I've had my tank up and running since June (about three months.) I have a few promblems.

1. My water is and has always been really hard (high kH I think.) How can I lower this?

2. My pH is high (8.0) how can I lower this?

3. I have a growing algae promblem. How can I get rid of this?

My tank is fully cycled and is a ten gallon. Has one 2.5" Ryukin, 5 White Cloud Minnows and a Black mystery snail.

If you need more info just mention it. Thanks, you guys rock!!!

Ph at 8 is fine as long as it's stable.You wouldn't want to mess with it...just make sure that you don't have ammonia in your tank since ammonia is more toxic with a high PH.As for the algae,what I do is scrape it off with a sponge before a water change.What kind of algae do you have?

I don't really know. What types are there?

I know of green and brown. I have plenty of brown algae, that when left untouched can eventually turn into green algae.

I have a 10 gallon also; been set up since July 4 (about same time as yours). My brown algae developed shortly after the tank cycled. Like coyote ugly said, I scrape mine off w/a sponge before a water change.

First I have to make the assumption you are using tapwater for your water
changes??

If so:

1. Go to your local walmart or grocery store and buy distilled water. Distilled water is essentially dead water its KH and GH will be zero. pH will be fairly low because of this. Take about 1 gallon or 10 percent of water out of your tank. Fill the tank back up with the distilled water, top off the tank with your tapwater (or whatever water source you have been previously using).

Continue doing this on a weekly basis and eventually you will start to see a drop in your KH and GH. Let the tank run for about an hour (assuming you use a filter???) after you do your water change and see if it had any affect on your values. (theoretically you should see a ten percent drop in these values).

Once you reach a desired level of KH and GH values you have to lessen your use of distilled water or the levels will continue to drop. Try mixing distilled water to your current water source at a 2:1 ratio and test it for GH,KH, and pH. If you like those levels you can use that ratio in your water changes and you should be able to maintain those levels. If they are too high increase the amount of distilled water. If they are too low decrease the amount of distilled water.

I hope that wasn't to confusing. It seems really complicated but it worked for me on two different tanks.

Don't let your KH get below 3 degrees KH (or 55 ppm) or you could experience drastic pH swings. A low GH is not beneficial to your snail, it uses the magnesium and calcium measured in GH to help build its shell. (I like to use vacation fish feeders to supplement my mystery snails calcium) So keep an eye on the GH level and watch your snail for signs of shell rot.

2. pH will drop according to your KH values. low KH = low pH. It may take some time but it will get there I promise

Do not use any of the store bought pH adjusters as they use phosphates and phosphates will only add to your algae problem.

3. If you do not have any live plants in your tank find an algicide that is not harmful to snails and that should take care of your algae problems. If you are using live plants let me know and I'll post some ideas.

Brown algae (aka diatoms) is very common in newly cycled tanks due to high silicate levels. Given some time all the silicate will be used up and the brown algae/diatoms will perish.

I have a planted 29 gallon tank that I used this method on. I tested it on the previous home of my goldfish (a 10 gallon) with lots of success. So I applied it to the 29 gallon and it worked well also.

My reading out of the tap were:

pH = 8
KH = 25 degrees
GH = 28 degrees

My readings after using the distilled water method described above (10 gallon)

pH = 7.2
KH = 5
GH = 12

My current readings on my 29 gallon

pH = 7.4
KH = 7
GH = 8

I use a ratio of 2:1 distilled to tapwater to maintain these levels and anytime I monitor a low KH I add 1/4 tblsp of baking soda. As mentioned previously I keep my snails in good health by giving them a small vacation feeder to provide them with the calcium they need.

Please let me know if you need any clarifications.

Hey all I forgot to mention that peat can be used to soften and acidify water. The results on this method are very mixed although many have found success using peat for many years!!

"Some aquarist use peat to soften water. It can turn the water a yellow or brown color but this is easily removed with carbon in your filter. The peat can be allowed to soak in water you intend to add to your tank, put in a filter bag and dropped in your filter, or set in a corner of your tank and allowed to dissipate into your water"

Kevin