All these yrs later, and there still seems to be some confusion regarding Lake Malawi water parameters. This Rift Lake is NOT made up of hard water, as often reported by folks. The KH (alkalinity) is high, which keeps the pH fairly stable, but the water is on the soft side. Certainly not hard. See following link.
I posted the following approx 20 yrs ago on another forum regarding tweaking water to fit Malawi cichlids ...….
I get the feeling some people have been led to believe that one has to have their PH range above 8.0, which simply isn't true. PH values as low as 7.5 have been recorded in Lake Malawi, and the water is not near as hard as most people believe, it's actually on the soft side. (4-6 dGH) Many people assume that high PH values = hard water, but in the case of Lake Malawi this isn't true.
Also, most tap water will have seasonal fluctuations, just like Lake Malawi, so I think it would be near impossible to keep all water parameters constant 365 days of the year. The trick is keeping the fluctuations from being drastic from one day to the next. I'm not sure if all of the 'new' aquarium owners realize just how drastic a change in PH from 7.6 - 8.6 is? I would prefer to see people keeping their Cichlids at a constant 7.4, than have the PH jumping back & forth between 7.4 & 8.4 every time they do a water change, and add a fist full of chemicals/buffers.
Our local tap water is usually in the PH range of 8.0, with seasonal drops as low as 7.8, and as high as 8.2. The water hardness levels are usually in the 150-180 mg/l range during spring & summer & approx
200-250 mg/l during the winter months. This is approx. twice as hard as the water in Lake Malawi, yet the fish here do very well with no additional treatments or buffers.
This is why I always suggest getting in contact with ones local water treatment plant, so that they know exactly what they are dealing with "throughout" the year. As long as the tap water changes/conditions are gradual throughout the year, the fish will do fine. But ....... IMO if someone isn't very careful with how they test their water, and how they add the buffers, it can cause MUCH more harm than just leaving the water as-is. (even if not exactly the same as the Rift lakes)
If I was to 'attempt' to tweak my local tap water to get the exact same parameters as Lake Malawi I would need to do the following:
1. Raise the PH slightly
2. Lower the overall alkalinity
3. Lower the hardness
4. Lower the conductivity
5. Lower the Calcium
5. Lower the Carbonates
6. Raise the Chloride
7. Lower the Magnesium
8. Raise the Potassium
10. Raise the Sodium
11. Lower the Sulfate
Even if I was a chemist (which I'm not) and had the proper test kits to monitor all of these conditions on a weekly basis, and had the chemicals on hand to adjust all of these parameters, can you see what a nightmare it would be to keep everything on a constant even keel 365 days of the year?
HTH
I posted the following approx 20 yrs ago on another forum regarding tweaking water to fit Malawi cichlids ...….
I get the feeling some people have been led to believe that one has to have their PH range above 8.0, which simply isn't true. PH values as low as 7.5 have been recorded in Lake Malawi, and the water is not near as hard as most people believe, it's actually on the soft side. (4-6 dGH) Many people assume that high PH values = hard water, but in the case of Lake Malawi this isn't true.
Also, most tap water will have seasonal fluctuations, just like Lake Malawi, so I think it would be near impossible to keep all water parameters constant 365 days of the year. The trick is keeping the fluctuations from being drastic from one day to the next. I'm not sure if all of the 'new' aquarium owners realize just how drastic a change in PH from 7.6 - 8.6 is? I would prefer to see people keeping their Cichlids at a constant 7.4, than have the PH jumping back & forth between 7.4 & 8.4 every time they do a water change, and add a fist full of chemicals/buffers.
Our local tap water is usually in the PH range of 8.0, with seasonal drops as low as 7.8, and as high as 8.2. The water hardness levels are usually in the 150-180 mg/l range during spring & summer & approx
200-250 mg/l during the winter months. This is approx. twice as hard as the water in Lake Malawi, yet the fish here do very well with no additional treatments or buffers.
This is why I always suggest getting in contact with ones local water treatment plant, so that they know exactly what they are dealing with "throughout" the year. As long as the tap water changes/conditions are gradual throughout the year, the fish will do fine. But ....... IMO if someone isn't very careful with how they test their water, and how they add the buffers, it can cause MUCH more harm than just leaving the water as-is. (even if not exactly the same as the Rift lakes)
If I was to 'attempt' to tweak my local tap water to get the exact same parameters as Lake Malawi I would need to do the following:
1. Raise the PH slightly
2. Lower the overall alkalinity
3. Lower the hardness
4. Lower the conductivity
5. Lower the Calcium
5. Lower the Carbonates
6. Raise the Chloride
7. Lower the Magnesium
8. Raise the Potassium
10. Raise the Sodium
11. Lower the Sulfate
Even if I was a chemist (which I'm not) and had the proper test kits to monitor all of these conditions on a weekly basis, and had the chemicals on hand to adjust all of these parameters, can you see what a nightmare it would be to keep everything on a constant even keel 365 days of the year?
HTH
