PH level

Q&A About Lake Malawi Cichlids

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eljaymer
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2015 3:30 pm

PH level

Post by eljaymer »

Hi, I'm in the process of cycling a 75 gallon tank without fish. I have had 80 pounds of aragonite substrate in the tank for three days but the but the PH level is still the same, approximately 7.0. Will the substrate raise the PH level to an acceptable cichlid range or will it just maintain a high level after I raise it chemically?
Pam Chin
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Re: PH level

Post by Pam Chin »

Hi Eljaymer,

There really is not a recipe for this. Everyones water is different, so it is going to take some experimenting on your end. You want to get to know your water out of the tap, so check the pH.

I stable pH is the best, even if it is a little out of the ideal range. But if you want to see your fish with the optimum coloration the closer you get to the ideal ph the better your fish are going to look.

The easiest way to increase the pH is with baking soda. The problem with baking soda is it won't hold it up there forever, but if you are doing regular water changes you should be fine. You add it every time you change your water.

While you are doing a fishless cycle start with a 1/2 cup of baking soda and see if that moves it all. Adjust from there.

There are also many products on the market that you can add to your water to increase the pH too. Alot of people that use baking soda also add epsom salts. epsom salts doesn't raise your pH but it does had some minerals to the water, and it is often an ingredient used in "Cichlid Salts".

Just be careful when you play with water, if your pH crashes you can kill off your fish.

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Pam
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