# help on kh and gh?



## croatian2 (Mar 17, 2011)

Hi .
I have tested my tank and the kh is about6-7 drops and my gh is 7 drops.
So my question is ,is each drop a degree?
If that was the case with the chart below,does it mean my tank is 6-11(100 - 200 ppm)?????
GH & KH RANGE - Aquarium Life
0°-3° (0-50 ppm) discus, arowanas, elephantnose, neons, cardinals, live plants

3°-6° (50-100 ppm) Most tropical fish including angelfish, cichlids, tetras, botia, live plants

6°-11° (100-200 ppm) Most tropical fish including swordtails, guppies, mollies, goldfish

11°-22° (200-400 ppm) Rift lake cichlids, goldfish, brackish water fish

The chart that came with my liquid test kit is a little confusing.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

It does mean each drop = 1 degree.

Don't worry about the list of recommended fish. Unless you are going to have something like Discus, nearly all fish can thrive outside what they would call their preferred range. Whenever you bring a new fish to your tank just take the time to properly acclimate it and it should do just fine. People drive themselves crazy over these lists and it's usually when they start to mess with things to try and get their tanks "just right" that something is done wrong and endangers the fish, if not kill it.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Agreed. I have the exact same levels - 6-8 degrees KH, 7-9 degrees GH, in drops. My fish have been alive and thriving in that environment for years.

The only time I would worry about hardness and alkalinity is when you have live plants, because over time they will soften the water by removing carbon and other minerals. Things like Grumpy's GH booster, available from Rex Grigg's dry fertilizer website, can replenish GH, but without live plants such a booster is completely useless. With that being said, I have a TON of plants in my tank and regular 30% weekly PWC's keep my KH and GH stabilized.


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