Green Terror, Salvini, and Firemouth with high ph?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo

cjam93

Gambusia
MFK Member
Sep 20, 2015
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Hey guys so my tap water is very high in ph. I am not sure exactly how high, because it goes off the test kit that I have for it. It is dark blue when I test it. Im guessing 8-8.5. So I had a friend tell me to use neutral regulator once a week with my water changes to bring the ph down to 7.0. However I am being told now that I should not do that because the TDS would be more harmful to the cichlids than the high ph would be. I just need some more opinions on what the correct thing to do would be? I unfortunately do not have access to RO/DI water. thanks!
 
All those fish are quite at home in hard water.
Even the green terrors in the wild will encounter a very wide and sometimes high ph.
I wouldn't start messing.
Consistency is key.
 
You'll be fine.

All those fish are quite at home in hard water.
Even the green terrors in the wild will encounter a very wide and sometimes high ph.
I wouldn't start messing.
Consistency is key.

Ok thanks guys, so I have been using the neutral regulator in that tank for a while, but the cichlids are relatively new to the tank. Should I just stop using the neutral regulator from here on out, or should I keep using it since I have been to try for consistency?
 
Nope. Keep the water clean and don't feed them crap.
 
Many Central American and Mexican species come from lime stone aquifer waters that are similar in pH to your tap. The idea that all Central Americans need soft water is a total fallacy.
Even the Green Terror comes from waters that flow west of the Andes, and not the soft Amazonian waters most people think of when they consider the water in South America.
It is a very large continent with many different water parameters, and temperature zones.
Even where I used to live in the US midwest, Lake Michigan water is almost identical in pH to the African rift lakes, the only real difference is temp.
Here in Panama, the pH of Lake Gatun has been measured as high as 9.5.
 
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