Jan’s blog about aquarium fish and plants

My larger aquarium

About 2 weeks ago I bought a few water chemistry tests just for fun. I was very surprised by the values they measured. I expected something normal because my fish look quite happy. Bristlenose catfish even breed from time to time, Panda cories do so, and I successfully bred Blue gouramis and Siamese fighting fish in the past.

So what was the result of my first water testing? The pH level was normal; about 6.7. OK, then the second test was for NO₂ which ended normally as well. Even the water could be of better quality, the NO₂ concentration was normal. The biggest surprise was the level of dKH; less than 1. The dGH level was high; about 26.

What’s my goal right now? I want to lower the dGH level to about 15 and to increase the dKH level to 4 at least. The pH level should be 7 when mythe work is done . After a couple of water changes I achieved the dGH at the value of 21, and the dKH at the value of 2.

We’ll see how it goes after another week or two.