# i am new!!! what is DGH , Kh and GH, HELP!



## jimmyNG (Apr 8, 2011)

hi,
i only know what is *PH* ! but what is *DGH *, *Kh* and *GH*, HELP?
please tell me what is that! and what did the south cichlids usually like the water!!!
thks


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## cichlid (Jul 30, 2010)

Cichlids love hard water and high PH! which makes them good for people starting out, other than the price. Go to petsmart and look for a kit called quick dip sticks. You dont have to worry too much about GH (water hardness ) cichlids love hard water so even in the 150ppm( parts per million ) range is Ideal, where as with tropicals like tetras, rasbora etc, at those levels the water would be considered " toxic ". GH AND dGH are the same dGH. Stands for gegrees of general hardness. 
dGH - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

KH is alkalinity, Basically the acidity of the water. If you keep your tank in the 120-180ppm mark. This kit tests 6 different peramiters

The importsnt ones tho are 
Nitrite ( NO2) keep it at 0ppm
Nitrate ( NO3 ) between 0-40 ppm
Alkalinity ( KH ) between 80-180ppm ( 120-180 is ideal)
PH between 7.8-8.4 is good for cichlids.


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Hi and welcome to BCA.

What is GH, KH, you ask?

Water Chemistry: pH, GH and KH What are they all? - Scott Thomson
GH, KH, and pH for the Advanced Hobbyist
Beginner FAQ: Water Chemistry

More information by BCA members:
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/island-pets-unlimited-42/adjusting-hardness-your-aquarium-7033/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/island-pets-unlimited-42/water-supply-issue-lower-mainland-715/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/aqua-lounge-7/pearls-wisdom-best-threads-bca-21948/
My Planted Tank Adventures: Water quality &#8230; pH, GH, KH Oh my!


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## Ebonbolt (Aug 12, 2011)

cichlid said:


> Cichlids love hard water and high PH! which makes them good for people starting out, other than the price. Go to petsmart and look for a kit called quick dip sticks. You dont have to worry too much about GH (water hardness ) cichlids love hard water so even in the 150ppm( parts per million ) range is Ideal, where as with tropicals like tetras, rasbora etc, at those levels the water would be considered " toxic ". GH AND dGH are the same dGH. Stands for gegrees of general hardness.
> dGH - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> KH is alkalinity, Basically the acidity of the water. If you keep your tank in the 120-180ppm mark. This kit tests 6 different peramiters
> ...


You mean African cichlids right? Last I checked, SA and CA cichlids prefer pH neutral or under, and soft to very soft water...

alkalinity and acidity are two different things. Alkalinity = how much hydroxide ions are in the water; acidity is how much hydronium ions are present.

KH refers to the buffering capacity of the water, specifically the amount of carbonates and bicarbonates, or the carbonate hardness; the higher the KH, the higher the buffering capacity of the water, and the harder it is to change the pH by a significant amount. Of course, a high KH means a high pH; the two are intertwined, and it's almost impossible to raise one without raising the other as well, and vice versa.

GH means general hardness, which refers to the amount of dissolved ions that are present in your tank (iron, potassium, magnessium, calcium, sodium, chloride, etc). GH does not affect pH in any way, though it does affect how well the plants and many inverts do, as plants draw the ions from the water for nutrients, and creatures like shrimp require certain ions to forge their shells.

dGH means degrees of hardness; both KH and GH are commonly measured in 2 ways: ppm and dH. ppm means parts per million, and dH means degrees of hardness. To convert from ppm to dH, I think you divide ppm by 20 for GH and 15 for KH, though I'm not certain on the numbers there.

Depending on where your fish are from, they'll prefer different levels of pH, GH, and KH. Of course, most of the fish you'll see for sale and farm raised in parts of SE Asia, so they've gotten used to hard waters with a pH over neutral.

Hope that wasn't tl;dr...


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## jimmyNG (Apr 8, 2011)

cichlid said:


> Cichlids love hard water and high PH!
> The importsnt ones tho are
> Nitrite ( NO2) keep it at 0ppm
> Nitrate ( NO3 ) between 0-40 ppm
> ...





jobber604 said:


> Hi and welcome to BCA.
> 
> What is GH, KH, you ask?





