Maintaining proper pH

[LiveCulture]

i have a couple cichlids and to my knowledge the pH should be up around 8. the water in my tap is about 7.4. i would like to know how to keep my water around 8 without using chemicals. thatnks matt

 

[dr_sudz]

limestone or live rock converted to fresh water will maintain a ph of 8.2ish

 

[LiveCulture]

could i crush up lime stone and mix it into my gravel ?

 

[dr_sudz]

you could do that or you could by aragonite and use that as a ground cover or mix with what you have. It will do all the same thing.

 

[LiveCulture]

how much aragonite or lime would i need to raise per gallon?

 

[lateraldisposition]

I'm guessing u have gravel?? U could just take it out and use either arginite or gravel and u might not even have to use neutral . It don't have to be right at eight either I go 7.6 to 7.8 for my mbunas I use argonite with neutral and that what mine stays but u don't want chemicals so sand or argonite and ur water I'm pretty sure would be just fine

 

[LiveCulture]

how about putting some limestone in my filters to disperse evenly

 

[Lupin]

Other alternatives include crushed corals, crushed oyster shells, marble chips and plaster of Paris blocks.

 

[LiveCulture]

thanks...sounds good

 

[devder1]

you can use a buffer too
theres a good mbuna 1 that is like 1 cup aquarium salt, 1 cup baking soda, and 1 cup epsom salt, (find it online dont take it from me and kill ur fish! )
that and crushed coral sand always worked well for me