How can I make water conditioner for African cichlids?

[molly]

Hi,

Does anyone know the recipe / ingredients required to make my own water conditioner for African Cichlids?

Thank you.

[ajm1961]

Here are some links from the Cichlid-Forum site that others on this forum have suggested in the past:

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

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

Hope this helps.

[Brent Shaver]

Who knew...lol  I have been buying buffer and yes it can get costly.

Thanks for the post molly and for the links ajm.

Brent

[bitterman]

Remember the Cichlid forum recipe is for raising the ph and making the water harder. You still need to use something like prime.

Bruce

[GrahamWebb]

Wow molly...that is adventurous, I wish you great success... though i can be of no help... I just wanted to show my support because I've never heard of anyone oing that before...but I'm still pretty new to the hobby.

[a1a2a3alex]

These parameters are good, but my problem was my little Pleco couldn't survive these condition.  I also tried the Chinese Algae eaters too.  So, I'm back to regular tap water (in the winter and rain water in the summer).  My Pleco is so far so good.  I didn't notice any change in colour for my African Cichlids.  I watched how Big Al's changes their water and it comes from the same hose as other tanks.  Also, PetSmart says they don't do anything special to the water for the Cichlids.

But you keep us posted whether you see a change in colour for your tank after adjusting the water parameters!

Regards,

Lex

Here are some links from the Cichlid-Forum site that others on this forum have suggested in the past:

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

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

Hope this helps.

[pminister]

Hi,

Does anyone know the recipe / ingredients required to make my own water conditioner for African Cichlids?

Thank you.

Just curious as to why this route and not get the conventional water conditioner at store? Also what type of cichlids do you have that would require this?

[Demasonian]

To answer the above question, using epsom salt and baking soda is an easy, safe and much cheaper method of buffering an African cichlid tank than the commercial buffers. Generally, we buffer to ensure optimal fish health and a stable pH. For those people like me who add Ottawa tapwater directly to the tank, buffering can help prevent pH crashes...Our city tap water tends to run high out of the tap (around 8.0, which is great for Africans), but, due to low buffering capacity (gh and kh), pH drops significantly after 24 hours or so to around 7.0.

That said, a pH of 8.0 is not a requirement to raise africans...the most important thing is a stable water environment

To repeat bitterman's advice above, using an actual water conditioner like Prime to remove chlorine and chloramine is still vital when doing wc's...