Lake Victoria Basin, West African, Madagascar & Asian Species • What substrate?

[bristlenose72]

Hi, I'm setting up a community tank with a pair of African blockhead in a 55gallon tank. The other fish I have in the tank are a group of black ruby barbs and a group of snakeskin barbs. The ruby barbs and snakeskin barbs prefer a pH of 6.5 or so and the african block heads are more tolerant with a range of 6 to 8.

I would like to try and have some plants in the tank, even though the African blockhead is a digger. My water here in the UK is quite hard.


Does anyone know of a substrate that can lower the PH a little and is good for plants and at the same time would be suitable for a digging cichlid?


Thanks for any advice.

Dom

[mambee]

Pool filter sand is the way to go with large amounts of driftwood to lower the pH.