PH issues??

[Chago09]

ok as I understand Africans need to have a ph around 8.5 to survive correct??? what is the best way to get the ph there??? my tap water is aroun 7.0 so I need a lot of buffering and I don't really want to use chemicals. In salt water your substrate and salt mix is what keeps your ph up. How do you do it in fresh??

I was also planning on keeping Frontosa, how many can be kept in a 75 gallon and what would be the best filtration???

 

[number17Fan]

Most books will tell you that after you remove the chlorine from your tap water to leave it alone, because your fish will get used to it. Its change that matters most, as in no change.

I also have ph 7.0 water and have been conditioning it with over the counter materials for over a year and my fish are pretty happy in it, so I keep doing it.

For every 10 gals of water, I add 1.5 TBSP of baking soda, 3 TBSP of Epsum Salt and 2 TBSP of aqarium salt.

This keeps the water very hard (300ppm), high alkalinity (~180) and a ph of 8.4. I bought a bunch of test strips and tested by adding .5 TBSP at a time to a 10 gal tank.

 

[KABB44423]

ok as I understand Africans need to have a ph around 8.5 to survive correct??? what is the best way to get the ph there??? my tap water is aroun 7.0 so I need a lot of buffering and I don't really want to use chemicals. In salt water your substrate and salt mix is what keeps your ph up. How do you do it in fresh??

I was also planning on keeping Frontosa, how many can be kept in a 75 gallon and what would be the best filtration???

thats not true my africans(fronts) are good and my ph is at 7.5/////but aside from that it your tank and ur welcome 2 try what you want but another good way 2 raise ur ph is put some crushed coral or coral rocks in your tank take a look at my pics and you will se that i have coral rocks in my tank

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[id10t]

some crushed coral in a filter, as part of the substrate, etc. will help buffer it up naturally (and gradually). Fortunately, I'm on a well in N Fl so my tap water is nice and hard and buffered up already

 

[drdpc]

My tap water is around ph 5! I use limestone at the tank, so the ph ups to 8 -9! My fishes are very well, fronts also!

 

[PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn]

KABB44423 not the most obvious of mixes, deffinatly not 1 i'd think off, ;et allone try, hows it working out.

important stuff now. DO NOT just make the water that hard because its got to be like rock, know what your trying to achive.

i assume as you want to keep fronts then your going down a setup for tem (though imo a 75 isnt big enough, i would say a 5foot + is the minimum size)
in which case you will want to recreate tanganyika's waters. which are hard, however remember that lake malawi and victoria are much softer, and less alkaline.

however there is no target pH to aim for, rather a stable pH, Gh, and Kh are what should be aimed for
without knowing what the water out the tap is like i cannot help you with amounts needed to add to ensure the water is at the correct levels,

so Test you tap water pH, Gh and Kh,

remember they can addapt to a lower ph, Gh or Kh level, however a fluctuating one they cant.

 

[KABB44423]

KABB44423 not the most obvious of mixes, deffinatly not 1 i'd think off, ;et allone try, hows it working out.

important stuff now. DO NOT just make the water that hard because its got to be like rock, know what your trying to achive.

i assume as you want to keep fronts then your going down a setup for tem (though imo a 75 isnt big enough, i would say a 5foot + is the minimum size)
in which case you will want to recreate tanganyika's waters. which are hard, however remember that lake malawi and victoria are much softer, and less alkaline.

however there is no target pH to aim for, rather a stable pH, Gh, and Kh are what should be aimed for
without knowing what the water out the tap is like i cannot help you with amounts needed to add to ensure the water is at the correct levels,

so Test you tap water pH, Gh and Kh,

remember they can addapt to a lower ph, Gh or Kh level, however a fluctuating one they cant.

lol lots of people thatsee these pics see them in the same tank 2geather and say that but go figure they all get along as of now anyway every1 just makes way 4 the fronts but the fronts dont bother any1 they chase each other but no1 else ////is this a bad combo?????

 

[mike dunagan]

a bad combo is if one is being stressed or killing the other... otherwise it is all opinion. Some people like to keep speice tanks only, others like to keep lake tanks, other only mix certain types of fish... africans and africans.... others mixing it up like a 5 year old left over night in a candy store... It is up to you and what your fish like as company...

 

[parker21104]

Another good way to get it raised safely is to use baking soda. your ph will go down just because the good bacteria in your filters eats it I use in my 240 1tsp per 80 gallon water change.

 

[PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn]

Another good way to get it raised safely is to use baking soda. your ph will go down just because the good bacteria in your filters eats it I use in my 240 1tsp per 80 gallon water change.

let me clarrify what i ment from my earlier post.

DONT just add bicarb/epsom/salts juct because every1 sayd you need to buffer the water (etc etc)

KNOW what your water is, and then work out what levels you think are needed, then work out how much (if any) of the various substances you need to add

fwiw,
1ml/10l (1tsp/10g) of bicarbonate of soda will raise the Kh by 110ppm or aprox 6Kh
1ml/10 (1tsp/10g) of epsom salts will raise the Gh by 70ppm or aprox 4Gh

I personally havent added a calcium source (mainly due to not being able to find what i'm after, considering experimenting with calcium hydroxide (kalkwasser)) however I do have crushed coral in the filter as well as lots of calciferous decor on the tank

[edit]need to explain what parker21104 said. as the fish breathe and excrete they create ammoonia, etc etc, these organic compounds are acidic, and will slowly use up the buffering capability of the water, and therefore lead toward a decline in the pH.

again note the addvise above, adding bicarbonate may not be nessesary if you have enough buffering capacity (KH) allready, and carry out regular water changes, removing these organic wastes limiting their effect on the water. i would like to add that if your pH keeps dropping either you have a source of tannins/humic acid (bogwood/peat) or the tank needs a good clean to remove organic waste that has built up