jkelley393
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hi all, Newbie here. I'm planning to set up a new tank and try a few things I haven't done before - live plants and cichlids! I am hoping to have a couple of Apistogramma or the like. I'm aware that SA cichlids favor soft water and lower pH to do really well, so I did a test on my tap water to see where I'm starting from. The pH was 6.0 and hardness was 0mg/l, alkalinity 30mg/l. This seems too soft! It seems to me that I need to raise the hardness/alkalinty somewhat without raising the pH too much. What is the best way to work with these numbers and get them to safe levels, preferably by natural means? I'm still in planning stages so I haven't chosen a substrate yet, but I am leaning towards Aquaclear filters (yay for choose-your-own-media!). I'm also concerned for my new mystery snails I have in another small tank (pH 6.5, hardness 0, alkalinity 40). Could water this acid be harming them? What can I do about it? Thanks for any advice.
