New to Africans....
- Thread starter BrandonJ
- Start date
Lovelly set up mate.
You seen to be doing great at the moment.
I would completely disagree with the carbon comment above though..
Carbon takes metals and excess nutrients out of water, which is a good thing, especially in a tank with a high ph.. Carbon also polishes water for a crystal clear tank.
I my filters (i have 3 2000ltr per hour externals) I have 1 packed with just Matrix, 1 with course foam pads and ceramic tubes, and the 3rd has carbon, course and fine pads.
I have had them running like this for years, and my tank is sparkly clean!!
With regards to buffering your ph, instead of the rip-off cichlid elements and aquarium salt (you do need salts, whatever other people say)
you can use bicarb of soda and epsom salts.
The bicarb raises ph, and epsom salts provide buffering, and trace elements.
I have always used these and my fish are thriving.
Good luck mate, Im sure your going to have a lovelly tank when your finished.
You seen to be doing great at the moment.
I would completely disagree with the carbon comment above though..
Carbon takes metals and excess nutrients out of water, which is a good thing, especially in a tank with a high ph.. Carbon also polishes water for a crystal clear tank.
I my filters (i have 3 2000ltr per hour externals) I have 1 packed with just Matrix, 1 with course foam pads and ceramic tubes, and the 3rd has carbon, course and fine pads.
I have had them running like this for years, and my tank is sparkly clean!!
With regards to buffering your ph, instead of the rip-off cichlid elements and aquarium salt (you do need salts, whatever other people say)
you can use bicarb of soda and epsom salts.
The bicarb raises ph, and epsom salts provide buffering, and trace elements.
I have always used these and my fish are thriving.
Good luck mate, Im sure your going to have a lovelly tank when your finished.
torbayguy;3899210; said:
I have used salts and buffers and all that crap, and I haven't. My wild fish spawn like mad without any of that stuff. If my water came out of the tap @ 6, then by all means, buffering is probably a good idea. Even wild trophs will spawn in water around 7.2ph. The bottom line is do whatever you feel comfortable with, but IMO it's a waste of time and money. You don't NEED to use salts, but you're not gonna hurt anything by experimenting with it.
And while I'm at it....i disagree about the carbon too! Purigen removes excess nutrients far more than carbon!
This is the cool thing about fish keeping. More than one way to skin a cat. I prefer to KISS....keep it simple stupid.
Well I disagree with you on that one Im afraid.
Firstly the water comes out of my tap at 5.2ish, so I have to use all that 'crap'.
I have kept Rift at 7.4 ph and yes they are fine, however, at 8 - 8.2 they are much more vibrant, the colours are brighter, the fish are more active, and they spawn more than at lower 7's.
Tangs need a very high ph, so 7.2 is way to low.
The salts add more than buffering capacity alone. They also aid the immune system of the fish, and keep them more disease resistant.
Epsom salts also make fish poo more, which helps keep the dreaded bloat at bay, and stops the fish becoming fat and lathargic.
Bicarb is a perfect choice for raising ph for a couple of reasons.
Firstly its cheap and readily available, secondly, it doesnt matter how much you add, it will NEVER raise the ph over 8.4.
Onto purigen...
Purigen was originally intended for reef fish, where purity is essential, however, for some reason Americans it seems, like to use it in Malawi set ups (I say American, because it is only on this forum I have seem people mention they use it)
Purigen takes to much out of the water for it to be used long term.
After a month of continuous use it effectively makes the water sterile, removing most trace elements, and starving the fish of many needed vitimins. which of course is why it is ok for marines, as many suppliments must be used for a healthy tank.
Carbon is much less corse, although it still removes alot, it doesnt remove the ESSENTIAL trace elements, and the trace elements it does remove, are replaced by the epsom salts at water change time!
If what you are comfortable with, is keeping fish in the wrong conditions, then you should change your tank inhabitants to a more suitable specimen, after all, keeping fish in unsuitable conditions due to your own short comings is cruel.
Firstly the water comes out of my tap at 5.2ish, so I have to use all that 'crap'.
I have kept Rift at 7.4 ph and yes they are fine, however, at 8 - 8.2 they are much more vibrant, the colours are brighter, the fish are more active, and they spawn more than at lower 7's.
Tangs need a very high ph, so 7.2 is way to low.
The salts add more than buffering capacity alone. They also aid the immune system of the fish, and keep them more disease resistant.
Epsom salts also make fish poo more, which helps keep the dreaded bloat at bay, and stops the fish becoming fat and lathargic.
Bicarb is a perfect choice for raising ph for a couple of reasons.
Firstly its cheap and readily available, secondly, it doesnt matter how much you add, it will NEVER raise the ph over 8.4.
Onto purigen...
Purigen was originally intended for reef fish, where purity is essential, however, for some reason Americans it seems, like to use it in Malawi set ups (I say American, because it is only on this forum I have seem people mention they use it)
Purigen takes to much out of the water for it to be used long term.
After a month of continuous use it effectively makes the water sterile, removing most trace elements, and starving the fish of many needed vitimins. which of course is why it is ok for marines, as many suppliments must be used for a healthy tank.
Carbon is much less corse, although it still removes alot, it doesnt remove the ESSENTIAL trace elements, and the trace elements it does remove, are replaced by the epsom salts at water change time!
If what you are comfortable with, is keeping fish in the wrong conditions, then you should change your tank inhabitants to a more suitable specimen, after all, keeping fish in unsuitable conditions due to your own short comings is cruel.
I appreciate all the info guys. By using some carbon and some bio I was trying to diversify the types of filtration for the tank. I think I will experiment with some of the ideas you guys have given and see what works best for me. I am sure you have all tried different things that lead you to these conclusions. I was wondering how much room I have to add stock to this tank. I was thinking of trying to find a male and a female comp or calvus pair. From there I am not sure what else I would add or if I would have room to add. Any ideas??
Hiya mate.
I cant really say much on Tangs, as I have always been a Malawi guy, and I wouldnt want to give bad or inacurate advice...
I cant really say much on Tangs, as I have always been a Malawi guy, and I wouldnt want to give bad or inacurate advice...
Yeah the tangs are fairly hard to find around here. I have been to 6 or 7 stores in the area just to get the fish I have.
