I had a feeling that was the reason but I didn't know if it was because of the weather or not because of the time of year...since it's under your control, no worries!
Cichlid Tank Cycling
- Thread starter justin85
- Start date
Your tank is conducting a perfect cycling, and in very good time! As has been said, once you see the nitrItes drop to 0, dose it once more with ammonia to make sure it can handle converting it all in a single day, then do your big water change and add your fish.
That being said, african cichlids do enjoy nice hard water with a high PH. If you go this route, I don't recommend adding it all at once before adding fish. If the fish are coming from a standard tap water atmosphere (which a majority of store bought/farmed freshwater fish do), the huge instant change in water conditions could be quite a shock to their systems. (This is more a helpful disclaimer than anything else, as I hear about PH shock often, but have never personally experienced any problems using the "plop" method of just sticking them in the different water without any fanfare. I find that temperature however does need to match within a few degrees or you can run into problems. In other words, "plop at your own risk")
The actual calculation for how much of each ingredient in this mix to use is actually based on your tap water specifically, and how much it needs to change to reach your target water specs. There isn't actually a one size fits all formula. If you go this route, I recommend slowly advancing to the dosages Jannika recommended at first (it is a good base guideline recipe), monitoring your levels closely, and adjusting ingredient levels accordingly with each water change, to eventually find the golden mixture that gives you the PH, KH & GH levels you're looking for.
I did this in my Lake Malawi cichlid tank, and nearly overnight they began coloring up more, and now it's to a point where I can't even get them to stop spawning!
I spent around $20, and bought enough ingredients mix up a 3 gallon bucket worth of my homemade salt/buffer mix, with lots of marine salt to spare which will of course be used in my next few mixes as time goes on. I use 1 1/2 cup of mix during each weekly 50% water change, so it will last me roughly 32 weeks. But that's on my 150g (~568L) tank. On your 200L tank with the same percentage/frequency of water changes, 3 gallons would last you roughly 85 weeks (exact calculation would vary depending on your target goals and tap water of course).
The trade off, is that you can get PH, KH, & GH to precisely the levels that you want, but the prepackaged retail cichlid salts often contain trace elements that aren't recreated with the marine/epson/baking soda home mix. Personally, my African Cichlids react much better to the home mix anyway, so I don't consider the absence of a few potentially beneficial trace elements to be of dire importance.
As far as the difference in price between retail and homemade salt mix is concerned, I'm simply not up for doing all the price/dosing math right now. If you do compare prices, keep in mind that the retail salt mixes don't buffer the PH, so you'd still need to add baking soda or something else to raise it to the 8.0+ neighborhood.
A stable PH and hardness are much more important than adding a salt mix, so you don't by any means, HAVE to do this.
That being said, african cichlids do enjoy nice hard water with a high PH. If you go this route, I don't recommend adding it all at once before adding fish. If the fish are coming from a standard tap water atmosphere (which a majority of store bought/farmed freshwater fish do), the huge instant change in water conditions could be quite a shock to their systems. (This is more a helpful disclaimer than anything else, as I hear about PH shock often, but have never personally experienced any problems using the "plop" method of just sticking them in the different water without any fanfare. I find that temperature however does need to match within a few degrees or you can run into problems. In other words, "plop at your own risk")
The actual calculation for how much of each ingredient in this mix to use is actually based on your tap water specifically, and how much it needs to change to reach your target water specs. There isn't actually a one size fits all formula. If you go this route, I recommend slowly advancing to the dosages Jannika recommended at first (it is a good base guideline recipe), monitoring your levels closely, and adjusting ingredient levels accordingly with each water change, to eventually find the golden mixture that gives you the PH, KH & GH levels you're looking for.
I did this in my Lake Malawi cichlid tank, and nearly overnight they began coloring up more, and now it's to a point where I can't even get them to stop spawning!
I spent around $20, and bought enough ingredients mix up a 3 gallon bucket worth of my homemade salt/buffer mix, with lots of marine salt to spare which will of course be used in my next few mixes as time goes on. I use 1 1/2 cup of mix during each weekly 50% water change, so it will last me roughly 32 weeks. But that's on my 150g (~568L) tank. On your 200L tank with the same percentage/frequency of water changes, 3 gallons would last you roughly 85 weeks (exact calculation would vary depending on your target goals and tap water of course).
The trade off, is that you can get PH, KH, & GH to precisely the levels that you want, but the prepackaged retail cichlid salts often contain trace elements that aren't recreated with the marine/epson/baking soda home mix. Personally, my African Cichlids react much better to the home mix anyway, so I don't consider the absence of a few potentially beneficial trace elements to be of dire importance.
As far as the difference in price between retail and homemade salt mix is concerned, I'm simply not up for doing all the price/dosing math right now. If you do compare prices, keep in mind that the retail salt mixes don't buffer the PH, so you'd still need to add baking soda or something else to raise it to the 8.0+ neighborhood.
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I was hoping to have around 20-24 with the right male to female ratio in mind.
Thanks for the reply, really helped. Is marine salt easy to get ? ebay ? I was just going to use non iodized salt, I have ordered epson off ebay 500g I think and soda I have loads as my wife loves to bake lol Should i get marine salt over normal non iodized salt ?
Justin, marine salt is what you want, and should be available in most pet stores and online. Very different than table or aquarium salt.
Hmmm, personally I would never attempt to keep mbuna in such soft water, but I'm lucky. Tap is pH 8.3, gH 300+mg/l, KH 300 mg/l, TDS 600+mg/l. Basically liquid rock, but Malawis thrive in it. Justin's water is soft and alkalinity low - 60 mg/l and 70/80 mg/l respectively, and the salt mix is a relatively easy remedy to make ideal water conditions.
I will order the marine salt now off ebay (I was told table salt would be fine) I have 2 big water container's so I will just have to prepare my water the day before I do my water changes.
What exactly do I want my PH, GH and KH to be for keeping Pseudotropheus Saulosi?
Once all my salt comes I will do a test run of a bucket of water straight out the tap and buffer it up to the required parameters.
Just had a look on ebay, there is TONS! of different brands, Could you advise me on which would be the best to get, there not cheep as well so I need to make sure i get the right one.
I just use Instant Ocean Sea Salt (sea salt and marine salt are the same). The smallest box available at Petsmart, for $13, will last you several years as a cichlid salt mix additive.
As for your golden water parameters, a quick Googling makes it look as if you have quite a range to play with.
PH: from 7.5 - 8.8
KH: 7 - 30
GH: didn't find anything specific, but I'd bet pretty close to KH numbers.
As for your golden water parameters, a quick Googling makes it look as if you have quite a range to play with.
PH: from 7.5 - 8.8
KH: 7 - 30
GH: didn't find anything specific, but I'd bet pretty close to KH numbers.
My cycle is complete! I will be looking in to ordering my fish soon, I have ordered TMC Tropic Marin Pro Cichlid Mineral (500g) I know this will buffer my PH but will it also sort out my GH + KH ?
I am thinking about getting a 250L water butt to keep water in so I always have prepared water for my weekly changes.
Has anyone ordered live stock from Northants Malawis online ? Seems I might have to order them.
I am thinking about getting a 250L water butt to keep water in so I always have prepared water for my weekly changes.
Has anyone ordered live stock from Northants Malawis online ? Seems I might have to order them.
