Bass in Hard Water!

[pwmin]

okay... i said enough... no probs.... you guys are right...
i guess cali water is top notch...

hey, quit being sarcastic


what is the hardness and alkalinity of your water?

 

[mjuniorc]

These have been raised in pH 8.4 and water that is liquid rock...

SCAT come'on bro..... raised in hard water...... yours.. yeah maybe before and after you took your leaves out

you and me both know... they thrive in soft water.....

 

[jimmie1974]

how does driftwood soften the water, I can see it lowering the PH but soften it, as in taken out any unwanted minerals in the water calcium, etc. how the hell does that work. I use an R/O system, and PH is around 6.6 but have also slowly bumped it up to 7.8 over the course of a few days. The only differnece I've noticed is the color patterns stand out better in a higher PH. Never heard of that though, please explain how that works?

 

[mjuniorc]

how does driftwood soften the water, I can see it lowering the PH but soften it, as in taken out any unwanted minerals in the water calcium, etc. how the hell does that work. I use an R/O system, and PH is around 6.6 but have also slowly bumped it up to 7.8 over the course of a few days. The only differnece I've noticed is the color patterns stand out better in a higher PH. Never heard of that though, please explain how that works?

HOPEFULLY THIS DOESNT OFFEND YOU BY QUOTING YOUR COMMENT... LIKE IT DID LAST TIME... BUT HERES A SIMPLE BREAKDOWN...

Driftwood in your tank, leeches, as the term is called, tannins (could also be known as BLACKWATER ABSTRACT) into your water. This directly effects your PH, and your hardness buffer. Typically, as your hardness drops, so will your PH. This is what driftwood does to your PH.

How long it will take is going to vary on several factors, among them being, the volume, the relative PH and hardness in the tank, and the overall size of driftwood in the water. Each tank is going to see a drop in PH at different rates....

 

[likestofish]

HOPEFULLY THIS DOESNT OFFEND YOU BY QUOTING YOUR COMMENT... LIKE IT DID LAST TIME... BUT HERES A SIMPLE BREAKDOWN...

Driftwood in your tank, leeches, as the term is called, tannins (could also be known as BLACKWATER ABSTRACT) into your water. This directly effects your PH, and your hardness buffer. Typically, as your hardness drops, so will your PH. This is what driftwood does to your PH.

How long it will take is going to vary on several factors, among them being, the volume, the relative PH and hardness in the tank, and the overall size of driftwood in the water. Each tank is going to see a drop in PH at different rates....

I just dont get your logic why would ph affect KH or GH A higher KH buffers and slows down ph change but why would ph change hardness unless lowered ph pulls out the calcium from the water.

 

[jimmie1974]

thanks for clearing that up MJ

 

[mjuniorc]

I just dont get your logic why would ph affect KH or GH A higher KH buffers and slows down ph change but why would ph change hardness unless lowered ph pulls out the calcium from the water.

Hardness is the measure of dissolved mineral salts (mainly chlorides, bicarbonates, carbonates, and sulphates of calcium, sodium, magnesium and potassium); the harder the water the more salts it contains. It is generally expressed in terms of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) content, measured in degrees (ºdH) or parts per million (ppm) using a test kit.

Water becomes hard by dissolving soluble salts from the rocks or soil over or through which it flows. Some rocks, for example slate, granite, gneiss and schist, contain little or no soluble material and, as such, have a negligible effect. Others, however, are quite the opposite. Rocks and other “hard” décor in the aquarium may affect water chemistry: corals and shells are largely calcium carbonate, and some gravel often contains fragments of limestone or shell. Hardness-free décor is a pre-requisite of soft-water aquariums.​

Total, general or permanent hardness is represented throughout literature by the letters gH. It is determined by the concentration of calcium and magnesium salts, i.e. the amount of calcium (Ca++) and magnesium (Mg++) ions, which are dissolved in the water. These minerals are present in town, artesian (bore) and bottled water. The amount of dissolved minerals is dependent upon the source of the water, and the type of treatment processes it has undergone. Total hardness or general hardness is sometimes referred to as total dissolved salts (TDS)....​

