Sudden Gh drops can be painful. Like you’re spending so much time with that tank of yours and all it takes is a few missing magnesium ions to ruin it.
However, using market Gh boosters have problems of their own. Like if one comes with inconsistent crystals, another comes with vague usage guidelines. So, to solve all these it’s better if you take things into your hands.
But how to make a DIY Gh Booster?
To make a Gh booster, get your hands on a few chemicals such as Magnesium Sulfate, Potassium Sulfate and Calcium Carbonate. The chemical solution needs to be mixed in a 1:3:3 ratio and boiled in adequate quantities. But before making Gh Booster you’ll need to test the Gh of your water.
But you can’t just make and pour these into the tank just like that. The usage and preparation come with their own scenarios. So, let’s boost right into the details –
Can You Make Gh Booster Yourself?
Now you’ve decided to make it at home. However, you may have some concerns. Perhaps you’re worried about the DIY Gh booster making process?
Yes, you can make Gh Boosters at home with readily available chemical compounds. Here is the list of the chemicals that you’ll need to make your own Gh booster-
| Image | Chemical Name | Function | Get it from Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|
  | Magnesium Sulphate (MgSO4) | Supplies Magnesium which is a core component of Chlorophyll and activates important enzymes | Buy from Amazon |
  | Potassium Sulphate (K2SO4) | Provides Potassium which increases immunity from fungal diseases and stabilizes plant growth | Buy from Amazon |
  | Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) | Enriched with Calcium which is important for crop development and responsible for structural growth of plants | Buy from Amazon |
You need to make a solution by mixing these chemicals. Their solution should be in a 1:3:3 ratio. Our advice will be to measure the chemicals you’re using twice and mix once. We also recommend wearing protective gear.
Do You Really Need Gh Booster?
You’ll need a Gh Booster to increase water hardness if your aquarium water is too soft. The Gh Booster will increase the Gh or general hardness and bring it to an acceptable level. Water hardness is an important issue since fish depend on water to survive. Fish may not live if the water hardness is too low or too high.
Signs That Fish Tank Needs Gh Booster
If you notice these signs you’ll understand that your aquarium requires a Gh Booster.
- Fish avoiding food
- Growth rate slowing
- lethargy or faded colors
So, you’ve noticed your fish or aquatic plants have the above-mentioned symptoms. Now, you want a remedy. Then, you’ll need to check the Gh of your water. Luckily, Gh can be checked easily using a store-bought Gh testing tool kit. Or you can get them without any hassle from Amazon.
| Image | Product Name | Function | Suitability | Buy Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
  | API Test Kit | Measures Gh and Kh | Designed for Freshwater | Buy Now |
  | Aqua Care Pro Test Strips | Measures Gh, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH, Kh and Chlorine. | Designed for aquarium and ponds | Buy Now |
  | API Test Strips | Measures Gh, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH and Kh. | Designed for both Freshwater and Saltwater | Buy Now |
How to Make Gh Booster at Home?
So, you are really planning on making your own Gh Booster. First, get your hands on some chemicals that we’ve mentioned earlier along with a microscale. So that you can ensure proper measurements are made.
Components Required
These components will be required to make Gh Booster at home.
- Magnesium Sulfate ( MgSO4)
- Potassium Sulfate ( K2SO4)
- Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3)
- Microscale
- Gh Testing Tool Kit
These products and chemicals can be bought easily online or at any supermarket. The chemicals mentioned aren’t highly flammable.
Phase 1: Preparation
You’ll need to first prepare for the process. Our advice is to try to follow the steps.
Step 1: Check Gh of Your Water
Use a Testing Tool Kit to test the Gh of water. Testing Tool Kits can be bought easily online or at any store that sells aquarium products. Here are our recommendations for the Gh Testing Tool Kit.
| Image | Product Name | Function | Suitability | Buy Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| API Test Kit | Measures Gh and Kh | Designed for Freshwater | Buy Now |
| Aqua Care Pro Test Strips | Measures Gh, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH, Kh and Chlorine. | Designed for aquarium and ponds | Buy Now |
| API Test Strips | Measures Gh, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH and Kh. | Designed for both Freshwater and Saltwater | Buy Now |
Step 2: Calculate the Aquarium Water Quantity
It’s necessary that you calculate the water quantity in the aquarium. Since you’ll need to know the proper quantity to apply the adequate amount of Gh Booster.
Step 3: Ensure the amount of Gh Booster required
We have created a table that explains how much Gh Booster will be required depending upon the existing Gh in water.
| Current Gh | Expected Gh | Purposes | Gh Increment (in degrees of hardness) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 -4 (Very Soft) | 4-8 | The current water is very soft. Making it unsuitable for certain types of fish you have. So you add Gh Booster in appropriate amounts. | 4 |
| 8-12 | 8 | ||
| 12-18 | 13 | ||
| 18-30 | 22 | ||
| 4-8 (Soft) | 8-12 | The water is soft. So tropical fish can’t thrive. You need to add Gh Booster to increase water hardness. | 4 |
| 12-18 | 8 | ||
| 18-30 | 13 |
Step 4: Evaluate the Optimum Gh for Marine Life
Gh has customarily measured in dGH (degrees of GH) and ppm. Here the water quality is also of importance. The ideal Gh for freshwater fish is 4-8 dGh. But some types of fish like tropical fish require 12-18 dGh to thrive. Want to know the best part? Aquatic plants aren’t negatively impacted by water hardness.
The process has been broken down into 4 steps for your ease. Try not to skip any steps. If you skip anything the Gh booster might not work adequately.
Plants
If your primary concern is your plants, you can rest easy. Since aquatic plants usually thrive at 4-8 Gh but don’t react badly to high Gh. However, if the Kh rises to the point that the pH exceeds 8.0, you can also add some crushed coral in your tank to keep the pH in check.
