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Water parameters for tangs?

chris_todd

Members
So I was at Charlie's house the other day picking up an air pump and saw his comps, and was struck by a sudden case of desire. :) So I began researching comps and calvus, and ordered Ad's "Back to Nature Guide to Tangs" (I have and love the Malawi version of this book), which should arrive tomorrow.

But in my research so far, I'm finding wildly conflicting information on water parameters for keeping tangs, so I thought I'd throw this question out to the local tang experts:

What water parameters do you use in your Tang tanks (pH, hardness, temp)?
Do you do anything to modify the pH or hardness (e.g., buffers or crushed coral or the like)?
 

iamzrad

Members
I've really only kept Tropheus and shell dwellers. I use aragonite as the substrate and that's about it. Water temp is usually 75F.
And Prime with waterchanges (tap water).

Isn't there a saying, the more you know about fish, the less you have to worry about fish.
 

minifoot77

Members
i use crushed coral in my box filters along with prime in my tap water. i try to keep all my tanks at 80 degrees....
 

Charlutz

Members
Baking soda added during water changes to keep ph and kh up. Used to add epsom salt and marine salt to keep up the gh, but stopped a few years ago. It winds up putting the ph around 8.2 and the kh around 17. Gh is maybe 5, but I haven't tested in years. Otherwise, straight tap water. Some of the tanks have aragonite eco complete sand, but the baking soda does most of the work. A big bag is 5 or 6 bucks at costco. Temps are 72-77. They are not demanding, but two males can be a problem. Otherwise, 1 female or a harem. Either will work.
 

longstocking

Members
I use the same methods as Charlie :) Tap water, banking soda and dechlor..... sand and a handful or two of crushed coral. Granit/lime stone rocks.

The only thing I do slightly different is keep my temp a bit higher than Charlie.... about 76-78. Fry I keep higher... about 80.
 

chris_todd

Members
Thanks for the info, everyone! It's always good to get people's personal experiences to validate the info you get through other sources. Tangs don't seem so scary now. :)

Quick (possibly stupid) question about using baking soda, though: May I safely assume you pre-mix it with de-chlor'd tap water in a separate container, check the pH (and perhaps the KH), and only then transfer it to the tank during a water change? Or can you actually just put it directly into the fish tank?

And I've heard that tangs can be somewhat sensitive to water parameter changes (that probably varies by species or genus, so maybe it's inaccurate to lump all tangs together). I usually do 50% WCs on all my tanks weekly. Would that be OK, or do you do smaller but more frequent changes?
 

longstocking

Members
I do 50% or more on all my tangs... although, young calvus/comps .... under 1.5 can be a bit sensitive to water changes. Maybe do smaller water changes if you get young ones.

I add the baking soda directly to the tank.
 

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
Chris - I do the same as Sarah and Charlie (learned it from them I think). Crushed coral mixed with 3M or pool filter sand. 1 TBS per 10 gal baking soda. I do 50%+ water changes weekly and add Prime and the baking soda directly to the tank as I'm pythoning water in.

Which kind of Altolamps you interested in?
 

neut

Members
Always kept mine at 7.4-7.6 ph, moderate hardness (currently 12-14) and temps typically 75-78 (depending on tank). Primarily has included various julies, neolamps, and two or three types of fronts. I haven't found they need anything special beyond common sense fishkeeping, like keeping water clean and consistent, quality diet, don't overfeed, etc.

What to add to your water all depends on the water you start with. In my case I use baking soda to raise and buffer ph from 6.6 out of the tap to 7.6 (and small amount of epsom salt in my front tank). I also have Eco Complete cichlid sand. Baking soda is added directly to the tank, progressively as water fills up, with at least one final ph test to make sure I've got it right.

Other than the addition of a little epsom salt to my Kapampa tank (judging from their color, they like it), I've done pretty much the same with all my Africans for many years with no problems, plenty of breeding, and fish living long lives.
 

Charlutz

Members
I do water changes of about 30% and add the baking soda directly to the tank, usually under the fill hose to help it dissolve. Every once in a while, the fish shimmy a bit during the fill, so I know they sense the change, but it doesn't appear to bother them. I've read online that you can't overbuffer with baking soda. It just hits 8.4 ph and 18kh and that's it. I know I cut back my addition of 2 cups of baking soda to my 210g down to 1/2 cup and the water parameters stayed the same, so the "can't overbuffer" theory seems to be true.
 

chris_todd

Members
Thanks for all the great information and perspectives, everyone, that really helps me!

Hopefully I'll be able to setup a tang tank before the ACA convention, or convert one of my existing tanks to a tang tank...
 

longstocking

Members
ok.. I have had slightly different experiences with " over " doing it.

Your ph can't go above 8.2-84 .... BUT I have noticed on my kh readings it can go through the roof if you don't watch it. I can't remember exactly what it was but I want to say 25+ .. which is way too high for tangs and they show horrible color that high. You want to stay around 15-18 kh ....


Tap water around my area is 3-5 kh.... so you really have to over do it... but I have lololol
 

Charlutz

Members
ok.. I have had slightly different experiences with " over " doing it.

Your ph can't go above 8.2-84 .... BUT I have noticed on my kh readings it can go through the roof if you don't watch it. I can't remember exactly what it was but I want to say 25+ .. which is way too high for tangs and they show horrible color that high. You want to stay around 15-18 kh ....


Tap water around my area is 3-5 kh.... so you really have to over do it... but I have lololol

That sounds right. <clears cobwebs> You can't raise the ph too high, but you could potentially get too high of a kh.
 
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