Texas Holey Rock?

[SeverumGuy]

Hi, I have a 55g aquarium that's been cycled and is fully stocked. My ph is at a constant 6.3. I'm thinking about investing in some Texas holey rock to help with the ph, plus I really like the way it looks, not to mention I can get some for really cheap. I just wanted to get some opinions on it because I've never heard anything about them other than what I've read where I can get it from.

 

[WhiteDevil]

It will raise the Ph alright. What is your target level? is it planted? what fish do you plan on keeping? THR is pretty much pure limestone I believe and that will definitely raise that Ph for you.

 

[Crepe]

It'll work but it won't raise it by that much. Maybe .2. I've got a few nice pieces myself but they cost an arm and a leg lol.

 

[SeverumGuy]

Well my target ph is as close to neutral as I can get. I didn't want to get but a few pieces in my tank. I have NW cichlids in it.

 

[WhiteDevil]

what do you mean by new world? north,central or south americans?

That Ph is what my amazon tank sits at. Its not that far from neutral and the fish tend to have less stress and no illnesses be it parasitic or bacterial.

Most limestone lakes/ponds/rivers have a Ph usually at the lowest around 7.4 all the way up to and beyond 9.0

Is this Ph reading was taken when? morning,noon or evening and lights on or off?

 

[SeverumGuy]

I have 2 green severums and a blue jack dempsey. No matter what time I test the water the ph is always 6.3. I don't want to add a whole lot of the texas rock, just enough to help raise the ph to 6.8 or a little higher if I can...

 

[Crepe]

If you have a hi-tech tank you might end up having a calcium overdose with the holey rock. It's rectifiable with Boric acid (Still experimenting myself with it.)

 

[WhiteDevil]

It should go up at night.

what do you have in the tank now as far as stuff goes, not fish.?
something buffering it? what is your water source?

 

[SeverumGuy]

No, I don't have a buffer or anything, just some rainbow rocks and fake plants. I quit with the buffers because it would last a couple days then drop again. I didn't want to risk harming my fish that way. As far as tank goes, it's a pretty old tank. I was built in 1992. Still in great shape though.

 

[taylorodw]

Why do you want your pH up? It seems pretty consistent at a low level (you must have some natural buffer keeping it there if it always returns), and CA/SA cichlids like the lower pH.

 

[SeverumGuy]

I wasn't too sure of what ph the cichlids prefered, but I figured that neutral was a good medium

 

[taylorodw]

SA/CA cichlids like soft water (low GH) with low pH. They can adapt to other water, but soft water like that is what they're accustomed to in natural habitats, so I wouldn't tamper with it.

 

[SeverumGuy]

What exactly is GH and how can I test for it (if I need to ever test for it?)

 

[taylorodw]

It's how hard your water is, measured in General Hardness. The water SA/CA Cichlids naturally inhabit is acidic and very soft, which means it has few minerals in the water. These are measured in GH, or General Hardness. People measure it in PPM or dGH, degrees GH. One dGH = 18.x PPM of minerals in your water. Having acidic water like yours with a high GH is unusual.

You can buy an API test kit for GH (or bundled in a GH/KH test kit - KH is another measurement of hardness) just like the Master Freshwater test kit, but smaller. Generally though, any fish can adapt to the GH and pH of any tap water. As long as you don't mess with them too much they're fine in +99% of cases