20150201 African Cichlids

Until I became exposed and deeply memorized by the marine fish trade, I once considered going hardcore into African Cichlids. They are by far the most vibrant, colorful freshwater fish there is. Not only that, they are also quite hardy. And with the hard, high pH water here in the America Midwest, it is perfect for them.

African cichlids are easy to keep, and many of them are mouth brooders thus easy to breed and raise young. Unfortunately they have earned a bad reputation for being aggressive. Not only that, because of what people perceive as their aggressiveness, they also tend to offer them improper diet- Most African cichlids are primarily vegetarians but many people offer diet closer to the carnivore range.

The truth is, much like many marine fish, African cichlids are extremely territorial and requires a large range of space between each other, especially if they are nesting for comfort and security. For this reason, if you are overstocking the fishtank they can't help but squabble and display aggressiveness. While the tank above stocks quite a few of them for display purpose, for the long term health of the fish and tank, a tank of this size should really host no more than a three to four pairs of cichlids. And no, they aren't really community fish.

2014-05-02 Discussion: pH Level for Marine Aquarium

You might have heard how important pH level is, but you might not have experienced what it can do to your tank if your pH level is really off target- Well, this winter I've battled the pH war and have a lot to share:
Background
The first mistake- probably a success in many other ways- is that I have my fish tank sitting in my finished basement. The reason for this placement made all the senses when I set it up- basement's air temperature does not fluctuate like that of upper levels, it also has the most solid, salt resistant floor surface- concrete underneath carpet to support the weight of the tank. And an easy access to the nearby utility sink. But I forgot one thing- without any open windows, the oxygen level tends to be lower than any other floor levels.

What does oxygen level has to do with pH? There is actually a very useful article on pH by Randy Holmes here: http://www.reefkeeping.com
In summary, pH is the measurement of hydrogen particles in the water, and the concentration of hydrogen particles relays heavily on the amount of oxygen present in the water.

When pH level is low, the water is acidic, and it will become difficult for your invertebrates including snails, corals, and clams to build skeleton as their bodies must allow the use of calcium carbonate (basic) to help neutralize the pH level within their bodies. (similarly, if a person constantly resides in an oxygen deprives environment, this person's body will be more acidic, and hence be more prone to osteoporosis as the body is unable to retain calcium)

So what happens in my basement over the cold-long winter here in Wisconsin is the low oxygen level due to closed window causes the tanks' pH level to drop below 8.0. This almost entirely stops the growth of all my stony corals and my clams.

To solve this problem, I began employee the help of kalkwasser. Each week I mix 1tsp of kalwasser with RO water per 25 gallon of water volume and pour the solution directly into a high flow area of my tank. This maintained the pH level of my tank between 8.0 to 8.2 through the rest of the winter. With the help of higher pH level, my corals and clams resumed growth and are happier than ever.

With my detailed documented water test results- on a spreadsheet- I discovered the dramatic change of pH level once the snow has melted on the ground and that I was able to open the windows of my house- pH level shut up from 8.0 to 8.3/4 within a week without requiring any further kalkwasser dosing.

So if you have noticed a slow to none growth with your coral or clam despite strong lighting and adequate calcium levels, you might want to give pH adjustment a shot!