RE: [GSAS-Member] Water buffering

["Holly" <holly@ourglasshouse.com>]

Ben and I went to Sierra Fish & Pets in Loehmanns Plaza this past weekend.
That is the place, right?  Unfortunately all we saw were 5 stacked
containers, 4 with gravel and one with coral sand for $1 a lb.  We asked a
kid working there about other types of sand and he said that was all they
had.  I am avoiding play sand since you and Trish said it's so dirty!

Holly  

-----Original Message-----
From: gsas-member-bounces@thekrib.com
[mailto:gsas-member-bounces@thekrib.com] On Behalf Of Monica H
Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2006 3:46 PM
To: gsas-member@thekrib.com
Subject: Re: [GSAS-Member] Water buffering

Holly, I too used playsand once, and never will again!  I rinsed it for an
entire day, and never got it clean!  I bought my sand from the fish gallery
in Loheman's Plaza in Factoria/Bellevue.  I bought 100 lbs for $30 plus they
give GSAS members 10% off.  They have about 5 different types of sand.  I
also add seasalt to my riftlake tanks, and some riftlake buffer.  I keep
they PH between 8.2-8.
Monica


>From: Trish <snips36@yahoo.com>
>Reply-To: Greater Seattle Aquarium Society member 
>chat<gsas-member@thekrib.com>
>To: Greater Seattle Aquarium Society member chat 
><gsas-member@thekrib.com>
>Subject: Re: [GSAS-Member] Water buffering
>Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 14:45:29 -0800 (PST)
>
>Holly-
>
>I have mostly africans in my tanks, so having a higher ph is important. 
>Out of the tap here in Enumclaw it is a ph of 8, so I am lucky this 
>way. For sand I have used play sand in the past, and you need to rinse 
>and rinse and rinse, and even then it wasn't clean. So since then I use 
>just silica sand. Got it at a lumber supply place near here, for about 
>$10.00 for 100 pounds. Great price.
>
>As to the salt. I jsut add the salt when I am adding water to the 
>tanks, no need to to let it sit and disolve first. I never have.
>
>Their is a great fish web site with all your answers, and then some to 
>your questions. it is
>www.malawicihlidhomepage.com   it is mostly an african
>fish web site but has other information as well.
>
>Hope this helps some,
>
>Trish
>
>--- Holly <holly@ourglasshouse.com> wrote:
>
> > I am pretty clueless about buffering water and I'm hoping you guys 
> > can enlighten me.  I want to get a consistently high pH for my 
> > Tanganyikan shellies.  If I buy play sand from the hardware store 
> > it'll probably be silica.  So if I then add a baggie of crushed 
> > coral to my filter box will that keep the pH up in my entire tank 
> > until the next water change a week later?
> >
> > Also, I have some rift salt to add to the new water during water 
> > changes.
> > Do I need to let the fresh water sit in buckets with the mix to 
> > sufficiently harden it or can I just add the it to the water being 
> > siphoned in?  I'm really not big on lifting buckets of heavy water 
> > so I'd like to keep my water changes easy by sticking with the 
> > Python.
> > Should I filter the water
> > through the coral as it enters?
> >
> > I looked into getting some Aragamax or cichlid sand but the stuff 
> > seems to be ridiculously expensive... Like $40.  So I'm thinking a 
> > $5 bag of play sand and some other material with buffering 
> > capability elsewhere in the tank would be better.  I want a very 
> > fine sand since the shellies are small and move sand around in their 
> > mouths a lot.
> >
> > When it comes to Malawi fish, how do I keep the pH a little lower 
> > than Tanganyikan water?  And the same goes for lowering pH...  Will 
> > a bit of peat have the same results when trying to get acidic water?
> >
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Holly
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
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> >
>
>
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