Tests showing more progress on cycle and still seems to be progressing as expected.
Now on this Kh Gh, and ph business. You have a soft water source without a lot of buffering, which is why you are seeing the variance from the tap. The good news is that it is easier to add something to help this than it is to deal with liquid rock hard water. One question before I continue, your water supply isn't being run through a water softener system is it? The reason being is that softened water is higher in total dissolved solids (tds) and missing minerals that both your fish and plants need.
Let me first reassure you, Fish don't pay much attention to gh or kh, and only slightly notice ph within reason. The more important measure for fish is tds, which is the total of all dissolved matter, which includes gh, but also includes organic matter you can't completely test for. Once your tank is cycled nitrate does a reasonable job of standing in for what you can't test for since as nitrate rises so does the other organics you can't test for. Anyway to finish the explanation fish deal with osmotic pressure, and tds affects that. One reason regular water changes are important is that it keeps tank tds closer to your source's so when you do change water the resultant lowering of tds in the tank is a small enough change that the fish can deal with it without stress.
Now normally most of your gh and kh readings are calcium and magnesium based, with rare exception. Both of these minerals are used by plants and livestock which is why your tank tests less than the tap tests. For the short term your frequent water changes restock the various minerals used by your growing plants. But once your tank is more stable it will be easier to "feed" your plants by adding the things they need to the water column. There are other systems of managing how plants are fed, but this linked method works.
http://www.barrreport.com/forum/bar...ndex/2938-ei-light-for-those-less-techy-folks
Ph 7 is neutral and ranges close to that are not much of an issue including your 6.4 reading. Now since your water is so soft you might be more comfortable getting something to buffer the ph, like that gh booster that link mentions, to slightly alkaline 7.2-7.6. But those numbers are just for example, if you later decide to get high tech and really go after growing plants you might be adding CO2 for a carbon source and the target level for that would drop your ph by one log, ie from 7.6 to 6.6 or 7.2 to 6.2 which is expected and no problem.
Here is a series of posts on water chemistry as relates to fish keeping. It could explain some of your test readings to you better than I am able to since the guy that wrote that is a chemist and I am not
.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?85207-Water-Chemistry
Now on this Kh Gh, and ph business. You have a soft water source without a lot of buffering, which is why you are seeing the variance from the tap. The good news is that it is easier to add something to help this than it is to deal with liquid rock hard water. One question before I continue, your water supply isn't being run through a water softener system is it? The reason being is that softened water is higher in total dissolved solids (tds) and missing minerals that both your fish and plants need.
Let me first reassure you, Fish don't pay much attention to gh or kh, and only slightly notice ph within reason. The more important measure for fish is tds, which is the total of all dissolved matter, which includes gh, but also includes organic matter you can't completely test for. Once your tank is cycled nitrate does a reasonable job of standing in for what you can't test for since as nitrate rises so does the other organics you can't test for. Anyway to finish the explanation fish deal with osmotic pressure, and tds affects that. One reason regular water changes are important is that it keeps tank tds closer to your source's so when you do change water the resultant lowering of tds in the tank is a small enough change that the fish can deal with it without stress.
Now normally most of your gh and kh readings are calcium and magnesium based, with rare exception. Both of these minerals are used by plants and livestock which is why your tank tests less than the tap tests. For the short term your frequent water changes restock the various minerals used by your growing plants. But once your tank is more stable it will be easier to "feed" your plants by adding the things they need to the water column. There are other systems of managing how plants are fed, but this linked method works.
http://www.barrreport.com/forum/bar...ndex/2938-ei-light-for-those-less-techy-folks
Ph 7 is neutral and ranges close to that are not much of an issue including your 6.4 reading. Now since your water is so soft you might be more comfortable getting something to buffer the ph, like that gh booster that link mentions, to slightly alkaline 7.2-7.6. But those numbers are just for example, if you later decide to get high tech and really go after growing plants you might be adding CO2 for a carbon source and the target level for that would drop your ph by one log, ie from 7.6 to 6.6 or 7.2 to 6.2 which is expected and no problem.
Here is a series of posts on water chemistry as relates to fish keeping. It could explain some of your test readings to you better than I am able to since the guy that wrote that is a chemist and I am not
.http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?85207-Water-Chemistry
