Water Tests Driving Me Mad

[WrittenLyric]

Hi Guys,
Hoping someone can give me some information regarding regulating the kh levels in my tank. I have a 10 gallon and it's been up for a little over a month now with no problems whatsoever. Initially I didn't use many products to regulate the water, because all the readings were always "ideal". I have recently started using a water conditioner, as to insure the water was ok for my finned friends. I experienced a small spike in the ammonia levels and purchased some ACE to combat it (along with a water change of course).

Since then I have been getting wacky readings. For instance:
Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0
GH: 75
KH: 0 (!!!)
PH: 6.2

I am using dip tests, I know I should cough up the extra cash and get the Master Liquid kit - any suggestions on that? Also how can I attack this water level issue? :read:

 

[liv2padl]

well, the first thing i'd do is be sure of your readings by getting a liquid test. then i'd add some crushed coral to your filter to increase the buffer capacity and pH. that 'should' stabilize things.

 

[echoofformless]

Which conditioner are you using? Some of them will give a false positive ammonia reading.

Dip tests are basically crap. Wait until you're using a quality liquid test kit to be sure of the results.

Also test your tap water so you know what the source is vs. your tank.

And as far as KH goes, it only acts as a buffer to make sure your pH remains stable. But if you're doing consistent water changes and you aren't playing with the chemistry (which you shouldn't anyway) then your tank is going to be relatively close to the source water in general.

Another question - what sort of fishes live in the tank? If they're species who prefer soft, acid water (which is actually the majority of common aquarium fish aside from livebearers, african cichlids and cold water species, et. al) then your water is actually ideal for them and I wouldn't even worry about any bullseye 7.0 nonsense.

 

[WrittenLyric]

The conditioner is Tetra AquaSafe.

I currently have 3 albino danios, 3 rosy barbs, and 2 serpae tetras.

I'm planning on running to the lfs tomorrow afternoon to purchase the liquid test kit. Hopefully the readings will be much clearer with those and I can get a better idea of where I'm at. I should have just skipped the ACE altogether, stuck with the water changes to address the ammonia spike...but I guess we all have to start somewhere, and thus far my fish are content and swimming carefree amongst themselves.

*Edit:
About the crushed coral..if and when I see if it's needed, I can just put it behind the filter cartridge? Or should this be kept in a stocking or pouch?

 

[plah831]

you can put it anywhere. the two places you list work well, and some people just mix it in with their gravel, too. some folks with snails and soft water also just put a cuttlebone in their water and let it dissolve! when the water reaches a certain hardness and pH, the stuff just stops dissolving on its own. pretty neat!

i think crushed coral works the same way, it will dissolve to a certain point until some ideal equilibrium is reached. don't know from firsthand experience, though, as I am "blessed" with hard and alkaline water