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Carbonate Hardness

Aquarium CarbonateCardamine lyrata

How to use this table: Take a measurement of the KH (Carbonate Hardness) of your tank water and pH measurement. Take the KH reading and go to the relevant red column. Check the row which has both your KH reading and your pH reading.

 


Carbonate hardness (KH)-Measured in mg/l, ppm, or the German dKH. Measured with test kits. Carbonate hardness (also known as alkalinity) is the measure of carbonate (CO3-) and bicarbonate (HCO3-) ion concentrations dissolved in water.

Carbonate Hardness (KH)
KH measures dissolved bicarbonate and carbonate ions. They are commonly referred to as the buffering capacity. KH determines how stable your pH will be and is therefore very important.

Carbonate Hardness: The part of the total hardness that is formed by the ions of carbonates(Co3) and hydrogen carbonate(HCo3). It is symbolized by dCH. It is important to know the dCH of your water, as it affects both the ph.

Carbonate Hardness - See Alkalinity above.
Chemical Filter - A type of filter that utilizes a chemical medium, such as Carbon, to clean the aquarium water.
Chiller - A device used mainly in marine aquariums to help cool the water.

Carbonate Hardness (Alkalinity) - An alkalinity test determines your water’s ability to maintain pH. It is an indicator of how “stable' your water quality is.

Carbonate Hardness
Carbonate Hardness, also referred to as kH, is the result of contact between water (H2O) containing carbon dioxide (CO2) and lime or chalk (CaCO3).

Carbonate Hardness
Carbonate hardness or KH is a measure of the water's natural buffering capacity, commonly and confusingly referred to as carbonate hardness (potentially confusing with the other hardness), ...

Carbonate Hardness and General Hardness
The two different types of hardness KH and GH are often confused.

Carbonate Hardness is a confusing term because it does refer to hardness, but rather to the alkalinity (the ability of a solution to resist a pH change with an addition of an acid.) from the carbonates and bicarbonates.

Carbonate Hardness 16-19
In the mid 1970s a further subspecies was discovered by M. Fainzilber.
it was named L. Leleupi longoir in 1980 by Staeck.
L.

KH or carbonate hardness performs 2 functions :
a) Enables hard corals, coraline algae to form their skeletons in conjunction with Calcium ions in the water.
If you just have high Ca, but low KH, it's not going to happen.

KH - Carbonate Hardness
Ideal value = between 4-6 dKH in freshwater, 6-10 in saltwater
Acceptable range = pretty much the same ...

Salifert Carbonate Hardness/Alkalinity Profi Test
Number of tests: 100-200
Amount of Titrant: 50 milliliters (about 1,000 drops) ...

In contrast to carbonate hardness, general hardness is the measurement of the total dissolved minerals in your aquarium water.

PH is a result of carbonate hardness (KH) and CO2 concentration, meaning that we can calculate the amount of CO2 in a body of water by measuring KH and PH. For most of our tanks KH is stable while PH varies according to CO2 levels.

There are two types of water hardness: general hardness (GH) and carbonate hardness (KH). A third term commonly used is total hardness which is a combination of GH and KH.

Alkalinity - Sometimes called Carbonate Hardness. The amount of your aquarium water's ability to resist changes in pH. The alkalinity can be raised by using a buffer such as baking soda.

Carbonate hardness refers to the quantity of carbonates in solution, Non-Carbonate Hardness is a catch all to refer to the other compounds in the solution besides carbonates.

Carbonate hardness, specifically, should remain between 6 and 8 dKH. Plenty of hiding places should be provided; often plants are preferred. The addition of peat moss to the tank as a substrate or in a filter is sometimes used to condition the water.

For some time a carbonate hardness reactor with CO2 injection ran on the aquarium but its use was discontinued as the tank stabilized because the unit barely ran more than 30 minutes a day ...

Carbonate Hardness: Carbonate hardness (kH) is not used as a measurement of hardness as often. KH includes the presence of minerals and charged ions, other than Ca and Mg, dissolved in water.

Carbonate Hardness is often used interchangeably with the term Alkalinity, but the two are really not quite the same. Carbonate Hardness measures just the carbonates and bicarbonates while Alkalinity measures those elements and a few others.

Both total and carbonate hardness are a consideration when determining if the water is suitable for certain plants. Carbonate hardness is even more important than the total hardness.

You're right, you can get a general idea of CO2 levels from pH and KH (carbonate hardness). However this method is rough at best, since it assumes that there are no other acids or bases present in the aquarium.

To compensate for this, nature has provided a screening device, the CH (carbonate hardness, i.e. the hardness due to calcium and magnesium carbonates and bicarbonates). The higher this is, the less the risk of any major variations in the pH.

Alkalinity is often referred to as Carbonate Hardness (Kh), the relevance of this term is due to the prevalence of Carbonate and Bicarbonate as constituents of Alkalinity (these substances being the most common alkalis contributing to water hardness).

Thus, the terms ``carbonate hardness'' (KH), ``alkalinity'' and ``buffering capacity'' are used interchangeably. Although technically not the same things, they are equivalent in practice in the context of fishkeeping.

magna tends to prefer harder water (170 mg carbonate hardness) and D. pulex a little less hard (90 mg carbonate hardness).

0, and a carbonate hardness (KH) value of 90mg/L (5dKH). When adding carbon dioxide to an aquarium, it is advisable to maintain a KH value of 90mg/L and allow the addition of CO2 to slowly lower the pH value to the ideal range.

Carbonate hardness should not be higher that 1°dCH. Water temperature should be kept between 26 and 28 °C. Adding peat to the tank or filter will soften water and make it slightly acidic. The tank should have dim or no lighting.

On the other hand, CO2 concentrations can be calculated measuring the carbonate hardness/alkalinity, or KH and the pH of the water.

As with other species of fish succesful breeding depends on the carbonate hardness dCH; if the dCH is less than 1 the percentage of undeveloped eggs increases. The females are prolific, particulary those that are regularly spawned.

If your water pH changes suddenly, or drifts regularly over time, you should check the KH (Carbonate Hardness) of the water. Consult your local fish shop for KH testing, and for buffering compounds to stabilize the pH level.

Occurs as fine threads clumped together. Possibly one of the hardest to get rid of. Tends to favor water with a high carbonate hardness and high PH.

gH
"General" or "Total" hardness. Also called dgH (degrees of general hardness). A measure of all dissolved solids in water, including carbonate hardness (kH).

Carbonate Hardness (KH) Kit
This kit is not critical to have. By regularly monitoring the pH, you can figure out whether your KH is ``high enough''. That is, the KH should be high enough that your pH stays stable over time.

It received indirect lighting from the room and a nearby window. The pH measured in at 6.8 (slightly acidic). Both the GH (general hardness) and CH (carbonate hardness) tested to be extremely soft, with less than one degree of hardness.

See also: Carbon, Water, Carbonate, Fish, Aquarium