Raising my PH for Chiclids?

[TankGirl]

I got my rock from a store that is SW only. He ordered it for me, so I did not have to pay through the nose for shipping. I think I paid about $1.50/pound, which is a great deal. He also ordered my Sahara Sand from Caribsea, since he deals with them himself for SW substrates. He gave it to me for $11.99 per bag, another great deal, just to keep me from spending my money at another LFS, even though I do not keep SW. Pretty cool.

 

[Menagerie]

That's a DEAL TG!! I was lucky to find lace rock for $3-4/lb back in Idaho. The best lace rock I have ever seen. My fiancé wouldn't let me buy all of it Now we buy it as we see it--$7.99CAD/kg (I can't do the math right now :? ).

 

[TankGirl]

This was petrified coral base rock, not lace rock, so that might be the difference. The lace rock I have seen around is much more expensive, so I would not have been able to get as much as I was using coral, even though it totally blows the biotope Now that it is mature and quasi-covered in very acceptable algae, you can't tell it is coral!

 

[Jdills1347]

Yeh I might have to go with the Texas Holey Rock because I couldn't find any nice Lace Rock over the internet. Maybe I will try and haggle with the LFS to lessen the price. I like the look of the Texas limestone but it doesn't seem to natural. That's what was nice about the lace rock, it looks very natural IMO. I was wondering if I could do a slate and lace rock combination, if it would look right. I don't think I could do a texas rock and slate combination, when I imagine it seems like they wouldn't look good together.

 

[Menagerie]

The Texas HR I have is very light in color--goes with nothing else in the tank! I also have slabs of basalt (my fiancé picked them along the Snake River in eastern WA). Slate and lace rock would look nice.

 

[TankGirl]

I have basalt in my African tank also, but keep in mind that over a period of months a fine layer of algae will make every rock in the tank about the same color. When I set up my African tank last August the rocks were white, the basalt was white/black, and the sand was white and black, but now the rocks are all a uniform brownish color, even though the sand is still white and black.

 

[deli_conker]

I have malaysian driftwood in my tank. Two pieces actually. They have holes that go through them though and their shape and position also allow my fish to dig underneath them without making them unstable. I'll have new pics up this weekend... I have had no problem with my ph going down with them in there.

Here's a post I made about it a while back...
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=13379&highlight=driftwood

Also, IMO black and white look good on a coral substrate with colorful fish swimming around...

 

[TankGirl]

Also, IMO black and white look good on a coral substrate with colorful fish swimming around...

I agree completely! I tend to dress in black or black and white, so my friends all rolled their eyes when I set up this black and white tank, but it is very striking with colorful fish, like you say.

 

[Jdills1347]

Well I got my kH test kit in today and to be 2. And to recap my pH is around 7.4 while my gH is <5. So that seems pretty low for the hardness. I also got a 40lb bag of crushed coral so I am going to add that to my to my filter soon. I am going to wait because like I said I want to get a couple of synodontis and when I get them they probably wont be acclimated to a pH of 8.2 or so. And the cichlids at the LFS are acclimated to 8.5. How high do you think I should get my pH so I won't shock the cichlids? I also ordered a big Texas Holey rock off ebay today, 40lb!!! Don't ask me how much it cost, I'm ashamed to spend that much on a ROCK. I'm a little worried it might be to heavy for the bottom of my tank, I will have to make sure to distrubute the weight as evenly as possible.

 

[Menagerie]

And the cichlids at the LFS are acclimated to 8.5

REALLY?!? Many LFS do not have the capacity to meet the needs of every fish. Most have tanks connected to each other with a huge filter in the back. Double check the pH of your LFS.
That Texas Holey Rock will look great. In the last month, I have spent over $150 (okay it's CAD, so it's $112 USD). That doesn't include the money I spent on Texas HR and Lace Rock in the states before moving
Just remember, this rock will last FOREVER.

 

[Jdills1347]

It better, I paid 76 for the 44 lb rock. I feel crazy for that but hopefully I will be satisfied. Even thinking of drilling a couple of extra holes in it with a masonry but but not sure if it will be too brittle. I talked with the LFS guy and he told me that the tank was at 8.5 and its even written on the tank. I guess I could have him check while I was there.

 

[rossmort]

I would keep the CC in both containers.

Don't mean to hijack the thread but about how many pounds of CC do you use in order to get a sutable pH? I am going to be setting up a 125g tang tank and am trying to figure out how to buffer it. Thanks

 

[Jdills1347]

Here is the rock incase anyone wants to see it. Sorry posted one pic twice.

 

[rossmort]

That is very nice looking rock!!!!

 

[Menagerie]

That is a fine looking rock. FYI--my THR has never gotten covered enough to "match" my other rock. It is currently more ceram/yellow with some sort of green algea. Drilling it may cause problems, the rock is fragile.

Don't mean to hijack the thread but about how many pounds of CC do you use in order to get a sutable pH?

For a tank that large, I would mix it in with the substrate. However, I don't know exactly how much to use.

 

[deli_conker]

Don't mean to hijack the thread but about how many pounds of CC do you use in order to get a sutable pH?

55 pounds of CC in a standard 55 gal tank give around 3 inches of substrate (if it's level, with africans, it won't stay level long...)

This amount puts my normally neutral (ph 7.0) tap water to almost 8.0. I do have some driftwood in my tank which releases tannic acid which lowers the ph. I'm pretty sure that the acid is neutralized by all the coral in the tank. Who knows, it's presence may even help...

Putting coral in your filter works really well though. Probably because there is always water running across it at all times. Erosion or something. It also makes a wonderful place for nitrifying bacteria to grow.

 

[rossmort]

Don't mean to hijack the thread but about how many pounds of CC do you use in order to get a sutable pH?

55 pounds of CC in a standard 55 gal tank give around 3 inches of substrate (if it's level, with africans, it won't stay level long...)

This amount puts my normally neutral (ph 7.0) tap water to almost 8.0. I do have some driftwood in my tank which releases tannic acid which lowers the ph. I'm pretty sure that the acid is neutralized by all the coral in the tank. Who knows, it's presence may even help...

Putting coral in your filter works really well though. Probably because there is always water running across it at all times. Erosion or something. It also makes a wonderful place for nitrifying bacteria to grow.

Hmmm, now I have to rethink my approach--Probably should figure out the water paramaters of the place my tank will be set up first though. I really wanted to just use a sand bottom but I guess I might have to mix. I will have an xp3 canister so there might be room for coral in there and in the extra media baskets of my HOB.

 

[TankGirl]

I put about a cup and a half of CC in my filter, bringing my tap water from pH 7.4 to 8.4. My buffering rocks and substrate did not have much affect, but putting it in the filter sure did.

 

[Jdills1347]

Does anyone know the answer to my previous question about how far I will need to raise my pH for the new fish that I want to buy?

 

[TankGirl]

I think if you can get your pH up to 8.3 or 8.4 they should be fine, and you ought to be able to achieve that with CC. I would definitely use the drip method to acclimate them, and they will be fine after a slow acclimation period.