Finally

[Drumachine09]

I finally got my cichlid tank up and running...sort of. I have my gravel in and my rock formation. i am soooo happy. now i have 2 scolofolis, and 2 unknowns. The guy at the store didnt know thier name off hand, but keeps them wth blue scolofolis, yellow labs, and red zebras. i am planning on geting some labs and zebras soon. As soon as my brother stops being a jerk, he will let me use his camera so i can post pics and figure out what cichlid it is.

[f1oored]

Cant wait to see the pics. Congrats on the new tank.

[Drumachine09]

I am SUPER excited about it. I cant wait untill some of the murkyness clears up so i can put my newq buddies in. is there anything that anyone knows of that can raise the ph?

[Drumachine09]

The tank is fully cycled, but it is kinda murky, would a water change help clear this up?

My fish range from 1-1.5 inches. I went into petco to get a new guppy, and i was shocked at the condition of their tanks. they were friggen imaculate! i came out with 14 lbs of slate, 50 lbs of rocks, and 4 cichlids. the cichlids were 99 cents a peace...WHAT MORE COULD I ASK FOR?!?!?! I was talking to the guy in thefish section, and he told me that he used to work at a lfs untill they closed dows, so now he works there, and he cleaned up their tanks big time. in 8 more days, he will be the fish department manager, and is going to transfer all of the people who dont know diddly squat about fish out of there. he told me he could hook me up with a job, because he could tell i knew what i was talking about. Since wrestling season is over (as of today...yay) i will be able to get a job again. i even get the employee discount.but i forgot to get the guppy.....dang.

[f1oored]

That sounds cool. For your pH there are several different ways you can go. Some people use cichlid lake salts and buffers. These are probably the hardest to find but they probably make your water the most like the natural environment. Next you can use proper pH. This is easier to find and many people have a lot of success with this product. Your third option is a do-it-yourself buffer salt. This is what I do. Mix equal parts of epson salt, aquarium salt, and baking soda. To figure out the right amount use a 5 gallon bucket and start with a teaspoon of each. Measure the pH after it's mixed in and if it is where you want it good, if not add more or less.

Be careful because the fish store will likely not use high pH water and you could put the fish into shock if the pH is not close enough.

As far as murky water goes... I find the use a a water polisher (floss filter) works wonders.

[Fishguy2727]

The Cichlid Lake Salts are different from buffer, they supply the proper elements in the proper proportions that would be found in their natives lakes. Proper pH is a buffer. The buffers keep the pH as would naturally be found. The Cichlid Lakes Salt combined with the buffer seems ot be the best combo in my tanks.

[Drumachine09]

I put in my home made sponge filter, and it is clearing up some. would a water change be the quickest way to get rid of the murkyness?

[Incredulous_Ed]

Probably.

I'm not sure, but can't you use crushed coral to raise the hardness and pH?

[cocoa_pleco]

when I added my new gravel today, there was cloudy water shortly after, but I got some of that p-clear stuff that clumps small particles and the tanks slowly clearing up

[Drumachine09]

My tank is slowly getting a little bit clearer. i did a 5 gallon water change, but i dont think it helped.