Tropic Marin KH-/Alkalinity-Test Professional

Tropic Marin's KH-/Alkalinity-Test Professional is a test for checking the carbonate hardness in freshwater and saltwater aquariums. The test contains all the necessary cuvettes, reagents and dosing syringes for carrying out the KH measurement precisely for approx. 50 applications. The reagents can be bought as refill packs after they have been used up.

What is carbonate hardness (KH)?

Carbonate hardness is one of the most important water parameters in an aquariums. It measures alkalinity, is an important acid buffer and ensures pH stability. As KH increases, so does the pH of the water. Since most water dwellers need stable water values for their healthy existence, the KH values in the water must be checked regularly!

This water value is given in degrees of German hardness (°dH). The optimum carbonate hardness in saltwater aquariums is between 6 and 9 °dH. In freshwater aquariums, the carbonate hardness should not be less than 3 °dH.

Instructions for use:

1. Shake the dropper bottle vigorously before use.
2. Rinse the glass cuvette first with tap water and then with aquarium water.
3. Fill the glass cuvette with 5 ml of aquarium water with the 5 ml dosing syringe.
4. Add 3 drops of Reagent A to the cuvette and gently swirl. The water sample now turns turquoise blue.
5. Attach the syringe tip to the 1 ml syringe and measure out 1 ml of reagent B.
6. Add the contents of the syringe (1 ml Reagent B) drop by drop to the water sample until the turquoise-blue solution turns pink - without a blue tinge. Don't forget to gently swirl the cuvette after each drop.
7. The number of drops of reagent B used multiplied by 10 gives the carbonate hardness in °dH. For example: If 0.28 ml remains in the syringe, 0.72 ml of reagent B has been used (subtract from 1 ml). 0.72 multiplied by 10 gives 7.2, ie the carbonate hardness in the aquarium water is 7.2 °dH.
8. With hard water over 10 °dH you can carry out the test with a 2.5 ml sample. Proceed in the same way as described above, but at the end multiply the value by 20.
9. Once you have measured the carbonate hardness, rinse the glass cuvette and syringes thoroughly with tap water.

Included:

• 1 x 10ml Reagent A
• 1 x 50ml Reagent B
• 1 x 10ml glass cuvette
• 1 x 5ml dosing syringe
• 1 x 1 ml dosing syringe with tip
• 1 x instruction manual

Our expert Oliver Knott recommends:

To increase carbonate hardness in saltwater aquariums, Tropic Marin recommends using Tropic Marin Triple Buffer or Tropic Marin Liquid Buffer. For freshwater aquariums, Tropic Marin Re-Mineral Tropic is particularly beneficial.