"battlelance" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 06 Mar 2004 01:32:07 GMT, "Terry"
wrote:

Can we add Sea Buffer to our cichlid tank to boost the PH?
Need to raise it significantly. Currently at 7.4.
Anyone can you help?

You'll want to test your tap water for pH, KH and GH, then read this:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/buffer_recipe.php

You'll want to pick up some baking soda, epsom salt and marine salt
(you can use table salt, but alas, it lacks many minerals found in
marine salt).

Once you have those, use the buffer recipe to come up with your own
formula, and run with that. It's cheap and works very well.

Just keep in mind you'll want to add the buffer VERY SLOWLY as to
avoid shocking your fish with sudden water chemistry changes.

Good luck.



Battlelance, just our of curiosity what size tank do you have that you use
this recipe on?. I took a look at it and unless I read it wrong I would have
to add 13 tablespoons of Epsom salts, about 13 teaspoons of baking soda and
13 teaspoons of marine salt to my 66 gallon tank to get my PH and hardness
up to about my current levels. I can see why you suggest to add this very
slowly. I used no where near those amounts and my Ph started off similar to
the original posters. I would suggest baking soda about one tablespoon to
about 33 gallons or about half of what your site suggests and then check Ph
levels and 13 tablespoons of salt, I don't think so, not in my tank. Anyway
we should keep in mind that recreating the water conditions that say African
cichlids live in is probably changing the water considerably from what they
were raised in as most of those cichlids we buy from LFS were born and
raised in some fish farm somewhere USA using water conditions that are
available where they are raised. To the original poster, there are numerous
sites out there that give information about buffering water and you will
find that few of them are the same.

Rick