eaist way to raist PH for African Ciclids ??

I honestly have no idea...LOL. Chemistry like this is above me at this point, I hope I can get a better understnading somewhere down the road.

But back on topic, the OP first should decide to go african or SA/CA. We need a tank size as well.

I've got to agree there. SA would probably be more favorable for ph >7.4. Depending on how much is dH and how much is KH, there might be the possibility to bring the pH near neutral. Probably more adaptive for tank sizes too if there's a need for growout or quarentine of bullied smaller fish. Of course I say all of this with a blatant bias towwards heavy planted, SA dwarfs and small loricaridae.
 
the single active ingredient in powder "ph up" is sodium bicarbonate aka baking soda. so if u want to raise it and just keep an eye on it, baking soda is your buddy. think the dose is 1/4 tsp per 10 gal. let it dissolve for a few good hours and recheck. add as necessary. BUT if u want to set it around 8 or 8.2, i always mix in some aragonite (finer than crushed coral, better for sifting)
just my .02
 
CaCO3 is barely soluble. It can only dissolve to any extent in acid water as the bicarbonate. That's why most aquaria never reach the 8.whatsit; the CaCO3 just stops dissolving.
 
I am kinda concerned about the point Philosophos is making as well. If you have some substances that can raise the hardness in your water, wouldn't it gradually increase pH/KH/GH over time until it hits the max level? And by changing water, it will bring down pH/KH/GH then slowly climb back up... This goes against the philosophy of providing stable water chemistry. Hence I am afraid of adding these into my tanks.



I must be missing a point here since many people do use crushed corals, CaCO3, etc.
 
AquariaCentral.com