# coral or limestone?



## aquachick (May 24, 2006)

SHould I put a piece of (dead) coral or a piece of limestone in the 10-gal tank I plan on using for a pair or Brevis? I asked for limestone and the lfs and he suggested the coral, but I don't know if that's because it's more expensive or if he was being helpful. He said the coral won't break/wear down, it'll stay there whereas the limestone will actually wear down and I'll have to replace it as some point. 
Any of this true?
Thanks!!


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

I would suggest lace rock IMO. looks better. Amazing how dead coral is still worth $$ after it's dead :lol: imagine how expensive it is when it's alive


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## aquachick (May 24, 2006)

I found some tufa rock on sale (woohoo!) and picked up a good size piece of it. It has about a 3" hole in it too, so I'm hoping this will work to up the ph and maybe they'll use it to swim through too.


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

O yea that still will work  Snap some pics if ya can.


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## aquachick (May 24, 2006)

Do you think the rock will change the ph enough, or do you think I'll have to add something else to it?


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

This was a 10g tank? test ph in few days to check it out.


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## aquachick (May 24, 2006)

Thanks, will do!


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

If your pH still turns out to be too low, changing your substrate to coral sand will do the trick.


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## joe kool (Jan 24, 2005)

Cichlid Man said:


> If your pH still turns out to be too low, changing your substrate to coral sand will do the trick.



actually the agraalive sand from caribsea would be better for the brevis than the coarser crushed coral type sands and still have the PH / alkilinity boosting affect with added benificial bacteria to boot. 

What is your substrait now? if it's just the colored rocks or something I'd suggest seriously considering changing it anyway.


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## aquachick (May 24, 2006)

I have just normal old sand. What is agraalive sand? Would that be in the salt water section of the store? If the tufa doesn't work enough I was thinking of adding a pouch of crushed coral to the filter container, if I can find less than a 15-lb bag of it. (That's all the pet store had yesterday.)


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## joe kool (Jan 24, 2005)

http://www.carib-sea.com/pages/products/fresh/africancichlid.html

it's the eco-complete for cichlids ... you can read up on it here ... 

I've heard regular "pool type" sand has problems clumping and getting hard if not cared for and what not ... I haven't had that problem but maybe it's cause the cichlids are always movin it around LOL


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## joe kool (Jan 24, 2005)

with sand you need to have a little more than the "1 pound per gallon" rule states to get a thickness compaired to what you would see with regular gravel. I like mine about 1/2" -1" above the "plastic" part of the bottom of the aquarium which ends up being just enough to cover the glass some places and 6+" in others thanks to my "artists"


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

only 1/2-1" man?! are you nuts i got at least 3-4" in mine :lol: but that's cuz i plan on doing featherfins.


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## joe kool (Jan 24, 2005)

"ABOVE" the plastic rim ... makes it like 2 to 3" deep in the tank .. rim is about 1" remember  

Plus it don't matter how I arrance it ... fish move it where they want any way :lol:


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## aquachick (May 24, 2006)

Just wondering what the exact ph needs to be for multis. Also, can I add a few harlequin rasboras to that tank, or will the ph be too high? (I'm planning on getting 4-5 multis now instead of the brevis.) 
Thanks for all the help!


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Most tanginikans do fine in 7.8-8.5. Most important is to stay above 7 at all times.


> (dead) coral


 if you mean a big piece, I took one out, my fish managed to scrape himself on it and the wounds got infected. That thing was sharp. Its safer to put crushed coral in the filter or use it as a substrate.


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## aquachick (May 24, 2006)

If the tufa rock doesn't raise it enough, I'll get some crushed and put in the filter area. (I can just buy a piece and crush it myself, right?) How often do you think I'll have to replace it; every 3 months? Six months?

edit: How do you raise the ph in water that you're adding to the tank, such as when doing water changes?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I measure cichlid salts and buffer into the bucket as I fill it laundry sink, but sometimes the stuff sticks to the bottom, liquid salts are availible, but more expensive. Sometimes I put the powders in the power filter and add the water slowly to the tank. The way your supposed to do it is to dissolve the stuff in a pitcher of water and add it to the new water before you put it in the tank. This always results in a paste in the bottom of my pitcher.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

> can just buy a piece and crush it myself, right


I think so, but wouldn't it be cheaper to buy a bag than a big piece. Crushed oyster shells should also work.


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## aquachick (May 24, 2006)

If crushed oyster shell works, I can lots of it for free from a local restaurant. The cheapest bag the lfs has is 18-lbs for $20. I just don't have a place to keep that big of a bag, kwim? So I'll get some salts and buffer I guess to do the water changes with.
Thanks!

edit: Do the shells need to be raw, or can they have been cooked?


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