Black Beauty Sand in a Cichlid Tank

[FrontosaurusRex]

why are you looking specifically for an African mix? Are you attempting to maintain a certain PH level? Have you tested the PH level of the drinking water in Friendswood? I live in Baytown and we dont have to buffer our water at all for Africans. I have kept Africans since the beginning and I've never used any sort of buffer. I've also kept South Americans with no problems either. I guess what I'm saying is that, you may not need to put so much thought into whats chemically correct for your fish and just choose something that is appealing to you. Plus, there are tons of different kinds of rocks that will take care of that PH level, so that gives you some more options. Hope this helps. Peace

[danielp]

Just for a kind of consistency guarantee.

I will be using Holey rock to begin with. After a while I may go to zebra rock.

Lights will be coral life 50/50 bulbs.

I have 2 4' power compacts so it will be 4 50/50 bilbs.

[FrontosaurusRex]

My PH fluctuates between 7.5 and 8.2 depending on whether or not it has rained recently. but 9 out of 10 days, my PH is at a constant 7.8 without any buffering chemicals or rocks. I just checked mine yesterday after a water change and it was 7.8. What is the PH of the water when it comes out of the faucet?