46g bow; high ph, high dph

redfox

I just recently set up my 46g bow. Smart me, didn't test the ph before I set up the tank and now I noticed that my ph is about 8.0 and gh is about 22 dph.

After doing some fish research, live bearers are about my only choice without putting in buffers. I've had guppies, swordtails, etc. and love them, but would there be any other choices for water with that much hardness?

About the buffers, I'd rather have the ph steady and not worry about fluctuations.

Many suggestions needed.

fashionfobie

African cichlids like those parameters. It might be a new experience for you. They will have different needs than swordtails or guppies, especially in regards to stocking and behavioral balance between tank mates. If this is something you would be interested in you will find lots of information around the forum.

I hope this helps!

~Natalie

MoneyMitch

i have the same water chem hard water high ph, africans are extremely colorfulll and very active not to mention msot are hard to kill by nooby mistakes. just make sure to do your homework some are extremely aggressive such as bumblebe cichlids and espcially eletric blue johannis i have had personall experience with both. start with maybe some yellow labs or some aceis both seem to be more on the peacefull side as far as a african cichlid goes. and be sure to have plenty of rock coves, and these guys love to dig. if ya have any q's about africans feel free to PM me. the past 2 times my 55 was setup it had africans.

ZivaD

Are you using liquid or strip tests to get those results? Only asking as the strips can be somewhat inaccurate/unreliable (imo) so your actual readings may be different if that is what you are using.

Byron

Yes, before giving up completely on other fish, I would verify the numbers. Were these for your tap water, or tank water? I would first get the official numbers for the GH, KH and pH of your tap water from the municipal water authority. The GH and KH will not change much in an aquarium unless they are being targeted by something (calcareous rock or substrate, etc) so this is worth knowing. The pH may lower naturally, depending upon the other numbers.

Once you know these, there may be more options in fish.

Byron.

redfox

We did look at the African Cichlids, my husband loves the electric yellow, but I saw on liveaquaria.com that most of the A. Cichlids minimum gallon tank is 50. Sadly I have a 46.

When testing the water I used strips and tube test. It was hard to read the ph, I used both for ph and high ph, and it read around 7.8 or 8.0.

I tested the tank water, How different would the tests be if I tested the tap water? I already knew that the water would be hard because when we boil water calcium builds up on the side.

I had fertilized substrate in the tank, about a year old, and put in more fertilized substrate ( this one is kind of muddy). Only thing else in the tank are two logs, boiled the tannins out when I set up the tank the first time.

Thanks for all the quick responses!

redfox

I just finished a tap water test, sat the water out for about 30 minutes.
In tank( as of yesterday) GH 22 KH 13 PH 7.8-8.0
Tap test GH 18 KH 12 PH 7.2

The tank looks slightly cloudy but I'm think that it might have to do with the daylight bulbs that I'm using in the hood. Or there is air in the water.

Byron

As this is newly setup, the cloudiness is either due to the substrate or a bacterial bloom (or both). Will clear on its own, whichever.

When testing tap water for pH, shake some water very vigorously for several moments before testing. This outgasses the CO2 so the test will be more accurate. You will probably find after doing this that it is closer to the tank pH reading.

Adjusting the pH is not always the easiest. pH is tied closely to the GH and (especially) KH. You can read about this in my article here:
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/f...quarium-73276/

Which is why I still advise you to get the official numbers from the water supply folks. The GH is just as critical, perhaps even moreso, as pH for fish. Any atgtemtp to lower the pH will require dealing first with the GH and KH.

Byron.

redfox

Did some more testing, the GH was a pretty high 24 tonight and the ph seems to be leveling at 7.6

A few years ago my husband took a video of a fish he saw in a restaurant. Fish! - YouTube
I asked on the Cichlid forum and someone said it was a Juvenal Firemouth.

Gorgeous as it could be I did some research and found that it liked around the ph and hardness that I have. I did see that a round about range of hardness was 18 but I'm going to do some water changes and see here in a few days whether it goes down. Because there was so much of a difference between the tap and the tank water I'm thinking that the new substrate that i put in there might be changing the GH.
SeaChem Flourite Dark Gravel 15.4 LB This is the gravel that I purchased.

I would like to know more about the Firemouth and whether or not my 46g bow would be large enough. I was only thinking about trying to get a pair because they get up to 6 inches.

Byron

You cxan read about the Firemoputh in the profile; click the shaded name.