Help adjusting levels

Q&A about aquarium maintenance

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karanoz
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2007 4:36 pm

Help adjusting levels

Post by karanoz »

I have a tank with 4 small Africal Cichlids. I am having troble maintaining the PH. My KH is high bt the GH is very soft. How can I get this adjusted?
Pam Chin
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Re: Help adjusting levels

Post by Pam Chin »

Hi Karanoz,

It is really trial and error because everyones water is different. There is no set recipe that is going to be a quick fix. Sometimes dwelling on these parameters can drive you crazy, so I would suggest that concentrate on your pH first, usually the others will follow behind it. The best fix is going to depend on your conditions straight from the tap, and then decide whether you need to raise it or not. Also consider how far it is between your actual reading and what your "dream" pH would be. It it is only a few points, then you can probably get away with adding a substrate that will raise your pH or adding this substrate to your cannister filter. If you have a long way to go to reach the pH you may want to add a prepared product or buffer; a pH upper, you would add it each time you do a water change.

Playing with your pH is not always good. A stable pH is usually better then one that goes up and down. Some of these products will not hold your pH up forever, and if you are not ahead of it with your water changes, it will crash, and fish can go into pH shock.

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Pam
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