chemicals

[thebuddy]

I'm not sure if this is a good place to put this but can anyone think of a good book that explains the chemicals in our aquariums. Currently I understand ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. All I understand in PH and hardness is that its very low in my RO water and a little high in my tap. But i still have figured out why there low or high or how to adjust it.
For instance i added in the recommended dose of a chemical in my aquarium to raise hardness but my hardness shot up far more then it should have and i still don't know why.

If a mod/admin (i still don't know the difference) decides this isn't in the right place and there is a more appropriate place please move it.


PS i just got a spell checker from google did it work well?

[McEve]

If a mod/admin (i still don't know the difference)

Check out the menu item called FAQ. Here's a direct link too

http://www.zebrapleco.com/forum/faq.php

[Raul-7]

Here's some articles that should explain the whole concept, but beware - some are more techincal than others. Great post BTW, you're slowly getting better at posting.

Start with (this should give the basic idea):
http://www.drhelm.com/aquarium/chemistry.html

Next (really good article):
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8112.asp

Thirdly:
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/CO2/khgh.html

Last (highly technical - skip if you cannot understand):
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/gh_kh_ph.php

You do not need to read all of them, it's just the more articles you read the more you will be able to grasp the subject.

[thebuddy]

The main problem is once people get into technical stuff i don't know enough to understand is this because I'm 13 or because i haven't read something I should.

PS i love this spell check