TORI wants to know:
I had my water tested yeaterday at the LFS and the ph was over 8 and he said that the water was soft and that I must of had a softener and I told him that we do. We have well water. How will african cichlids do in this type of water and do you have any experience keeping them in this type of water?
I had my water tested yeaterday at the LFS and the ph was over 8 and he said that the water was soft and that I must of had a softener and I told him that we do. We have well water. How will african cichlids do in this type of water and do you have any experience keeping them in this type of water?
September 30th, 2009 at 11:29 am
The pH is ok, but the hardness isn’t. African Cichlids need hard water.
Try putting some crushed coral in your filter to harden the water.
October 3rd, 2009 at 10:49 am
When someone says the water is soft, and there is no listed reading, you need to take this with caution, because just saying soft with no reading can be misleading, as that’s just a relative term. They should give you both a GH and KH reading.
Keep in mind, without listing your species, not every single African as well need the higher pH and hardness too. Many Riverine types such as Jewels and Kribensis don’t typically dwell in the conditions in the rift lakes, so species is important.
In general, you get better growth and coloration out of Africans kept in proper conditions, but as long as it’s not extremely out of range, it shouldn’t be an issue. You can just as easily boost your GH and KH with many suppliments, and you are not limited to just crushed coral either. There are a number of buffer salts that you can add via water changes, argonite, as well as simple baking soda. Again though, this does depend somewhat on what species you have too.
October 5th, 2009 at 4:24 am
A PH of 8 should be fine. 7 is the PH of pure water… but fish cannot survive above 11.
October 8th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Just get some “Proper PH 7.0″ and put it in the tank as needed
November 16th, 2009 at 4:04 am
African cichlid PH and water hardness with water softener?
Thanks for sharing
December 1st, 2009 at 1:03 am
I would have the well water tested before you do this!
You never know whats in it?