Fwd: Re: Rift lake cichlids without lake salts -Reply

["Ed Pon" <edpon@hotmail.com>]

Wilfred wrote:
>the effect of the shells in your filter is that chalk (shells) 
increases the 
>hardness of the water. So you have a buffer for the pH. In soft water 
everything 
>(food...) decreases the pH. With the buffer of calcium... in the tank 
the 
>changing of pH takes more time. A better (because faster) effect you 
can reach 
>if you put some pieces of chalk (regular chalk for writing at a table) 
into your 
>filter. Try it and be surprised.
>
>Good luck
>Wilfred

I have been using dolomite powder to harden my water.  It's available at 
Orchard Supply Hardware in the concrete department in 50lb. sacks for 
about $8.00 (don't recall exactly, lasts a long time). It's used for 
whitening concrete and is called Dolomark.  I just throw a handful of it 
into the tank.  It clouds the water for about a day.  A friend of mine 
says that dolomite contains calcium and magnesium.  I haven't killed 
anything yet with it in using it with some various Tanganyikan and 
Malawan cichlids.  A friend of mine uses it with his delicate 
Tanganyikan killifish.

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