This happens because the water acidity becomes too high and iron decreases. The damage can be subsidized by replacing some of the aquarium water with distilled water.
Fishes
You’ll discover that different types of fish require different water hardness to thrive. For example, Freshwater fishes like Neon Tetra, Betta Fish, Golden Dwarf Barbs, etc thrive in soft water with 4-8 dGH. But here’s the kicker: certain kinds of fish require higher GH levels to thrive.
Phase 2: Making the Booster
When starting on making the booster you’ll need to follow the mentioned steps so you don’t make avoidable mistakes.
Step 1: Collect The Ingredients
As you already know what are the components we’ll need for a DIY Gh booster, here goes a chart of different sizes of the components-
| Component | Source Compound | Content | Fit for |
Magnesium | Magnesium Sulphate | 3.5g/tsp | Every 10 gallons of water |
| Potassium | Potassium Sulfate | 10.5g/3 tsp | Every 10 gallons of water |
| Calcium | Calcium Carbonate | 10.5g/3 tsp | Every 10 gallons of water |
Phase 3: Finalizing
You’ll need to mix them following a ratio of 1:3:3 in the order of Magnesium Sulphate, Potassium Sulfate, and Calcium Carbonate. Now, you have to distill the chemicals that have been collected. The chemicals after it’s distilled and has cooled down can be added to the aquarium.
Benefits of DIY Gh Booster
You’re probably wondering about the ingredients. How would they impact growth?
Magnesium Sulphate, Potassium Sulfate, and Calcium Carbonate are the primary constituents. Its primary function is to increase the hardness of the water. Aquatic animals can obtain calcium and magnesium from the water as well as their food. These nutrients contribute to the growth of the fish in the aquarium.
The optimal water hardness is determined by the fish in the aquarium tank. After you’ve calculated the amount of water in the tank and the level of hardness you want in your aquarium, you’ll need to add Gh Booster.
The proper Gh in the tank will let the fish thrive and stay healthy like the picture above. If the water in your tank is very soft, you should use Gh Booster. Since your fish require hard water to survive. This problem emerges when it comes to the more exotic fish types.
These types of fertilizer will also impact the growth of aquatic plants. Especially if you are facing issues with the growth of java moss plants. This fertilizer will help you out with that.
Cost
You know DIY Gh Booster is made using Magnesium Sulfate, Potassium Sulfate, and Calcium Carbonate. The chemicals would’ve got a total cost of around 30 USD/50 mg. which is much cheaper than store-bought Gh Booster.
Shelf Life
Just finished making a batch of Gh Booster. Now you’re wondering how long is the Gh Booster gonna last?
The Gh booster is gonna last for one-two month at most before going stale. The shelf life of a Gh booster depends mostly on the packaging and handling of the product. If you don’t correctly store the product it’s likely to get damaged.
Pet/Child Safety
Have small children or additional pets at home. They are highly likely to try to touch and taste items that are not safe for them. Since they don’t have the mental capacity to understand that such items are harmful to them.
Our recommendation? Keep the Gh Booster in a high enough closet and if possible keep it locked.
Smell
Worried about bad smells coming from your aquarium and stinking your home. Don’t want any guests to feel discomfort when they visit your home. Now, the question is revolving around your head, Will there be any bad smell?
So you made a batch of DIY Gh Booster. If you made it correctly then you will not find any bad odor. You’ll also not discover any bad smell from the aquarium after you add the Gh Booster to it. However, when applying fertilizer you should ensure not to apply in excess amounts. Otherwise, this will trigger algae growth due to excess nutrients.
Availability
The components used in DIY Gh Booster are easily available online. They are not highly regulated since they are not as dangerous as their source material. These components can be found in household items.
How to Lower Gh?
If for any reason your Gh becomes too high, you can lower it easily. For example, you have added too much Gh Booster or when changing Kh you inadvertently increased your Gh. Higher levels of Gh can be harmful to freshwater fishes.
Process 1: Reverse Osmosis or Deionized Water
You’ll need to add Reverse Osmosis or Deionized water to your aquarium. It will bring down the hardness of the water. The RO/DI water will dilute your aquarium water. Thus lowering the GH down to an optimum level. This might be an expensive option at first but the cost will come down gradually.
Process 2: Distilled Water
When water is distilled, it leaves behind salts and minerals, resulting in pure water. This water can be added to the aquarium water to bring down the Gh. To distill the water you will need to heat it until it turns to vapor.
The Gh booster can be lowered through two different processes. So, we have mentioned them both and how to do it.
Process 3: Using Grapewood
You can try using grape wood in your aquarium. Grapewood can be a great addition to lowering the hardness of your aquarium. Grape wood generally releases a huge amount of tannins. This will increase the acidity of the water and lower the Gh value.
FAQs
Have read through the entire article but are still confused about certain things? Don’t worry we’ve answered some of the common questions we’ve faced when dealing with Gh Boosters.
How Do I Increase Only the GH in My Planted Tank?
If you only want to boost GH but not KH, you must increase the specific ions for GH while avoiding ions that affect KH (carbonates and bicarbonates).
Does Aquarium Salt Increase Hardness?
Sometimes plain aquarium/tonic salt is recommended as a suitable technique to increase hardness and improve buffering. However, research has revealed that it rarely gives very little of either.
Can I Use Tap Water for Planted Tanks?
If a dechlorinator is used, tap water is acceptable for use in planted aquariums. Other water conditioners allow us to predetermine the desired water chemistry.
Bottom Line
DIY Gh Booster is a chemical solution made to increase Gh of water. Although you can buy the booster from most corporations. For most DIYers making it yourself carries a different satisfaction. We have covered all the information regarding Gh Booster.
Do you have any further thoughts? Let us know in the comments.