Re: conductivity= water quality explained

[Brian Ahmer <ahmer.1@osu.edu>]

That's fine, but the KH measures the total carbonic acid and calcium 
carbonate in the system.  It doesn't only measure one form or the 
other.  So the statement that a "low KH means lots of carbonic acid" 
is incorrect.  Low KH means low levels of buffer (buffer being a 
combination of both species).  High KH means high levels of buffer. 
The form the buffer is currently in (for example, 90% of one and 10% 
of the other) will tell you the pH, but not the KH.  I totally 
believe you that you need low KH for successful spawning (you have 
tons more spawning experience than I do, for sure!) but to get a low 
KH means that you have to remove both components of the buffer.


> Actually Brian the pH buffer system uses only carbonic
> acid and Calcuim Carbonate to pull Carbon from. Though
> there are many forms of Carbon in the water, hey
> everything alive is carbon based, the actual pH
> equation pulls Carbon from Carbonic Acid and calcuim
> Carbonate only. If you recall your Basic Biology 101
> there is see saw effect between Carbonic acid and
> calcuim carbonate. They trade C back and forth. I am
> sure many forms of Carbon are present and contribute
> to the creation of the forementioned coumpounds but
> the actual C is taken from these two. The pH buffer
> system is a complicated subject however for the sake
> of our audience we should focus on the meat of it as
> it relates to fish breeding. For me this is a reading
> of 0 KH is essential to successfully spawning certain
> Apisto species.
>
>
>
> --- Brian Ahmer <ahmer.1@osu.edu> wrote:
> >  hey nice post on conductivity.  I just have one
> >  question, I think you
> >  made a boo-boo in one sentence.  Correct me if I'm
> >  wrong...
> >
> >
> >  >  KH is a measure of
> >  >carbonate hardness. It relates to the ability of
> >  the
> >  >system to maintain equilibrium of Carbon. A low KH
> >  >means lots of Carbonic acid in the system and thus
> >  a
> >  >tendency to have a low pH and the opposite is true
> >  of
> >  >a high KH.
> >  >
> >
> >
> >  I interpret your sentence "A low KH means lots of
> >  carbonic acid..."
> >  to mean that KH is measuring where the carbonates
> >  are in the
> >  equilibrium (for instance at the acidic pH they'll
> >  all be carbonic
> >  acid, so low KH).   Instead, I think KH measures
> >  total carbonates
> >  contributing to the equilibrium.  Doesn't matter
> >  whether they're all
> >  in the carbonic acid form or the basic form.  The
> >  total amount tells
> >  you how much buffering capacity you have.
> >  --
> >
> >  Brian Ahmer
> >  ahmer.1@osu.edu
> >  http://www.angelfire.com/or/biggestbri
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--

Brian Ahmer
ahmer.1@osu.edu
http://www.angelfire.com/or/biggestbri


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