i have hard well water with a ph of around 7.8/8.0... i'd like it to be a little higher for my africans ... i was looking into seachem ph buffer and/or seachem cichlid salts... anyone swear by these or think either or are needed... i'd prefer to use one if any, not both....
hard well water...
- Thread starter vdawgs22
- Start date
I have the same kind of water as you and keep my africans in a tank with crushed coral which keeps the ph at an 8.2 which I heard is ideal for africans... The buffers aren't good to use I hear... I was going to go that route too but my ph naturally went to an 8.2 just by using the crushed coral... hope that helps! I also use sea salt and keep my tank at a high salt level like .09 using a hydrometer I think it's called. Was told by the lfs that would bring their color out It seems to have worked. Good Luck what kind of cichlids do you have? R u trying to breed them? that will happen with the high ph if you have males and females...
You can also get whats called cichlid substrate the cichlids LOVE it and Like I said will bring the ph up NATURALLY!!! What do you have in there now? gravel? dont use driftwood either as it will lower the ph... Also you can make a tannic water using dried oak leaves you boil them and then use the water and that will raise ph and the fish thrive on it!!
absolutely... yes i have gravel in here now... they are young i dont wanna start taking out all the gravel and adding coral... u think i should just leave everything as is? or add some of those cichlid salts and stay away from the buffer... ive had cichlids for a long time and so has my father and we've never done anything to the water besides some stress coat and the occasional aquarium salt...but since im trying to breed them now i wanna make sure i do everything that is needed to get them reproducing effectively
Just get sea salt its cheaper and works better than the cichlid salts... as I said my ph somehow naturally has stayed at 8.2 even in my tank that has plain sand and I have a fry tank with gravel which is at 8.2 also I think it must be the salt bc Thats what they all share in common and they're all the same. I tested my well water seperately and it's only 7.4 so thats the only explanation I have for the high ph... You could aslo try that tannic water I'm telling you they love it!
Test your Kh that will tell you if your will need any buffers. I have to use both buffers and a product called wondershells which replenish minerals and electrolytes...Which makes my water hard. I have VERY soft water with absolutely no buffering abilities unless I use buffers and wondershells. I have to use these products on a weekly basis and my fish are happy and breeding regularly.
This is a great article that really explains things...
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumKH.html
This is a great article that really explains things...
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumKH.html