Will my water do?

[rodsandreins]

Hi there- I am coming back into the hobby after a 15 year hiatus. Back then we kept everything from goldfish to some of the larger south am. cichlids and a red tail cat. We never tried our hand at any of the more demanding species because we basically flew by the seat of our pants, never once even testing our water. Now I'm ready to dive in deeper- we always loved cichlids and I've been doing a lot of research trying to decide what kind of tank I'd like to set up. I think Apistos are my favorite, but I had kind of dismissed them thinking our well water was too hard. I want to choose a group of fish that are best suited to my water (without a lot of wrangling with RO systems or chemicals) so that I have the best recipe for success.
SO- I tested my water and to my surprise, here are the results:
GH 4 dH
KH 4 dH
pH 7.5
Does this point me toward the soft water fishes? Does it mean I should count Africans out(I specifically like the Lake Tanganyika species) ? My daughter currently has one lone juvenile mbuna (an electric yellow) in her new tank- should I get some cichlid salts to add to his water? ANY advice would be welcomed and I thank you all in advance!
Kris in N.California

 

[ed seeley]

I have never used salts of any kind when keeping Tangyikans. All I ever did to make sure the pH stayed alkaline and keep the hardness up was put about 15% Aragonite in my substrate. If you wanted to keep it separate then you can put it in a filter bag, or stocking, in you filter. When the pH drops below about 8 the aragonite dissolves and pushes the hardness and pH up. Simple, effective, self regulating and no salt!!!

The hardness and pH of your water would certainly seem pretty good and putting a little peat in the water would drop the pH even lower and make it perfect for most Acidic loving fish IMO.

Start with something fairly easy. I'd recommend Kribs, Bolivian Rams or easier Apistogrammas like cacatuoides or borelli to start with, though I'm sure other will recommend other things!