Water chemistry is one of the most overlooked or misunderstood areas when we want to keep shrimp or aquascape, especially on the subject of pH, GH / KH, and the relationship between pH and KH.
Likewise with the test kit, the test kit for GH / KH is the test kit that is most often ignored when we are managing an aquarium, even though GH and KH are also very important aspects of water chemistry.
GH means General Hardness.
It is a measure of the amount of Magnesium (Mg +) and Calcium (Ca +) ions in water. When we refer to water as “soft” or “hard,” we are referring to GH. It is measured in German degrees of hardness (dH). One dH is about 17.5 mg / L (ppm).
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General Hardness Table
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Carbonate hardness measures the amount of carbonates and bicarbonates in water, expressed in German degrees of hardness (DKH).
The term “hardness” in KH is a bit confusing because it doesn’t really measure hardness, but rather the alkalinity (buffer capacity - the ability to neutralize acids) of the ability to resist changes in pH. The higher the KH, the more stable your water is and the stronger it will be to face pH swings. The 2-3dKH parameter is generally accepted as the minimum value to obtain a stable pH.
pH (Per Hydrogen)
pH is a measure of the balance between Hydrogen (H +) and hydroxide (OH) ions in water. The pH scale ranges from 0-14. As we know, a pH value of 7.0 means that the pH of the water is neutral, with a reading of 0-6.9 being acidic, and being 7.1-14 Basic.
pH also functions as the concentration center of KH and CO 2. That is, we can determine the amount of CO 2 (mg / L or ppm) in water if we know the pH and KH values. In its application, the pH will fluctuate when we add CO 2, while KH remains stable.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Carbon dioxide is not mentioned in the title of this article, but it is also a very important part of water chemistry. CO2 is present in water in a much greater concentration than oxygen and nitrogen combined (70: 2: 1). We often think of injecting CO2 to increase the growth rate of plants in our tanks. We often increase the supply of CO2 in the hope that plants will grow fast and fertile, but actually we also have to understand the relationship between CO2, KH and pH.
Without going into too much detail into the chemical process, when carbon dioxide is dissolved in water, it becomes carbonic acid, increasing the amount of acid, and lowering the pH in the aquarium. The amount of carbonate (KH) present in the water will determine how far the pH will drop.
Below is a chart of the relationship of pH, KH and CO2:
Adjusts the GH / KH / pH
Because of the relationship between the three aspects, applying a method to derive or increase one aspect will usually have an effect on the other. In the table below, there is an explanation of the most common ways or methods to reduce / increase GH, KH, and pH.
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