# gh-kh help



## SteveC (Apr 25, 2013)

Hello
So I finally got my test kit in since my LFS has not Carried it
For a while. I tested my water and everything is good, but sure
How to read it.
It me 6 drops of each solution. That gives me 117 ppm.
Good? Bad?
I look on liveaquaria.com and says cichlids that I have require
10-15 kh.
I've had my cichlids for a month and they seem happy.
Sorry for long rant.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

which cichlids? kH is "german hardness" What you need is a hardness coversion chart like the one on wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_water

If I read this correctly you want to be up around 200 ppm to mimic the home lake. If it is something that's been in the hobby awhile like yellow labs, they should do fine as long as the pH stays over 7 and you keep the kH up around 100 ppm. If this is what your tap water is, you can do just fine by be vigilant about water changes. Or you can add dolomite in the filter or the substrate to give the kH an ongoing boost. Or you can add "cichlid salt" or a diy formula blend of baking soda, sea salt and epsom salt with every water change (not topoffs) this is what I'd do if I had wild-caught fish.


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## SteveC (Apr 25, 2013)

I have labs and peacocks and blue cobalt.
Thanks


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## Elliott225 (Jan 9, 2014)

When I had my Africans (Malawi), I added a couple pieces of limestone blocks that I picked up at the local nursery. That kept the alkaline up and added to the hardness of the water. I did supplement the tank with buffer whenever I did a big water change.


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