water chemistry hardness and ph

[Robinhud]

I did a 50% water change and after my ph is a little higher than 8.2 my guess 8.3, 8.4 was next and it was not that high. So I took a water sample to petsmart and she said it looked to be about 50 kh and said that was soft but I have read that anything over 12 was fine to buffer ph for african cichlids. could some one clear this up please. 8.3 ph to me is right at the top of ok so how can 50 kh be soft and need further buffering?

 

[Felipe Castellanos]

When talking about "soft" or "hard" water you are referring to GH (General Hardness), not KH (Carbonate Hardness). KH is most commonly known as Total Alkalinity. Most African Cichlids should do OK with the following parameters:

pH: 7.8 - 8.5
Hardness (GH): 12 - 20 GH
Alkalinity (KH): 10 - 18 KH

I hope this helped you
Thanks!
Felipe Castellanos

 

[bossanova]

I did a 50% water change and after my ph is a little higher than 8.2 my guess 8.3, 8.4 was next and it was not that high. So I took a water sample to petsmart and she said it looked to be about 50 kh and said that was soft but I have read that anything over 12 was fine to buffer ph for african cichlids. could some one clear this up please. 8.3 ph to me is right at the top of ok so how can 50 kh be soft and need further buffering?

I would never trust a petsmart reading, sry straight talk! Did they use a little test strip? Those are about as reliable as a telephone psychic.

 

[Robinhud]

Thanks