I need help with my african cichlids.?

Question

I have a 37 gallon tank with 11 cichlids and 1 pleco. I have recently lost 4 cichlids and the pleco, so I took the water to the fish store to be tested, and they told me the ph was too low, it was 6.6 and it should be around 7.6 at least for african cichlids. It also started growing a really bright green algae really quickly after the last water change. I don't know why the ph has dropped, I've been using the same tap water that I always have. How can I bring the ph back up naturally with out using chemical buffers?

Answer 1

I would do some 25% water changes every other day for 10 days to see if that brings it up before I started putting things into the tank that will change the water chemistry. Test your tap water and see if the water company has made some radical changes they haven't sent out notices about.

"Re-cycling" does NOT affect the pH. Have you recently installed a water softener or added new salt to an old water softener. Salt LOWERS pH if you add too much.

If it has been a looonnnggg time since your last water change, that is the reason. Build ups of ammonia, nitrites and nitrates over weeks or months without weekly partial (25%) water changes will lower the pH. If you just did a large water change after not doing one for a long time, that could have killed the fish due to the large change in pH and other parameters.

It is amazing what fish can live in if it builds up slowly over a period of weeks or months. Then fresh water actually kills them because of the shock of change.....

A rapid change in the pH will kill off fish. They cannot tolerate changes of more than .5 in one day. That is why sometimes when you bring home a new fish it will die in a few days for no apparent reason. The water differences between the store and your tank were just too great. Ask the store what their pH is before you just pop your new fish into the tank.

Answer 2

Your pH naturally drops within a tank over time. Fish waste, decaying organic material and uneaten food are all acidic compounds that will lower your pH. The more frequently you change your water (like 30% on a weekly basis) the more effectively you stop your pH from sinking so low. If your tap water is naturally very hard and has a high pH then you shouldn't need any additives but if not then try adding lava rock or crushed coral.
Also you should get your nitrate, nitrite and ammonia checked; there is something fishy about how five of your fish died and I strongly doubt pH had anything to do with it. If you are having trouble with algae it might have more to do with your nitrogen level.

Answer 3

African cichlids should have a little salt in the water, they make products specifically for this, or you can add 1-2 tsp of sea salt, rock salt, or aquarium salt per gallon- no salt with iodine. Also, any commercially available buffer will help to stablize ph. On a side note, losing the pleco can not be explained by low ph. I would almost guarentee a pathogen or communicable bacteria is involved, check for red streaks in in the fins, bloating, cloudy eyes. Do a good sized water change, and buffer the water according to the directions of just about any commercially available product, the salt really helps too, Old Worlds love hard water.

Answer 4

Do you have any drift wood in the tank? Or peat moss? Those things can lower your tank ph fast and without warning. Great for cichlids but bad for ph levels being to low.
The reason you have the new algae is because you basically cleaned your tank to well. Squeaky clean tanks can be more of a pain as it sends your tank into a recycling until it's balanced again, the more you clean the worse it will get. So you lost your fish to NEW TANK SYNDROME...
To kill the algae naturally, simply turn your lights off for a few days, and remember algae is a plant that needs light to grow. Cut off its source and it will stop growing. Using chemicals at this point in time, will only matters worse in my professional opinion. Also you have to be extremely careful treating your water with anything when keeping any scales fish such as catfish and tetra family. It will harm then greatly or even kill them. Many people miss that fine print on the bottles.
If you tank is indeed recycling, your ph will naturally be out of wack, as it is part of this process. To help your tank out fast and without causing more harm to your remaining fish, buy some helpful live bacteria. I use the brand CYCLE, buy the bottle and pour the entire contents in, it WILL NOT harm your fish at all, promise. Also for cichlids, salt them to help with stress, use Aquarium salt as directed on the label, something like 1 teas. Per ten gallons it has allot of other added benefits to using it as well. If they get ich after all of this stress, turn off your light, stop feeding and turn up your heater, add minced raw garlic and in about two days it will be gone.
If it is strictly a ph problem, Add a few snail shells as it will bring it up, crushed coral will as well, the only problem is, you have no way of controlling how high it will make it rise. So it’s best to always do things as naturally as possible.
I’m so sorry you had to go through. Good luck on getting your tank back in order.

Answer 5

sodium bicarbonate or baking soda will raise the ph, its what you get in a ph kit but is cheaper to buy at a supermarket in the cake section
Anything organic in the aquarium will decrease the ph as it breaks down in the manner of releasing carbon and forming carbonic acids.
Vaccuum up feces and rotting food

Does the green algae give the water a strange smell, if so it could be a type of blue green alga which is actually bacteria and algae living together in a sybiotic state. dump a bit of salt on the affected spots or do a partial water change

Answer 6

there's many ways to buffer the tank naturally, use limestones, you also can add one TBSP baking soda in a bucket mix per 5 gallon, OR add cichlid salt provide from fish shop, expsom salt too...

I am not exactly sure how the formula work however I've enclose a wonderful website for you to take a look, lots of forum discussion on this type of issues already. There is also lots of homemade buffers that you can find there.

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

I never have to buffer my tank water because my water is already hard.

Answer 7

Try limestone rocks. Their the big holey ones.

Answer 8

crushed coral