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Gh/Kh
Jan 29, 2009 15:40:20 GMT -5
Post by jonv on Jan 29, 2009 15:40:20 GMT -5
Carl you may have this in your articles, but I've often wondered, and since recently speaking with Barbara about maybe her taking some Paratilapia Polleni if I get them to spawn, that she doesn't have very soft water. The waters the Polleni are listed to do well in are pH's of 8.0-8.2 but soft water. How exactly do you get a pH that high, and stable at that range, but have softer water?
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Gh/Kh
Jan 29, 2009 15:59:58 GMT -5
Post by Carl on Jan 29, 2009 15:59:58 GMT -5
First of all I think the term "soft water" as it applies to aquarium fish is over rated, I had a friend that ran a professional Discus breeding operation with a GH over 100 ppm (generally higher). What is often missed is that even in Amazon waters many minerals with positive charges such as Calcium wash down river from high in the Andes, and these elements are constantly replenished which also improves Redox balance. I recommend to use a buffer such as Marine or Malawi Buffer and then use driftwood and/or products such as Bio Lif (Indian Almond Leaves) to act as an acid buffer. In nature this constant balancing of buffers is actually quite common as is the balacing of positive and negative Redox influences. See the GH section and Amazon River Water section in this article: Aquarium GH, Amazon River (soft) WaterCarl
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