African Cichlid / Water Change info
- Thread starter jaynyfl
- Start date
DOC's are Dissolved Organic Carbon compounds. They are produced as by-products of life. Because your tank is a closed system, they accumulate in your water to unhealthy levels, making the water "thick" and unhealthy for fish. There is currently no easy way to test for these, so nitrates are used as a proxy. In other words, if nitrates are high, you can bet DOC's are too.
There are also other waste products that are harmful to fish that you can't test for, such as pheromones. It is believed that pheromone/hormone accumulation may be responsible for fish "growing to the size of their tank." Their own toxic wastes are stunting their growth
I agree with DeRo, I try to keep nitrates below 10 ppm. I'll sometimes do two or three 50% water changes on my heavily stocked tank, but always 50% water changes every week on even my lightly stocked ones. There is some debate as to what constitutes "acceptable" nitrate levels. Some people say 12.5 is high, others say anything above 20 is bad. The point is, try to keep them as low as possible.
Do you have a liquid (drop) test kit? If not, you should definitely look into getting one. You can get a master kit with ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH for about $15-30. GH/KH is a separate one that usually runs $10 or less. Don't use the strip/dip tests as they are notoriously inaccurate and a pain to read ("Is that pink or pink/orange?")
Good luck, Jason!
There are also other waste products that are harmful to fish that you can't test for, such as pheromones. It is believed that pheromone/hormone accumulation may be responsible for fish "growing to the size of their tank." Their own toxic wastes are stunting their growth
I agree with DeRo, I try to keep nitrates below 10 ppm. I'll sometimes do two or three 50% water changes on my heavily stocked tank, but always 50% water changes every week on even my lightly stocked ones. There is some debate as to what constitutes "acceptable" nitrate levels. Some people say 12.5 is high, others say anything above 20 is bad. The point is, try to keep them as low as possible.
Do you have a liquid (drop) test kit? If not, you should definitely look into getting one. You can get a master kit with ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH for about $15-30. GH/KH is a separate one that usually runs $10 or less. Don't use the strip/dip tests as they are notoriously inaccurate and a pain to read ("Is that pink or pink/orange?")
Good luck, Jason!
Hello Everyone! I let my tapwater run for about 5 minutes and then lit a sample of it sit for 24 hours and here are my readings:
** Tap Water Specs **
PH: 7.0
KH: 3.0 dh
GH: 6.0 dh
Nitrite: 0.0
Nitrate: 0.0
Ammonia: 0.75 PPM
What should I add or do for water changes??
Use my tap water and treat it or use R.O. and treat it ??
I would assume that the RO would be 'cleaner' and have no ammonia... what would you guys do?
....and what products do you recommend?
Thanks
Jason
** Tap Water Specs **
PH: 7.0
KH: 3.0 dh
GH: 6.0 dh
Nitrite: 0.0
Nitrate: 0.0
Ammonia: 0.75 PPM
What should I add or do for water changes??
Use my tap water and treat it or use R.O. and treat it ??
I would assume that the RO would be 'cleaner' and have no ammonia... what would you guys do?
....and what products do you recommend?
Thanks
Jason
Last edited:
my recommendation is use your tap water, treat it for chlorine/chloramine and add some crushed coral to a small dedicated cannister filter. this will elevate your gH, kH and pH and accomplish everything your Malawi cichlids need for optimum health ... and will be a heck of a lot cheaper than RO water and all those other unneeded commercial chemical products.
"cleaner" in what regard? the absence of any mineral content? true, but fish cannot live in "pure" water and thus you need to purchase special additions such as a product called "RO Right" to add back those very minerals which the RO filter has removed. while your tap water 'may' have an insignificant level of ammonia, your biofilter should remove this without your need to do anything about it chemically.
as close to pH 8.5-9.4, gH 240-320 ppm and kh 180-240 ppm. don't stress over 'how close' you get .. but those are targets that you want to approach if not hit directly.
Liv2padl, those numbers seem high to me. According to this article, Malawi has softer water than that:
http://www.malawimayhem.com/articles_setup_01.shtml
"Malawi cichlids come from a rift lake in East Africa (Lake Malawi) that is very much alkaline (pH 7.5 to around 8.8) yet has relatively soft to medium hard water at best. (4-6 dGH and 6-8 dKH)."
and this article:
http://www.cichlidforum.com/articles/lakes_east_africa.php
"Lake Malawi's pH ranges from 7.8 to 8.6, with a total hardness of 4.0-6.0 dH." and "Carbonate hardness ranges from 6.0 to 8.0."
The numbers you mention seem closer to Lake Tanganyika than Lake Malawi. Out of curiousity, where did you get your information?
http://www.malawimayhem.com/articles_setup_01.shtml
"Malawi cichlids come from a rift lake in East Africa (Lake Malawi) that is very much alkaline (pH 7.5 to around 8.8) yet has relatively soft to medium hard water at best. (4-6 dGH and 6-8 dKH)."
and this article:
http://www.cichlidforum.com/articles/lakes_east_africa.php
"Lake Malawi's pH ranges from 7.8 to 8.6, with a total hardness of 4.0-6.0 dH." and "Carbonate hardness ranges from 6.0 to 8.0."
The numbers you mention seem closer to Lake Tanganyika than Lake Malawi. Out of curiousity, where did you get your information?
