Product Description
NT Labs Marine Lab Carbonate Hardness Test Kit 35 Tests
What is KH?
KH, or carbonate hardness, describes the pH buffering capability of water. Water with the correct KH will resist changes to the pH, ensuring a stable environment for your aquarium’s inhabitants. KH measures the concentration of carbonates and bicarbonates dissolved in the water which provide the pH-stabilising effect. In a reef aquarium, these are also an essential component for reef-building corals and other invertebrates with calcium-based exoskeletons.
Why test for KH?
As marine water ages, acidic processes in the aquarium consume the KH causing it to decrease. Furthermore, many marine invertebrates assimilate carbonates removing them from the water column. If the KH becomes too low, the pH of the water is at risk of significant fluctuations. It is these changes that cause stress to fish and make them more susceptible to disease. The KH should be tested frequently to ensure that it remains at the correct level to provide a stable environment for your aquarium’s inhabitants.
What is the correct level of KH?
In natural seawater, the dissolved carbonate hardness is normally 7 dKH (or °KH), but you may wish to maintain a level between 7 and 14 dKH depending on your method of running the aquarium.
What to do if the KH level is wrong?
If your KH is low in your aquarium, use Marine Buffer Powder to safely increase the KH up to the desired level. Monitor the KH frequently to determine how quickly the KH decreases over the period of a week and adjust to frequency of water changes or addition of buffer to maintain a stable KH. If the KH in your aquarium is high, a water change with a good quality salt will help reduce the KH, but changes to KH should be carried out slowly to avoid stressing the inhabitants.
Product Features:
- Easy to use
- Fast & accurate results
- Tests for Carbonate Hardness
- Contains 40 Tests
How to use:
- Add 5 ml of water to be tested into the titration vessel provided.
- Draw up 1 ml of KH reagent so that the bottom of the plunger is at the 1.0 ml mark. It is normal for there to be an air bubble below the plunger and this does not need to be removed.
- Slowly dispense from the syringe into the titration vessel while swirling to ensure proper mixing.
- Keep dispensing from the syringe. Slow down when the colour of the solution changes from blue to green
- Stop dispensing from the syringe when the solution changes to yellow without a hint of blue/green.
- Read the syringe, noting the value indicated by the bottom of the plunger (not the level of the liquid). Look up this value on the chart to determine the KH in dKH.
- If the colour changes to yellow at a syringe reading greater than 0.4, the KH will be less than 6 and requires increasing.
Technical details:
Item Form: Water Test Kit
Purpose: Carbonate Hardness
Size: 35 Tests
Ideal Pet: Fish
Ideal Breed: All breeds
Pet life stage: All life stage