yellowlab said:
shouldn't make much of a difference unless your water is really soft/acidic or your fish are wild caught
In my particular case our local tapwaters are very soft and acidic with a tap PH of aprox -6.0PH, 1'/17.9ppm dKH or less and 2'/35.8ppm dGH. When in the aquarium the KH was insufficient to hold a steady PH and it would plumment to -5.0PH...
I mean it was off the lower end of the scale and incredibly acidic :rant2:
It was sooooooooo acidic it was killing off nitrifying bacteria, this led to a rollercoaster ride of ammonia spikes and mini-cycles. It took us awhile to figure out exactly what was happening and address the issue.
Our solution was to add bagged CC to our filters and later supplement that with ProperPH 7.0. After a couple of months monitoring PH, KH and GH levels with only CC so as to ascertain the needed amount, we then added the ProperPH7.0 for good measure. We attained a steady average of 7.-7.5PH, 2-3'/17.9-35.8ppm dKH and 4-6'/71.6-107.4ppm dGH.
We then recycled our tanks and haven't had a problem to date, over a year now and counting!
The amount of CC necessary to achieve desired results will depend on your particular water chemistry, start with small amounts, monitor closely and be patient...
It can take a week+ to see any results and a month+ for the results to level off and maintain a steady average test result.
Water chemistry is not something to be messed with lightly, it can lead to nightmares.