Hi all - first post, complete newby, please bear with!
My 7yo has been nagging for some guppies; seems like a good idea to me, teaching responsibility etc,etc. So, we’ve got this little tank (2 gal) with a couple of little plants, and plan to have 2-3 fish. We’ve read everything we can get our hands on but I don’t know if I’m overthinking this...
My question is regarding KH and PH.
I understand that for guppies we need a stable PH of somewhere between 6.8-7.8. I also understand that KH helps to stabilise this, and have read that this needs to be between 6-11.
We’ve had the tank set up for about 2 weeks. Long story short, PH started at 6, took out bogwood and replaced with calcium stone (as advised by local shop), PH climbed to 7.2 by the following day and has pretty much stayed there for the last week - it’s either 7.1 or 7.2 depending on the time of day we test.
My question is about KH which has stayed at a steady 2. This appears to be too low to keep the PH stable, yet the PH seems to be stable anyway. So, do I really need to worry about the KH and try to raise it? GH (if relevant) is a steady 6.
Bless my 7yo, he’s desperate to put fish in the tank and has been ever so good with daily testing and patiently waiting for everything to be right - I don’t want to keep him waiting for longer than necessary if I’m worrying over nothing.
As an aside - nitrogen cycle... Ammonia to 0, NO2 up, NO2 down, NO3 up, water change, then fish - is that correct?
Any advice gratefully received, but please go easy with me - I’m very new to all this!
My 7yo has been nagging for some guppies; seems like a good idea to me, teaching responsibility etc,etc. So, we’ve got this little tank (2 gal) with a couple of little plants, and plan to have 2-3 fish. We’ve read everything we can get our hands on but I don’t know if I’m overthinking this...
My question is regarding KH and PH.
I understand that for guppies we need a stable PH of somewhere between 6.8-7.8. I also understand that KH helps to stabilise this, and have read that this needs to be between 6-11.
We’ve had the tank set up for about 2 weeks. Long story short, PH started at 6, took out bogwood and replaced with calcium stone (as advised by local shop), PH climbed to 7.2 by the following day and has pretty much stayed there for the last week - it’s either 7.1 or 7.2 depending on the time of day we test.
My question is about KH which has stayed at a steady 2. This appears to be too low to keep the PH stable, yet the PH seems to be stable anyway. So, do I really need to worry about the KH and try to raise it? GH (if relevant) is a steady 6.
Bless my 7yo, he’s desperate to put fish in the tank and has been ever so good with daily testing and patiently waiting for everything to be right - I don’t want to keep him waiting for longer than necessary if I’m worrying over nothing.
As an aside - nitrogen cycle... Ammonia to 0, NO2 up, NO2 down, NO3 up, water change, then fish - is that correct?
Any advice gratefully received, but please go easy with me - I’m very new to all this!