Fish scraping against the sand

[four_by_ken]

But a buffer wont help with a city water spike of whatever... just wanted to point that out.

[Mastiffman]

But a buffer wont help with a city water spike of whatever... just wanted to point that out.

 CIty water spike of what?

 If they dump in more chlorine because of a water main break or high level or that would affect some type of  drain off that would be take care of through de-chlorinator.
 
 I don't think that add more Ammonia to the water for any reason as they take that right to the Government allowable max from the beginning.

[breaktime]

Other than testing for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates I havent tested for anything else. I'm not sure where I would take a sample to have it tested.

Which brand do you use and where do you get it from?

IMO - You should be testing for PH as well !  A dramatic change in PH (either up or down) is very detrimental to your fish..
[/quote

 This is why I tell people how important that it is to have the proper substrate or at least use some type of buffer. Whether it be baking soda epsom salts or something more autonomous like Aragonite that will buffer the water.

 Ph and even Gh are not as important to worry about as Kh which is level of Carbonates and bi-carbonates in the water. Carbonates and Bi-carbonates absorbed harmful acids produced during the nitrogen cycle. Without that capability of the water, even mild adjustemtns of Ammonia can cause a shift in Ph which then makes the ammonia spike that much more dangerous. So what the Kh does is absorbe those affecting acids and keeps the Ph stable during an ammonia spike, if there ever is one.

 As most people know already, ammonia spikes can happen in very established tank for numerous reasons. So take the appropraite measures to be prepared in such a case by creating the proper Kh level in your (people in general) african cichlid tanks.

I have Texas holy rock and cichlid sand that's suppose to buffer the water. I order a gh kh tester by API to see where I'm at

[Saulosi77]

My city water where I live in the last three weeks shot up from 7.8 to over 9.  After it sits over night it drops back to 7.8.  Not sure what chemicals they are adding or what changed.  Before I realized this I did a water change and my fish all began to flash and rub from the rapid fluxuation in ph.  Now I realize how important it is to check ph often.

[Mastiffman]

My city water where I live in the last three weeks shot up from 7.8 to over 9.  After it sits over night it drops back to 7.8.  Not sure what chemicals they are adding or what changed.  Before I realized this I did a water change and my fish all began to flash and rub from the rapid fluxuation in ph.  Now I realize how important it is to check ph often.

Not completely aure what is being said here.

So youre saying over the  course of the last 3 weeks your Ph from the tap has risen that much? But then overnight but drops back down? Do you an old test kit or are you using the dip strips? Its not typical that city tap water will do this.

 If that is the case you might want to think about a water holding reservoir to fill the day before you do your weekly partial..... that way it has time to drop before adding it to the tank. That constant fluctuation cant be good for the fish.

 Its very rare that  see flashing in any of my tanks... unless Im intentionally changing the Gh. 

Rule of thumb is:

Consistency is Key!

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How do you raise KH level in the tank?

epsom salt raises GH correct

[Mastiffman]

How do you raise KH level in the tank?

epsom salt raises GH correct

 baking soda or just do what I do and use Aragonite. But some people think that you still need to use Baking soda for the water change as when the water is buffered during the week and then partially removed and lower Kh water is added back in, it lowers the Kh, which is does, but it's only Carbonates and Bi-carbonates and will not affect the fish directly like Gh does...

[breaktime]

How do you raise KH level in the tank?

epsom salt raises GH correct

 baking soda or just do what I do and use Aragonite. But some people think that you still need to use Baking soda for the water change as when the water is buffered during the week and then partially removed and lower Kh water is added back in, it lowers the Kh, which is does, but it's only Carbonates and Bi-carbonates and will not affect the fish directly like Gh does...

I have Caribsea  cichlid sand in the tank is that the samething as Aragonite?

[Mastiffman]

I think that stuff is made from the same stuff. That should be good.

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My 125 gal tank has been running for a month and I'm using  wet dry filtration in a sump. the last time I thoroughly vaccumed was last week. Now my tank seems cloudy today so I am going to replaced the filters and do a water within the next 2 days..
 

I'm guessing you meant PH? Otherwise I'm not sure what GH is.

 a Month???


 Could be an ammonia spike. My Suggestions:

-Stop Feeding them for a few days to a week to let the BB Colony catch up.
-Leave Filters running and Do Not change them as you will remove the Built up BB. (cloudiness is a Bacteria Bloom trying to balance the tank out.
-Use a Master Test kit and keep and eye on your Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates as this is a very new tank.
-Do 25% water changes daily and use a Dechlorinator like API Stress Coat, Sea Chem's Prime of Safe.

 I also use 1tbsp/10g of Aqaurium Salt and Epsom Salt (Mag-Sulfate) but the ES is more for Raising the Gh as it optimizes Adult African Colors and also Keeps Bowel Movements regular. I have mainly Tropheus...

 If you can... Pull some media from an Established tank and rinse it out inside the 125. it will get dirty looking but will clear up in 24hrs and put the nitrogen Cycle in Check! If no other tanks, Head to the Local Fish Store and ask if they can give you a bag or cup of rinse water from a healthy tank of theirs and you can pour that right in the 125g and it will do the same thing.

 NOTE:

 Gh is for "General hardness" and is basically the mineral content in the water (mainly Magnesium and Calcium though). Africans require between 8-20 (Dutch Scale) or 145ppm (8 x 17.9 clark scale) to 358ppm (20x 17.9 CS)....

 Kh stands for Carbonate and Bi-Carbonate hardness and that is basically the buffering capacity of your water. These will absorb harmful acids produced during the nitrogen cycle in times of high waste and insufficient Beneficial bacteria Colony size.

 Ph is the level of Alkalinity of the water. 7 is Neutral, 7 is acidic and >7 is basic (alkaline)

Ok my test results are for the gh 161 and kh 107 using the api test kit. What an ordeal to find that 5 pet stores finally found it at critters. Ph with my hand tester is 7.95 but I haven't calibrated it yet. I will do that when I test the boiler water at work. API test kit approx 8 -8.2 for ph.

[Mastiffman]

Good Deal. You are at the low end for Lake Tanganyika but being that you don't have Wild Caught, they'll be fine.

I think that I would get the Kh up a bit for sure.

[breaktime]

Good Deal. You are at the low end for Lake Tanganyika but being that you don't have Wild Caught, they'll be fine.

I think that I would get the Kh up a bit for sure.

How exactly do I do that? . Should I take it to the 300's?

[Mastiffman]

Nah.


 Did you say that you use aragonite or Crushed coral?

 CaribSea Aragonite will take it up to about 9. You're not yet to 6. That's about all I would do.

 Petsmart.com has 40lbs bags for $27 and free shipping after $60. So get two and some filter media or something and you'll have a great deal!

[four_by_ken]

Unless your water is way off in one department... I say, do not add anything. 

Take this one from experience... the fish will adapt to minor differences in the water.  But, once you started adding all kinds of things to get "perfect cichlid water", you create more issues that you solve.

[Mastiffman]

Not with Aragonite.

 And if you take the appropriate steps to ensure accurate dosages with say, Epsom salt and Baking soda, there will be no fluctuations in anything and Consistency will prevail. Kh will do nothing but help and that fluctuating a bit is not going to affect anything except the stability of the water during times of Ammonia spikes. Carbonates and Bi-Carbonates do one thing. They absorb harmful acids to protect the Ph balance in the water from changing.