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First cichlid tank

S

Suunsu

Members
Greetings all,

I have gotten my 150gal up and running. I have added a liquid Bio start. The tank has been cycling for 4 days. All pther peramiters are good.

My problem is with water hardness. Here is what I get using the API master test kit.

KH = 3-6ppm
GH = 8-12ppm

Here is where I am having a problem....
Ph bottle 1 gives me a very dark blue.

High PH gives me barely 7.4 with a very week brown.

Please help me figure out what I have and to fix it if needed.

Rich
 
MarkK

MarkK

CCA Members
Unless you are starting with very soft water, you could probably dispense with the hardness testing and just Seachem Cichlid Lake Salt following the directions for Lake Malawi and Seachem Malawi/Victoria buffer if pH is a concern.
 
Reed

Reed

Very Fishe
What kind of substrate are you using. Cichlid sand or crushed coral will raise and buffer your water
 
Tangcollector

Tangcollector

Active Member
Staff member
I have used cichlid sand with good success. I use seachem buffer and salts.
I have Tanganyikans so I use the tang buffer. I mix the cichlid sand with black sand to darken it up a bit. My PH stays at 8.4 all the time. I like the buffer and salts because I can premix it and do larger water changes and have the water I put in identical to what comes out and thus no shock to the fish. I agree with Adam that stability is as important as an exact number. Texas holey rock will also assist you in water stability. Good Luck
 
npbarca

npbarca

Members
All my peacock, mbuna, and hap tanks have a pH of 7.8, coming straight out of the tap. I don't add any buffers, and as long as the fish aren't wild, any pH above 7 should be fine.
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
dogofwar said:
180 lbs of sand in a 120g tank is a lot.

Matt
Click to expand...

Agreed. That may actually hurt you in the end. Deep sand beds have a tendency to go anoxic, which causes all sorts of long term problems. Two inches across the bottom of the tank should be all you need.

Good luck.
 
jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
180 pounds in a 150 still seems heavy. I have 100 pounds in my 180 (6" wider than your tank) and while the sand may not be a consistent depth, it is plenty to cover the tank. Plus, my fish dig a lot and move the sand around. If a bare spot shows up, I just cover it up at the next water change.
 
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