Water Changes on African Tanks

[krystalsohun]

So as most of you know i will be getting an african tank very shortly and i was wondering about water changes. the tank is a 55 gallon. the ph out of my tap is 6.7 and the ph in this tank will be somewhere between 7.5 and 8. is it okay to just do a normal water change or do i have to add something to bring up the ph of the tap water before adding it? i dont want to shock the fish with the ph difference. any advise with this would be greatly appreciated.

[Lab_Rat]

When I kept my mbuna in ATL I had soft water. I added epsom salts and baking soda each water change to increase the hardness and pH. Rift lake cichlids salts would be another option. Do you already have crushed coral in your filter or as a substrate? That can help too.

[krystalsohun]

I will be having crushed coral substrate to help raise the ph. however my whole problem is that from the tap to this tank will be about a 1.5 ph difference do i need to up the ph on the tap water before adding it to the tank so i dont shock my fish with a ph flucuation??

[Lab_Rat]

I added my salts to the new water as I was filling each water change.

[krystalsohun]

okay so add the salts and baking soda until its at the appropreaite levels. how long do i wait to test the water being added after i add the salts to get an accurate reading??

[rhonin]

how big are you planning on these water changes to be?
If you are looking at 20% or less it should not be an issue.

My tap ph is less than my African tanks but I just add and let the tank settle, test and the coral brings it up.

Then again I have a tendency to only add if I need too.
:22:

[Mith]

I have Mbunas...my tap is 7.6 approx. I don't add salt anymore. I don't feel salt is necessary as do others with cichlids I have crushed coral substrate.

My fish are fine.....

[sunnyjones003]

im having the smae problem as you, my tap water is 6.7, on some changes 10-20% i dont add anything but i do a 40-50% some times if required and i add a solution.

i can tell you dont worry about small water changes as its not going to drop your entire tank Ph, and the ammount of water is too little to really shock your fish, as it will gradually bilt up due to your substrates,

i hope that helps

[rhonin]

Check with your LFS where you plan on buying the fish and see what they keep their water at. This will let you know what they are used too.

thumbs2:

[Scrup]

If crushed coral as a substrate does not work for you (it collects a lot of junk and needs to be vac'd real good, and not everyone likes white)You can always put some in a media bag and place it in a filter.it will have pretty much the same buffering capacity.

I put it in my HOB before I switched to coral substrate. Will be putting it in my wet/dry once I move them to the new tank and replacing it with black sand, as the coral is just too much to keep clean with all the rockwork/decorations.

[krystalsohun]

I will be using eco complete for african cichlids. its a larger sand that is black and white like salt and pepper look. it has agargonite in it and that keep the ph up. also i will be using probaly slate in the tank as rocks and that will also help to up the ph a little. the local fish store tanks are at 7.8 and my tap is 6.7 so i think with these adjustments i should be able to get the ph up to around 7.8. i know that the small water changes wont be a big deal but once a month i like to do like a 40% change when i really get in there to clean the tank so that 's when i'm worried about the ph levels. thanks for the help guys.
p.s. i was looking at building a swim through pryamid for these guys. i wanted to use river rocks however i cant find the 3-5 inch diameter ones that i would need any other suggestions on a flat round rock to use for this or should i just give up and stick with slate??

[emptyhead]

What fish will you be keeping?

IME - mbuna handle water changes just fine. If you are keeping mbuna, I would not buffer the water. Just do your water changes.

[sheamurai]

re building a swim-thru - maybe you can use the rock you have and just silicon them together to make the sizes you need?