smidey Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 what is the best way to increase the PH for my africans? I have moved out to the country & started my farming life. The water here is from the runoff from the large shed next to the house, my ph in my previous house in town was perfect. it was about 8 from the tap so i have never had any reason to change it. now its is 7, what is the best way to raise it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Crushed shell or coral in the tank will do it, but depending on your water change regime and the buffering capacity of the water you may need to fill up a big drum with water before you do the water change to harden the water up to avoid it swinging around too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted February 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Wa.t do you use in the way of stuff in yur tank? (Gravel etc?) Have you tried using Calcite Gravel, Limestone and Dolomite Rocks? That normally heaps heaps wifout using expensive Chems etc. i have crushed marble as a substrate & limestone rocks for decoration. I have only been here for less than a week & didn't test the ph when i filled the tanks so it may have raised it already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Your substrate/decor alone should be enough to increase the PH and buffer the water enough for it to remain constant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 My Africans were having living and breeding at pH 7.0 :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishiefishie Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Heres a handy link http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/buffer_recipe.php Frenchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanut2110 Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Hi Smidey, I've always had the opposite problem where our ph is 9+. I think it has something to do with the concrete water tanks the rain water is stored in. Anyway, I use crushed gravel with aragonite sand mixed to whatever ratio will keep the water constant at 7.8 but one thing I have noticed in our last 2 rural moves is that after 48-72 hours it seems to stabilise to a ph where it intends to remain. So it definitely pays to give it at least 3 days before you start tampeing with it as you may just get it settling to around about the level you need anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navarre Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Just remeber that when you take run off from your roof you are also gathering everything that is on the roof. Leaves, Bird shit, dead possums, soot from your fire etc. This can effect your water qaulity just like the paint or galv coatings. Nav Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted February 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Just remeber that when you take run off from your roof you are also gathering everything that is on the roof. Leaves, Bird shit, dead possums, soot from your fire etc. This can effect your water qaulity just like the paint or galv coatings. Nav the same water we drink 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marto Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 I have used rain water initially and now I use tap water. My rain water and tap water have both a Ph of 7. I have crushed coral in my eheim filter and plenty of so called moss rocks. The Ph did increase abit but not much: 7.2 I think . I looked on the internet and adopted a so called buffer recipe. www.ciclid-forum.com/articles/buffer_recipe.php The article gives you some hints how get to the best result depending on the water you start out with. Initially I added to much Epsom salt . resulting in a GH value of 35. For half a year now I use 1 tsp of baking soda and 1 tsp of see salt. My Ph is stable on 8.2. GH is 13. KH is 12. When my GH drops any further I will add some epsom salt on again. The fish look very happy, not agressive. I have some Lamprologus fry swimming around at the moment. Another interesting article you can find at www.ciclid-forum.com/articles/ware_chemistry.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firenzenz Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 I don't add any chems or additives to my tank water which like yours comes out around 7. I prefer to naturally buffer. I have coral sand or aragonite in my tanks as substrate and either some coral rock and limestone in my aquascaping as well as coral fingers in with my bio media in filters. I usually get PH up to the high sevens with this method. This with small but relatively regular water changes seems to work fine going by the regularity of the breeding going on. I would say that would still be the case were the PH closer to 7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marto Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 adding chemicals is not necessarily a bad thing. No matter how 'natural" we want to set-up and maintain our tanks, it still is a very 'artificial' environment. Knowing the special conditions of african ciclids in their natural environment I try to give them these conditions as close as I can. Do I know what influence the chemicals have on the fish? No Do I know what the influence is on fish being in water that differs from there natural environment? No Both seem to be happy and breeding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firenzenz Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 I agree Marto. Malawi's and tanganyikans for that matter I think will happily live in breed in a variety of Ph levels. I would say that 99.999% of Malawis we have here have never been near the lake, nor for that matter, have a number of their preceeding generations. Additives are fine if you are comfortable in knowing what you are doing as it sounds like you are. I would suggest that it isn't that necessary for those uninitiated in it or those who aren't as regimented in their processes. I look for a stable environment, except in a breeding tank when I use change as a trigger. "Knowing the special conditions of african ciclids in their natural environment I try to give them these conditions as close as I can." The lake(Malawi) is 560 km long 75km wide at its widest and , and 700mtrs at its deepest point. The Lake Malawi Biodiversity conservation project (1996-200) sites the myriad of isolated systems where PH can range significantly due to local influences such as run off, ground water, composition of rock, depth of water and flow when close to rivers. Chances are that your tank(s) are housing fish that could naturally occur hundreds of kilometres apart. I am adding chemicals , just in different way, and perhaps more in line with how it happens in the lake. This doesn't suggest that I'm looking to create a natural set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marto Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 I agree with you too, Firenzenz. Thanks for pointing out that adding 'chemicals' is very dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. So if you not sure: don't!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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