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African Salts And Crazy Water

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cyradis4

Members
Hi!

I've been having a bit of trouble getting the hardness of my water where it belongs. My water comes out of the tap (at the moment at least) at a pH of 7.6, GH of 0 dH, and a KH of 2 dH. At least as near as I can tell, the regent test kits for the hardness are not the most precist.... I'm told that the water I have is..... strange. But I live in Baltimore City, and the city municipal water supply is.... strange. There are even WOODED pipes in some places..... So it took me a little while to figure out the hardness issue, as that combination of pH and hardness is bizare and alls I had was a 7 year old hardness titration test kit.

I'm using African Cichlid salts that are old and became moist at some point in the past. I got them with a bunch of Angelfish stuff (there were no africans in with the Angelfish, just an unexpected pink Convict, but thats another story for another day).

I'm runing through the stuff at a truly astonishing rate. And not getting my water hardness up much from what it comes out of the tap. The hardness has come up a bit, though its not even to a point where the Angels will like all that much.

I'm about to go get more African Cichlid salts. Does anyone have any suggestions on the kind of brands or types I should get? I'm only going to be keeping Lake Malawi Mbunas for a while.

Thanks!
Amanda.
 
phishphorphun

phishphorphun

Members
Amanda, I think you are trying to accomplish too much. I live just outside of the city, and have Baltimore water. Over twenty years of raising Africans, they even breed for me, and never had a problem.

I've always used salt in my water. Not much, about a tablespoon per ten gallons of Instant Ocean. That's it. Lake Malawi cichlids are a very hearty fish, they can handle much less water chemistry care than most people prescribe. If you want to stabilize your water and buffer it naturally, add some sea shells to a hanging filter. I keep a AC 500 on my 120g Malawi tank filled with sea shells. Go natural. :D
 
Charlutz

Charlutz

Members
Amanda - You should take your water to a local shop and have them test it. You shouldn't make adjustments without a firm idea of what your base water conditions are. Take them a sample of tank water and also tap water that you let stand overnight. Don't rely on your old test kits. Secondly, get yourself some new test kits. The GH/Kh test kits from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals are very reasonable. I'm sure your local fish store will appreciate the purchase after they test your water for you. You should get at a minimum GH/KH (comes in one kit), High range ph and nitrate. Also pick up a cheap spiral notebook to keep a log.

You then want to add your buffers during your weekly water changes and test the water prior to each water change. Keep a log of the test results, how much buffer you add and make some notes about how your fish look and how they react to the addition of the buffers. Some flashing or scratching during the addition of the buffers will happen. Watch if it looks excessive or the fish are uncomfortable.

As for adding buffers, I add Epsom salt that I buy in a half gallon container from Rite Aid or the grocery store to bring up GH. Baking soda will bring up KH and PH. I also add a little marine salt for the other elements. My water is different than yours, but I mix up a batch of 6 cups epsom, 6 cups baking soda and 2 cups marine salt. For a 15g water change, I add about 1/3 cup of the mixture to the tank. I keep tanganyikans which like harder water than your malawis. You should read up on water chemistry. The cichlid forum library is a good place to start:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/chemistry_list.php

If you don't want to do the work to keep track of your water chemistry, it's best to do what Bobby suggests and keep it simple. Most people will tell you it's more important to have consistent water than to shoot for some "ideal" water test.
 
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cyradis4

Members
I have acquired a new GH/KH test kit, and it says the same thing..... zero GH. Also, it depends on where in the city you are, the water supply changes with location. I have a friend who keeps fish in northern Baltimore and she too has city water, and her water is much better then mine is. Same thing goes for one of the LFS I frequent, they are less then 10 minutes from us and their water is completely different.

I'd heard about the sea shells, which kind are best? Does it make a difference? I've got a bunch of sea shells in the basement, but I haven't had the time to sit down and do the research necessary to figure out if these will work.

Thanks for the tip on the Epson Salts and the baking soda. I already used baking soda for raising the pH after it drifts down, but I hadn't known it also increased the hardness of the water, and I hadn't heard about Epson salts for GH. I have both of those currently in the house.

Thanks!
Amanda.
 
phishphorphun

phishphorphun

Members
I'd heard about the sea shells, which kind are best? Does it make a difference? I've got a bunch of sea shells in the basement, but I haven't had the time to sit down and do the research necessary to figure out if these will work.[/b]
Click to expand...

Mine are a collection of Atlantic shells from trips to the beach. They are from the ocean, and that is pretty salty. :D
 
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daniel4832

Guest
Amanda,
I live in Howard Co. and your readings are the same as what comes out of my tap. Our water has to be buffered, I have been using SeaChem's products, like cichlid salt and buffer. Since I raise Tangs I need even higher ph (8.2+) and hardness then keeping Malawis. I would also use crushed coral rather then "salty shells" as substrate, it does a much better of raising the hardness of the water.
You didn't say if you have had your water tested at your LFS, or not. If you have not, I would suggest you do so. As always this is what has worked for me. Hope this helps you.
Thanks,
Daniel
 
phishphorphun

phishphorphun

Members
Ditto on the crushed coral. I forgot to mention that I have it mixed in with my substrate. The shells are an additional additive.
 
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cyradis4

Members
Ok, I've gotten my water mostly straitened out..... The hardness is now up, both general and KH. Thats good stuff, baking soda and epson salts.... and I agree!!! Very easy on the bank!.

Later!
Amanda.
 
longstocking

longstocking

Members
When I was keeping Malawi... infact this applies to tangs as well, I watched my kh it's much more important. I know if my kh is at a certain level where my ph is without testing it. For tangs I aim for a kh of 15-18. When I was keeping Malawi I aimed for 8 or so.
 
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