ph is 7.8 out of the faucet

I have 2 brichardI cichlids that I just got yesterday. my ph is 7.8 out of the sink. should I bump it up or is that fine?

 

Generally speaking, it is better to let your fish acclimate to your pH rather than adjust your pH for the fish. Artificial manipulations tend not to hold, and the swings can be harmful, and sometimes, deadly.

 

Generally speaking, it is better to let your fish acclimate to your pH rather than adjust your pH for the fish. Artificial manipulations tend not to hold, and the swings can be harmful, and sometimes, deadly.

that is what I was thinking and exactly what I was hoping to hear. no chemicals. thanks

 

Glad to help!

 

Generally speaking, it is better to let your fish acclimate to your pH rather than adjust your pH for the fish. Artificial manipulations tend not to hold, and the swings can be harmful, and sometimes, deadly.

Unfortunately N. brichardI needs hard alkaline water, and if your water is soft it will not adapt.

What's the pH in the tank?
What's the pH of the tap water after it has stood for a day?
What's the GH?

Tapwater is usually artificially buffered, and this will wear off when it has been allowed to stand, revealing it's true pH. You should be aiming for a pH of at least 7.8 and a GH of about 10+. If you need to you can raise these safely with crushed coral etc.

LeoDiaz

 

Limestone rockwork is great at keeping your ph at the higher range and looks great in rift lake setup.

 

Unfortunately N. brichardI needs hard alkaline water, and if your water is soft it will not adapt.

What's the pH in the tank?
What's the pH of the tap water after it has stood for a day?
What's the GH?

Tapwater is usually artificially buffered, and this will wear off when it has been allowed to stand, revealing it's true pH. You should be aiming for a pH of at least 7.8 and a GH of about 10+. If you need to you can raise these safely with crushed coral etc.

@LeoDiaz

tap water is 7.8 and I have a 75 gal that the ph is 7.8 as well. how do I test GH? not in the master kit. I live on lake erie so I have literally boat loads of limestone around. if I had to put some in does it matter big pieces ( fist size or bigger) or small pieces (pinky finger nail) and how much? in my media basket isn't going to work. not enough room. small HOB aqua clear

 

API makes a GH and KH add on to the master test kit, but if you have to fight with lime scale on a regular basis, then you're probably fine.

 

tap water is 7.8 and I have a 75 gal that the ph is 7.8 as well. how do I test GH? not in the master kit. I live on lake erie so I have literally boat loads of limestone around. if I had to put some in does it matter big pieces ( fist size or bigger) or small pieces (pinky finger nail) and how much? in my media basket isn't going to work. not enough room. small HOB aqua clear

Fist size or bigger you can make caves with the rocks. just make sure the rocks are sitting on glass and not substrate.

 

Adding calciferous substances to increase hardness and/or pH has to be done by trial and error, because the rate they dissolve depends on the hardness/softness that you already have, and water volume. Add two or three pieces and see how much they do. Then you can adjust it if need be by adding more or removing some...

 

Fist size or bigger you can make caves with the rocks. just make sure the rocks are sitting on glass and not substrate.

why on the glass and not the sand? will they dig underneath?

 

why on the glass and not the sand? will they dig underneath?

Yea, is safer in my opinion

 

Given where you live, it is more than likely that your water is naturally hard, as is most of the water in the Midwest. Also, brichardI are one of the more adaptable species, having been aquarium bred for many generations - I don't think wilds are even imported any more. I'm quite sure they are the most common Tanganyikan cichlid in the hobby. They will adapt to your water, and they will eventually breed and try to kill all the other fish in any tank less than 48" long. Then they will turn into a colony of several generations, which care for one another. This can be fascinating to watch, or extremely boring, depending on how you look at them.

 

Fist size or bigger you can make caves with the rocks. just make sure the rocks are sitting on glass and not substrate.

leodiaz you called it. when I set up my tank I was unaware of putting rocks on the glass. so I did have them on the sand. after you advised me of this I was gonna wait till the tank was cycled to rearrange as suggested. next I noticed one shellie digging under the rocks, I knew this was trouble. tonight for whatever reason I kept checking on them and wouldn't you know it there was only one fish. I went right in and started to pick up the rocks, there she? was, under the rock. she (I'm guessing) swam right out. I'm sure scared out of her mind, and is doing fine. I wiggled all the rocks down to the bottom but a change needs to be made. thanks for the heads up, or that fish may not have made it!

 

No problem, I always like being safe then sorry. This time the fish got out fine but the next time he might not be as lucky. When placing the rock on glass make sure it has no sand under it and directly on glass on all parts that touch the bottom.