BelieveInBlue said:


> You mean African cichlids right?
> Depending on where your fish are from, they'll prefer different levels of pH, GH, and KH. Of course, most of the fish you'll see for sale and farm raised in parts of SE Asia, so they've gotten used to hard waters with a pH over neutral.


thks for all you guy a help!!! but i still not really get it!!! 
wow.....
i just beginner!!! look like i go t chemical lesson !!! 
so i have a simple question!
in my home i have a south american cichlids ( green terror , red devil and Rainbowfish..)
i test my 2 fish tank .... GH ! one is 33 Gal 426 ppm ,another one is 48 Gal 181 ppm ! 
why they much different ?? is that okie ?
what is the GH is *normal ( safe ) range ppm* ? and what is * high range ppm* not for them alive , and how can i raise or drop down the GH ...ppm ?

and last things, the KH is it i dont need to care it? i keep all my tank is about PH 7.2 .. i drop almost 1 Lb crushed coral for each tank! and a piece wood ... and little Lava stone....
is that okie ??? or any thing wrong ?
please for help!!!!


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

Do you use any buffers?? Ie cichlid buffer, equillibrium, kent ro right, or marine salts? That gh is is rather high for there to not be anything raising it. One of the tanks likely has rock leeching hardness into the water, or possibly its the substrate. Crushed coral alone for buffering is highly frowned upon here because it does little good in this city, better to use kent ro right or some other buffer brand


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## cichlid (Jul 30, 2010)

SA from what i have learned over the years do like harder water, people run mixed SA/AC tanks all the time in african peramiters. 

The hard part is south americans came from a wider range of countries, some countries have colder waters, some are warmer, some are softer, others are harder, cichlids adapt. Keeping your tank at consistant levels is more important! 

Everyone is different. 

How often do you test the water? And how long have the tanks been running?


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

cichlid said:


> Cichlids love hard water and high PH! which makes them good for people starting out, other than the price. Go to petsmart and look for a kit called quick dip sticks. You dont have to worry too much about GH (water hardness ) cichlids love hard water so even in the 150ppm( parts per million ) range is Ideal, where as with tropicals like tetras, rasbora etc, at those levels the water would be considered " toxic ". GH AND dGH are the same dGH. Stands for gegrees of general hardness.
> dGH - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> KH is alkalinity, Basically the acidity of the water. If you keep your tank in the 120-180ppm mark. This kit tests 6 different peramiters
> ...


Cichlids love hard water so you don't have to worry about GH? This sounds confusing particularly to a newbie. GH controls a fishes ability to osmoregulate and in BC it is likely the number one cause of fish illness associated with our tap water. SA cichlids will do fine with a GH and KH of around 6 degrees as an average.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

cichlid said:


> SA from what i have learned over the years do like harder water, people run mixed SA/AC tanks all the time in african peramiters.
> 
> The hard part is south americans came from a wider range of countries, some countries have colder waters, some are warmer, some are softer, others are harder, cichlids adapt. Keeping your tank at consistant levels is more important!
> 
> ...


Of course there are many different water conditions in SA, and some fish have a wide range of origin. But many SA cichilds actually have a very small geographical range of origin, where the water parameters are very specific, including very low pH in some cases. Yes fish adapt, yes they get used to different conditions over generations of captive breeding, and yes it is probably more important to keep things stable. But still, I would suggest that your statement is way too blunt to be useful. Anyone can blindly throw fish in a tank and they'll (usually) survive. But at the end of the day, trying to research and understand the specific needs of your fish and give them the best conditions possible is what makes the journey interesting and enriching. Also it's usually rewarded by the fish themselves. It's one thing to survive, it's another to thrive, exhibit vibrant colours and interesting behaviour, and breed for you.


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## jimmyNG (Apr 8, 2011)

so i test my 2 fish tank .... GH ! one is 33 Gal 426 ppm ,another one is 48 Gal 181 ppm !
is that okie for my red devil and green terror cichlid ? or too high or too low ?
what is the GH is normal ( safe ) range ppm ? and what is high range ppm not for them alive ...


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## Ebonbolt (Aug 12, 2011)

426ppm is quite high for them; that's about what the African rift lakes are like I believe. With that said though, it's unlikely that your fish are wild caught, so GH/KH/pH aren't nearly as important, so long as they're within reasonable parameters, and you keep them relatively stable.


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## jimmyNG (Apr 8, 2011)

BelieveInBlue said:


> 426ppm is quite high for them; that's about what the African rift lakes are like I believe. With that said though, it's unlikely that your fish are wild caught, so GH/KH/pH aren't nearly as important, so long as they're within reasonable parameters, and you keep them relatively stable.


the 30 Gal tnak have 456 ppm...
what i used is i used rena xp 2 filter , half Lb coral substrate and about 10 piece Lava ! ph is about 7 
so what should i need to take out ? is it the Lava make the GH that 456 ppm high ?
thks


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## cichlid (Jul 30, 2010)

How often do you do water changes? Have you ever tested the tap water ( or water you use)?


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