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Re: rift cichlids in a plant tank



>> If the fish are wild caught, I might raise the KH/GH to around 15KH/20GH.
>> You can try lowering this later after a few months or acclimate the
>> F1's/F2's to lower KH/GH/pH etc.
 
> I don't understand what you are trying to say in the above statement. About
> 75% of my peacocks are F0's.

If they are doing well, then you might not need to coddle them. Often times
folks that breed their F1 or F2 fish in their tap water will do better than
the wild adults.  

> Is it OK to raise the KH up and how high can I go without effecting plant
> growth? 

I don't know, GH's of 25 were fine, KH's of 18 were fine. It's a CO2 issue
for the plants. I have not found any issues with hard tap water.

It's tough to fine worse tap water than a KH of 18-20, Gh's up to 25 etc.
And I really have no idea for a general upper limit except perhaps the above
which presented no issues.

I think maybe one or two plants do better in softer water, but 99% of all
plants do just fine. CO2 is the issue here.

> If I did raise the KH would it be done with baking soda and if so how long
> does the baking soda usually last? Or is there a better way to raise the KH?

Last till you remove it(water change etc). Plants(some) can remove KH but if
there's enough CO2, they will not use it and folks do large water changes
often with plants which maintains the KH relatively well and stabilizes it.

If you want to experiment with different pH's and KH's , have a look at the
table www.sfbaaps.com and pick a desired pH, then add enough baking soda to
get the corresponding pH you are after when adding the CO2.
Say a KH of 15, 7.3pH would be good. Add enough CO2 to drive the pH down to
this level. Your done.
If you do the smae volume of water changes each week etc, then you can
remember the amount of baking soda you need to raise the KH up and you will
not need to test as much etc.

Malawi has regions that are 7.6pH and other regions that are higher. I doubt
the pH issue is that critical for this lake but Tang is high pH/GH etc.
Many of the salt ions are Ca, Mg, K+ and SO4. These are also all plant
nutrients.  

AF cichlid folks much like the Discus zealots worry way too much about pH
and GH/KH and not enough about good healthy food, a good roomy home for
their fish and frequent large water changes.

These are basic things folks still seem to have problems with in most all
parts of the fish hobby.

Regards, 
Tom Barr




  




 
> Thanks,
> Bill