is to test it actually.

I plan small tanks and I have plenty of Brita filtered water available - there's always something left in the evening on the bottom of the kettle. I can easily add it to the tank after it is mixed with tap water.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

my gh is 160 and kh 70 ph 7.5 I do nothing to adjust the water parameters and still can grow plants just fine. You may see melting/die off of old leaves in some plants as their adapt to your water, but give them time they'll grow in your tank(s).


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Hard water is not a problem at all. 
Plants need the minerals. 
Just select fish that thrive in that hard water and your tank will be fine. 

Problems:
You might see more white crusty build up on the marginal areas where the tank get wet and dry. Keep the water level up into the top rim area, do not allow it to stay lower where you would see the white on the glass. Be ready to wash the hood/cover in something acidic like vinegar often enough that the mineral build up is not allowed to get really bad. 

There are a few specialty plants that really do require soft, acidic water. These won't grow in your tank. Almost all the common aquarium plants will grow just fine, though. 

Good fish choices:
African Rift Lake Cichlids (Large tank, many eat plants)
Many Rainbow fish and their relatives. Look into Pseudomugils, for example. (Larger Rainbows need a large tank)
Most live bearers.
A few others like Sawbwa resplendens, and certain Tetras, Barbs etc. that may have come from soft water, but can handle the harder water just fine. Do some research to find these. www.fishbase.org may help.


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## ptom (Jul 3, 2014)

Oh, thanks for pointing out the problem with mineral buildup on the water level - hoped for an open top tank  


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Just make it part of your water change routine to use chemical free (clean) paper towel and while down the water line area to remove the buildup. I have 3 open top and 2 recently added lids to (use to be 5 open).
I have a terra cotta pot with a flower that's amusingly more white than red clay color from my high calcium content.


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