# crushed coral question..



## sakie (Oct 22, 2009)

Hi, I've been search around the web to find the answer about crushed coral. I have crushed coral in my Malawi tank and every time I do a water change, I always add cichlid buffer. Now crushed coral keep your pH stable and my question is this: do I really need to use cichlid buffer at all? All the website I visited only talk about how crushed coral work but none of it suggest anything about adding buffer product. I hope some of the experts here can answer this simple question. Thanks.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

What is the pH of your tap water?


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## CrabbyMatty (Jun 30, 2009)

sakie, I use FL Crushed Coral in all of my tanks. All tanks are outfitted with undergravel filters, some with power heads, all with sponge filters and HOB's. My tap water is 8.2...I have no need for a buffer as my PH remains at 8.2 to 8.4 always. Now I keep only Malawi's. I'm no expert but I believe Tang's like a higher PH?...Maybe someone can confirm that. If so, a buffer might be of some use there.

Matt


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## sakie (Oct 22, 2009)

Thanks DJRansome and CrabbyMatty for the reply. I just checked my tap water and I used both regular pH test and High range pH test. The regular show 7.6 and the high range pH show 8.0 - 8.2. I guess my tap water is ~8.1? 
Oh my cichlid buffer chemical, for Tang's lake, it require more dose than Malawi so I guess you are correct about Tang's cichlid like higher pH than Malawi.


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## buddha2364 (Nov 3, 2009)

I never add buffer to my water changes using crushed coral. But here in Missouri, hard water is everywhere. It's almost always in the 8.0 range right out of the tap.


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## sakie (Oct 22, 2009)

So if my tap water pH is around 8ish and I use crushed coral, I don't really need to add those cichlid buffer chemical, am I correct? Then when I'm changing 10%-20% water once a week, by adding new water from the tap, my tank pH will still be stable around 8.2(right now, that's the reading from the tank)? I just want to be really sure before I stop using the cichlid buffer chemical because if pH become unstable, then my poor Malawi cichlid will take a trip to see their ancestor.


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## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

The crushed coral will help keep your pH stable in between water changes.
Plus, if your pH is already within range and it stays in that range, there is no need to buffer.

You should test your tap water KH and then test your tank water KH.
These values are more important to the overall health of your fish than pin pointing the pH.


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## sakie (Oct 22, 2009)

Okay. Thank you very much everyone for the reply. I will do my water change from now on without using buffer to see if there's anything different. Once again, thanks. :thumb:


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