PH on African Chiclids

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Guerrero

Guerrero

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 10, 2015
73
5
8
35
NC, US.
I've read a lot about the PH issue with Discus and African, and tons of people say the same "If it's not a wild caught, your tab water is good". Every time I test mine is on the 6-7 range. I only have 3 fish and they're good. Should I raise my PH for a peacock and haps tank, also if I should I'm looking a permanent way to do it (no chemicals).

Also I'm running a Wet/Dry filter with bio ball where I'm planning to add some lava rock to the "wet" part for more bio media, I think that will raise the PH anyways?.

Thanks,
 
For Rift Lake cichlids I would raise the pH into a more reasonable range. Do you consider baking soda a chemical? And before proceeding I'd test KH which is a better indicator than pH.

If no chemicals includes baking soda then I'd keep fish more suited to pH=7.

Rock and substrate will not raise pH in general just because it does not dissolve fast enough. I have aragonite substrate and crushed coral in the filter and pH has not increased at all in 10 years.

It's more true to say ideally you would keep fish at the pH used by the seller. It's not too common to have a pH=7 IME. And my vendors keep the African Rift Lake cichlids, both tank raised and wild, at pH=8 whether they get that naturally from the tap or they treat with cichlid salts.

My pH from the tap is 7.8 and it works. But 7.0 and under is too low IMO. Are you using the high range pH test? Liquid, not strips?
 
DJRansome said:
For Rift Lake cichlids I would raise the pH into a more reasonable range. Do you consider baking soda a chemical? And before proceeding I'd test KH which is a better indicator than pH.

If no chemicals includes baking soda then I'd keep fish more suited to pH=7.

Rock and substrate will not raise pH in general just because it does not dissolve fast enough. I have aragonite substrate and crushed coral in the filter and pH has not increased at all in 10 years.

It's more true to say ideally you would keep fish at the pH used by the seller. It's not too common to have a pH=7 IME. And my vendors keep the African Rift Lake cichlids, both tank raised and wild, at pH=8 whether they get that naturally from the tap or they treat with cichlid salts.

My pH from the tap is 7.8 and it works. But 7.0 and under is too low IMO. Are you using the high range pH test? Liquid, not strips?
Click to expand...
Actually I'm using the strips, and I was looking for something like coral crush and stuff that I can just throw in the sump to buffer?
 
For me crushed coral did nothing (can't dissolve fast enough). Maybe Africans are not ideal for your tank.
 
Because you want to go natural and don't want to use baking soda.
 
I mean I don't mind using baking soda, just wanted to know if there was other way. I have BS, how much should I put? and how often ?
 
First test your KH to verify you need it.

Then work with a measured amount of water in a bucket...like 3G. Test, add 1t baking soda test again. Keep going until your KH is 4 drops. Then for a 75G multiply by 25 to get the full tank dose.

Do not change existing pH by more then 0.2 at any one time.

Then just treat the new water before a water change every week.
 
The african rift lakes range in PH but it is higher than your tap water will ever be. Seachem makes a full line of PH buffers that will help you keep the PH in control. Other than that, crushed coral or aragonite substrates may help keep it balanced at a higher range. Some ornamental rocks will have a similar effect such as texas holy rock.
 
Another "natural" and typically FAR less expensive option would be to use crushed oyster shell to buffer your water. It's proven to be even more effective than crushed coral, but it needs plenty of rinsing before initial use. You can purchase it in bulk at local feed stores, often sold as chicken grit. If my water was @ pH 7.0, that's all I would add and call it good. If you want to also increase your GH, buy some marine salt in bulk and add accordingly. These are both cheap options that won't break the bank.

I posted the following over a decade ago, and to date have yet to run into a single species of African cichlid that will not thrive in our local tap water.


If I was to 'attempt' to tweak my local tap water to get the exact same parameters as Lake Malawi I would need to do the following:

1. Raise the PH slightly
2. Lower the overall alkalinity
3. Lower the hardness
4. Lower the conductivity
5. Lower Calcium
5. Lower Carbonates
6. Raise Chloride
7. Lower Magnesium
8. Raise Potassium
10. Raise Sodium
11. Lower Sulfate

And perhaps the most important thing ........

12. Keep my nitrates at 0.


HTH
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wailua Boy
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom