set tank up

[falco]

hello to you all.got tank,as you know.decided on malawi cichlids.going to start fishless cycle 2morrow.tested my tap water for ph and its off the scale.whats it going to be like after my tank reading with coral substrate in it?never mind,hpe bogwood will balance it out/.

ps.keep up the good info,,,we all need it.:1luvu:

[Drumachine09]

I wouldnt do bogwood in a malawi tank. Malawis need high PH water, and i belive driftwood will lower the ph. Somone correct me if im wrong.

[YaYgoldFish]

I wouldnt do bogwood in a malawi tank. Malawis need high PH water, and i belive driftwood will lower the ph. Somone correct me if im wrong.

nope, your right.

[genitor]

.tested my tap water for ph and its off the scale.

how much is your ph exactly?

[falco]

tap water is at 7.6

[nanaglen2001]

The PH of the water in the tank will lower itself slightly after a while.

Bogwood not good. In Lake Malawi you wont find any roots or wood at all.

I also dont think its a good idea to put coral substrate into the tank. Just clean pretty fine white sand will do perfectly. Its exactly the substrate one will find in the lakes. Plus some fat rounded rocks and as plants here and there some Valisneria.

[Lady Hobbs]

My tap water is always 7.6 and I have community fish and angels. As directed above, you'd be well off to use a coral substrate.

[A340]

tap water is at 7.6
Malawi's like a pH of 8-8.2, so you'll be more than fine after you add the coral substrate, it should boost it up another .2 - .4.

[Fishguy2727]

Coral substrates (if I remember correctly) only raise pH up to about 7.6. Above that you need to use a buffer. For my African rift tanks (now just the 150 with peacocks which are from Lake Malawi) I use and highly recommend Proper pH 8.2. There are cheaper things like baking soda, but with baking soda you need to test pH daily and will be adding it frequently to keep the pH right, which can be worse than an unideal pH. I use Proper pH because it brings the pH from either direction directly to 8.2 and holds it there for an extended period of time, which if you do weekly water changes which is the general recommendation, will be fine for a very stable pH. Crushed coral will do the same as gravel and trap debris. There is a reason all of my tanks (except the one I have not gotten to yet) have sand, it doesn't trap debris which can lead to nitrate spikes. It is also more natural, especially in this case.

What size tank is it? What cichlids from Lake Malawi are you thinking of?

[A340]

Coral substrates (if I remember correctly) only raise pH up to about 7.6. Above that you need to use a buffer.

I used crushed coral in my 29g and it raised it from 7.6 to 8.0.

[Fishguy2727]

Good to know.

Still, its effectiveness fades over time, and is less effective the higher pH. I would still use Proper pH for the reasons previsouly mentioned, minus the ineffectiveness.

[A340]

Good to know.

Still, its effectiveness fades over time, and is less effective the higher pH. I would still use Proper pH for the reasons previsouly mentioned, minus the ineffectiveness.
Are "Proper pH" those capsules that you throw into the tank?

[Fishguy2727]

No, and I'm not sure what you are talking about. Proper pH is a powdered buffer. It brings the pH from either direction and holds it at the specified pH for an extended period of time. It comes in 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, and 8.2.

[A340]

No, and I'm not sure what you are talking about. Proper pH is a powdered buffer. It brings the pH from either direction and holds it at the specified pH for an extended period of time. It comes in 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, and 8.2.
You can get them here in capsule form, easier dosage I assume.

[falco]

my ph is sitting at 7.8/8.0.temp 23/amm 5.0 and climbing.using amm chloride.i am running fluval 205 and clearseal powerhead with sponge filter attached.not impressed with fluval 205.thinking of adding another smaller filter like fluval 2 plus,just for extra filtration.would 3 filters be too much in a 190 lit tank?

[Fishguy2727]

I would have gone with a Fluval 405. Powerheads don't really do much for filtration, they are mainly for flow, even if they have a sponge on them. What other filter would you add? Remember that whatever a filter claims it can handle needs to be cut in half, and that's about what it can actually handle on a moderately stocked community tank.

[falco]

was going to put fluval plus internal filter in.maybe a 3.te tank is going to be for milawis.