my water is too hard

[iangangoo]

i checked my water last night on my cycling tank, it's at 300 and I need it be at 150 for Malawi chiclids. any ideas on how to bring it down

[krytan]

Use some aquarium peat in your filter.

[iangangoo]

ok thanks I will try. going to big al's today...

[kay-bee]

i checked my water last night on my cycling tank, it's at 300 and I need it be at 150 for Malawi chiclids. any ideas on how to bring it down

Lake Malawi cichids are well suited to hard, alkaline water. I'd submit 300ppm General Hardness (GH) would be alright for them.

No adjustment required.

Or were you referring to Carbonate Hardness (kH)?

[terror spawnin]

Malawi is a hard water lake. Although fish from this lake can live comfortably in softer waters.

All the lfs's in my area keep these fish in brackish water. They seem really happy in softer. I've kept them in 7.5 ph with low salt and they are just as healthy.

If you want to lower your water hardness just do a water change and don't add the hardeners. If you have hard well water then you can put a few containers outside to trap rain water. There are also filters for removing minerals that harden water.

[nickmcmechan]

i keep my mbuna at 300ppm gH and a pH of 8.0, i was under the impression that 150ppm is a little on the low side for them

certainly wouldn't add peat to the filter in any case

[iangangoo]

yesterday i went big al's the guy in the fish room said that 300gh is ideal for malawi's at a 8ph. I am running a fishless cycle and he said to put some fish in there to build up nitrite?? I have been cycling for 2 weeks now.

What do you all say, is now a good time to add fishies??

[Fishfiles1]

add them

[krytan]

No, don't add any fish. Fishy cycles are a lot of work, add a source of ammona and keep testing your water.

[iangangoo]

ok now i'm confused most say add them some say wait...i guess it's back to big al's for some more advise...

[krytan]

If you add fish to a cycling tank you will be committed to doing daily water changes to keep the nitrites down.

[nickmcmechan]

you really can't fishy cycle malawis as they have to be added all at once

[jpappy789]

I agree, and they are sensitive to ammonia and nitrites. Do a fishless cycle instead.

[kay-bee]

...All the lfs's in my area keep these fish in brackish water...

Why? These fish do not originate from brackish environments.

So, by "brackish" do you mean fresh water with 'some' salt in it, or actual brackish water (e.g., specific gravity 1.005-1.015)?

[kay-bee]

...I am running a fishless cycle and he said to put some fish in there to build up nitrite?? I have been cycling for 2 weeks now. What do you all say, is now a good time to add fishies??


...ok now i'm confused most say add them some say wait...i guess it's back to big al's for some more advise...

Adding fish to a tank which is undergoing (but hasn't completed) a fishless cycle doesn't make sense.

Fishless cycling implies the tank is being dosed with or is generating ammonia, why add a fish to that type of hostile environment? (cycling with fish is one thing, but adding fish to a tank that hasn't completed its fishless cycle is something else).

Additionally, as the fishless method processes, nitrite will eventually accumulate, so again, why are fish needed for this purpose if nitrite and nitrate are eventual end results of the fishless cycle? The purpose of fishless cycling is that fish aren't required to make it happen.

The tank will be ready for fish when the tank is capable of processing a certain level of ammonia (and, subsequently, nitrite) within a 24hr period and the accumulation of nitrate is occuring.

[jpappy789]

Why? These fish do not originate from brackish environments.

So, by "brackish" do you mean fresh water with 'some' salt in it, or actual brackish water (e.g., specific gravity 1.005-1.015)?
I was wondering that as well...some african keepers add certain salts to "mimic" the composition of the lake but it is completely different from sea salt or bracksih environments