|
|
|
Q- I am in the process of setting up a 50 gal. Malawi tank. I am currently using pH right 8.2 and 2T kosher salt per 10 gallons. What if any difference is there between cichlid salts and regular aquarium salt? Another option I have is to use the Waters of the World additives, but they are quite pricey. My tap water varies between 6 and 6.6, and is very soft, what else could I use to adjust the water conditions?
A- I agree with less on the salt issue but disagree with him on the buffer issue. My tap water is relatively hard and has a pH of about 7.8. My problem is that I have zero KH and that (to me at least) is the most important number. That is the buffering capacity and keeps the pH from dropping or rising. I use Seachem Malawi/Victoria and Tanganyikan Buffers religiously and have had great success. Once you get the KH to 10+, then you need to experiment with how much to add at each water change. You add it slowly to bring the KH up. I also use Kent's African Cichlid Chemistry and Marc Weiss' Rift Lake Vital. I have coral or moon
rock substrate and run it in my media baskets also. My fish thrive but it can become expensive. I make enough money cleaning tanks, selling fish, and selling fish food to pay all my expenses each month with some left over for new species or other things (and I have 25 tanks running, most of them fry tanks which get water changes every other day). I don't use the Rift Lake Vital in the fry tanks but add a dash of Kent's Rift Lake Trace Elements when I change water. If you buy the 4000g sizes and buy from That Pet Place, it won't be too expensive and you will have happy and healthy fish.
Our Views
|
|
