cenrtal american cichlids in high ph?

[vaderbanger]

im having a tough time deciding on substrate, the ones i really like seem to buffer the ph like make it 8.2 is this too much for american cichlids?
i have an oscar and i know they like softer low ph water but will they make it ok in a high ph water?
my tanks now are 7.6 naturally from the tap, i have hard water but i never measured it (i know its hard because when i bought the house etc)
i have and oscar, severum, green terror, convict, and a dempsey
the substrate im looking into is crushed coral with agorate(?) sand or maybe all arogate sand?? i forgot how to spell it sorry lol
then i see african cichlid sand that looks nice, is this a bad idea?
i was going to do the play sand thing or silica but after reading warning labels saying its cancerous no way am i using it...and they want kids playing in it? lol

 

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

I would only get a substrate that will not raise the pH. While the asthetic decor of your tank is important, it is far more important to provide a tank environment that is suitable to your fish. If you keep central/south american fish, keep the pH as neutral as you can. 7.6 is probebly okay for them, I would not go higher. So no crushed coral, no agronite, no african cichlid sand.

I would stick to play sand or pool filter sand... if sand is the way you want to go. But honestly, with an oscar, IMO fine grain gravel will be much better. I can just picture him constantly stirring up the sand.

-Diana

 

[vaderbanger]

"But honestly, with an oscar, IMO fine grain gravel will be much better. I can just picture him constantly stirring up the sand. "

so you think with these type of cichlids sand is a bad idea? i shouldnt do it right? lol
i dont want to do something i regret and removing hundreds of pounds of sand doesnt sound fun.
so when an oscar or cichlid pal decides to dig in the sand will they carry it up high and drop it causing it to go in the filter or create a cloud of sand??

 

[daveedka]

I personally wouldn't consider anything fine grained or lightweight for an Oscar. I'd go with a medium to small gravel (I never use larger gravel because I don't particularly like it) 7.6 is to me the bare minimum pH in a tank that is not injected with co2. The more I study KH and the relationship it has to a stable tank the more I preach that 2-3 dKH is a must. Since 2-3 dKH will put a tank somewhere in the pH range of 7.4-7.6 that is my minimum.

I would not think you would want to purposefully buffer a tank higher than that, so an inert substrate would be my choice. Aragonite is great stuff when used in the right application, but not what you would necessarily need for Oscars.

Now with that all being said, I have kept Oscars in pH ranges from very low to almost 9.0 and never had them adversely react to any particular water.


Dave