Stupid Question

What kind of fish are you keeping/planning to keep. I agree, get the fish that like that kind of water. Apistogramma cichlids are great fish to keep, you will have not problem getting good money for the fry(once they get bigger), and they are really interesting.

If you want to use the crushed coral, put it in a nylon/filter bag and put this in the filter, use it as a substrate, or use it to condition the water change water for however long it takes to get ph where you want it.

ps did we mention how perfect your water is for SA dwarf cichlids. (Mooman mutters to himself as he hits the submit reply button :mad2: )
 
LFS' don't have it? Ask for aragonite then. If there's any place around you that carries african cichlids they should have crushed coral or aragonite for use as a substrate. For your purpose, yes, just put a couple tbsp. in a mesh bag or nylon and drop it in your filter.

Or start breeding discus and make lots of money :rolleyes:
 
thanks

thanks for all your help! People well might kill for that ph tap water, but i drink the stuff and would prefer it at 7! One final, final question-if i do keep ph at 5.5 will platys i already have be ok in uch a ph? I don;t want to lose fish i already have, that's most important thing of all-look fine so far by the way.

Thanks again for help, you are all stars!
 
addendum

should add as well had few pre-conceived ideas of what fish i wanted. Ideally i'd like little nemos swimming about and some dwarf puffers, but back in the real worls i just want pretty and peaceful fish! No more than that really....neon tetra maybe, albino cory, dalmatian guppys...that list would make me happy!
 
Not to sound like a broken record, but if you get some apistos, you will wonder why people keep those stupid mollies, tetras, and barbs (bunch of stupid fish just swim around trying not to bump into walls...booooooring). Apistos are facinating to watch and are very colorful.

Checkthemout

www.apistogramma.com
 
Why is drinking a pH of 7 better? The human body is acidic.

I may be wrong but you may want to test your water for phosphates. They are what are often used in those ph up/down products and perfect pH. Maybe Happychem will chime in there as miy mind is sleepy today.
 
Have you been using pH up/down? Yes, they are usually PO4 based. Either ask your lfs to test your tank for PO4 or ask your local water comission for their annual water quality report as well as whether they add polyphophates to the water or not. If they don't then solving an issue of high PO4 is as easy as some water changes.

Have you asked about the aragonite? (ah-RAG-oh-nite, just in case ;) )

Neons will be very happy in that water, btw. They come from very soft water naturally, not that you're likely to get any wild caught neons, anywhere, they're all tank bred, and for several generations, that's one hypothesis for why they're so fragile, inbreeding.

Anyway, if you can't get aragonite or crushed coral, try mixing up a gallon of water with a tbsp. of baking powder and dose small volumes to your tank water to gradually bring up KH and pH, once you've reached a level you're happy with (record what volume of your stock it took to get there) simply dose an appropriate amount at water change.

For example:
You add 10mL to a 10g tank to get the desired pH/KH
Every week you change 50% of your water
Add 5mL of stock at each water change.

Those numbers are made up and probably way off scale, start small and find out what works best for you.
 
thanks

thanks happychem that was very useful. Is PO4 phoshate's chemical name? I bought some phosphate buffer but haven't used it as it may kill live plants. So instead i bought some seachem acid and alkaline buffer which is not phosphate based and in right ratios say will get my ph up to 7.0.
Have not asked shop yet about aragonite but will do on next visit-or might try to ask them to order me some coral. Not happy pumping chemicals into tank, but am keen to make water less acidic asap.
 
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