Hard water (> 200 ppm) is high in calcium and magnesium, while soft water (50 to 100 ppm) is low in these minerals. Suitable values for most ornamental fish range between 100 and 300 ppm.​

Carbonate, bicarbonate or temporary hardness is formed from the compounds of calcium and magnesium with carbonic acid, i.e. it is the measure of carbonate (CO3-) and bicarbonate (HCO3-) ion concentrations dissolved in the water. It is represented by the letters kH.​

Carbonate hardness helps stabilize the pH value and prevents dangerous drops in the pH value (acid drop or pH crash). It is sometimes referred to as alkalinity. An aquarium with a low kH level (50 ppm or less) will tend to be acidic. Aquariums with these characteristics are subject to rapid shifts in pH, if not monitored carefully. Water with a high kH level (> 200 ppm) usually has a high pH.​

simple breakdown... would be as stated ALL above... calcium, magnesium, carbon acid, salts, ROCKS, shells, sulphates, sodium, potassium... etc... (are hardness buffers)​

drift wood may not lower it really low... but it counter acts all these minerals... and neutralizes... as it penetrates all these buffer listed... but once again depending on tank size and amount of drift wood... you can basically get to your desired levels...​

 

[silverdragon]

Hardness is the measure of dissolved mineral salts (mainly chlorides, bicarbonates, carbonates, and sulphates of calcium, sodium, magnesium and potassium); the harder the water the more salts it contains. It is generally expressed in terms of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) content, measured in degrees (ºdH) or parts per million (ppm) using a test kit.

Water becomes hard by dissolving soluble salts from the rocks or soil over or through which it flows. Some rocks, for example slate, granite, gneiss and schist, contain little or no soluble material and, as such, have a negligible effect. Others, however, are quite the opposite. Rocks and other “hard” décor in the aquarium may affect water chemistry: corals and shells are largely calcium carbonate, and some gravel often contains fragments of limestone or shell. Hardness-free décor is a pre-requisite of soft-water aquariums.​

Total, general or permanent hardness is represented throughout literature by the letters gH. It is determined by the concentration of calcium and magnesium salts, i.e. the amount of calcium (Ca++) and magnesium (Mg++) ions, which are dissolved in the water. These minerals are present in town, artesian (bore) and bottled water. The amount of dissolved minerals is dependent upon the source of the water, and the type of treatment processes it has undergone. Total hardness or general hardness is sometimes referred to as total dissolved salts (TDS)....​

Hard water (> 200 ppm) is high in calcium and magnesium, while soft water (50 to 100 ppm) is low in these minerals. Suitable values for most ornamental fish range between 100 and 300 ppm.​

Carbonate, bicarbonate or temporary hardness is formed from the compounds of calcium and magnesium with carbonic acid, i.e. it is the measure of carbonate (CO3-) and bicarbonate (HCO3-) ion concentrations dissolved in the water. It is represented by the letters kH.​

Carbonate hardness helps stabilize the pH value and prevents dangerous drops in the pH value (acid drop or pH crash). It is sometimes referred to as alkalinity. An aquarium with a low kH level (50 ppm or less) will tend to be acidic. Aquariums with these characteristics are subject to rapid shifts in pH, if not monitored carefully. Water with a high kH level (> 200 ppm) usually has a high pH.​

simple breakdown... would be as stated ALL above... calcium, magnesium, carbon acid, salts, ROCKS, shells, sulphates, sodium, potassium... etc... (are hardness buffers)​

drift wood may not lower it really low... but it counter acts all these minerals... and neutralizes... as it penetrates all these buffer listed... but once again depending on tank size and amount of drift wood... you can basically get to your desired levels...​

 

[CichlaRyan]

i agree with Junior.

 

[troutking]

my gh level is like 180+ is that bad and my kh is pretty low