ryanjury Posted October 29, 2007 Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 What is pea metal? Is that just pea sized gravel? Africans like to dig most people use the coral sand and that because it buffers the water but they will happily live with gravel they will move it if they have to There are other ways of buffering the water if you need too.. As for water specs you want a high ph and hard water, have you measured either? I cant tell you what it is in my tanks because I don't measure it everything is happily breeding and haven't had any reason to doubt its a problem.. Have you decided what fish your going to add? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doch Posted October 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 pea metal is just very light gravel from the garden centre not very course at all but i can change it if i have to i have not measured any of the water as yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 29, 2007 Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 Sweet well id measure it and see what it is africans do like hard alkaline water You may need to add something or buffer your water using baking soda and epsons salt to get it up a bit or it maybe sweet.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doch Posted October 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 what should my readings be ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 29, 2007 Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 Ph is my tank is 8, I cant measure GH the only test set I have the instructions for must have expired because I add more heaps of drops and the water doesn't change colour.. If anyone has the instructions for the hagen GH test set I can tell you, I add 7 drops of the stuff but unsure if its in ppm or degree's or what.. Just post on here what you get and we can let you know if its ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doch Posted October 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 yes i looked at my test kit and it just shows and tells drops of kh&gh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 29, 2007 Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 yeah KH and GH are measured with drops of the test stuff.. But I cant remember what one drop equals for the hagen on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doch Posted October 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 my kit is a aquaruim phamaceutcals one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 29, 2007 Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 It will be in german degree's because hagen is a german kit Heres what you should be aiming for.. "lake Malawi's pH ranges from 7.8 to 8.6, with a total hardness of 4.0-6.0 dH. The reason for the variation is caused by the level of Carbon Dioxide dissolved in the water. In areas with turbulent water, where the water is better aerated, the pH is higher, while in calm bays, the level of dissolved Carbon Dioxide is higher; consequently, the pH is lower there. Surface temperature ranges from 76 to 85 degrees, while the temperature at lower levels of the lake remain at a constant 70 degrees. Carbonate hardness ranges from 6.0 to 8.0." Taken from http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/l ... africa.php Obviously it can be within those ranges as fish can adjust but these are ideal.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doch Posted October 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 wow suck all that in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doch Posted October 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 i will rearange my tank with more rocks and change the subsrate to sand and pebble and do water test then i think i will get some fish off you ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Awesome man, make sure you add something to buffer as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firenzenz Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Cool info Ryan. A shot of my display tank, and I agree with Ryan it is a bugger to get a good one. All my buffering comes from substrate, coral rock in the tank and then finger coral and limestone chip in the filter. This get PH to 8.0 which I'm OK with as I'm on Tank water so my PH is naturally low compared to most town supplies. Not sure on hardness, but I suspect a little on the soft side. I have in the breeding tank some limestone rock-7kgs of beautiful white rock I lugged back from south of France in a suitcase. I smashed a piece up for the filter and that gave me ph of 8.4. We are lucky here in Nz that even our tap water is in pretty good nick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doch Posted October 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 can i get this lime stone chip just from the garden centres ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firenzenz Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 not sure, the stuff to get is the aragonite which you would get in a small bag from LFS. Try garden Centre though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doch Posted October 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 well i got a bag 1kg from the plant shop if i just wrap it in some thing and place it in the sump should be ok ? and i have washed it a few times as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidb Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 think that stuff might have impurities... Alanmin will know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 Just see if it has anything added to it.. I think you can just use lime chips im sure ive seen it in someones tank but unsure where and what it was.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afrikan Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 I have been told by the landscape suppliers that lime chip etc can have impurities in it, unwanted ions and compounds etc sometimes, so you have to be choosey and have a good look at it before purchase... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doch Posted October 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 how about crushed sea shell well cleaned i can get plenty of that ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 Yeah that might do it, dont people use oyster shells? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doch Posted October 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 i have to get it right what i add dont want to kill the fish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 Yeah your right Have you actually tested your water yet? Maybe its sweet already.. Or you can make something like this http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/buffer_recipe.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doch Posted November 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2007 have tested it now PH is around 7-7.5 Nitrate and Amonia-0 as it should be GH 6 Drops 89.5ppm and KH is the same if i read that right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted November 1, 2007 Report Share Posted November 1, 2007 Ph is 7-7.5? lol you should be able to get it more accurate than that? Do you mean 7.6-7.7? Gh could come up a bit as could KH but its not bad You could easily add some of that buffer to bring it up if you have trouble finding the right substrate.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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