I am re-starting my 100 gallon tank after a move and the water here is HARD, it leaves white crusty deposits on fixtures and water spots on glass. I want to raise fish that will thrive in this hard water and think african cichlids would be a wise choice. I am not fond of changing PH around with chemicals so africans seem the logical choice. Now for the substrate, I want to go with some kind of sand if possible and I am not familliar with the different kinds available. I see people who have african cichlids using a buffering sand such as crushed coral or cichlid sand that has small shells in it. Can I use the sand sold in fish stores that are used for marine tanks such as reef sand or argonite ? if not, why not ? I don't want a dark sand or a white sand, something in the middle like a tan reef sand. The cichlid sand i see is a black & white mix that looks like salt and pepper and I don't like that because my black gravel i had in my tank before the move turned white when some of the black faded away and i hated it. so what sand can i use and does my hard water need to be buffered to stay hard ? ALSO, which african cichlids do best in very hard water at a PH above 7.9 ?
Bert
DAYTON, NEVADA
Bert
DAYTON, NEVADA