Water Concerns

[malawilover22]

hi im new to the site ive just recentley as of 6 months ago gotten into south african cichlids i have a 90 gallon alunocara peacock tank and a 125 gallon mbuna tank. i have some concerns about water quality? my parameters are as follows ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrates 10 gh 5 kh 3 ph 7.8, i do water changes 50% on wed. and 60%on sat.withsand vac.on sat.i have a fluval 406 canister i use seachem matrix and bio rings with filter pads,i have a ml 350w dual bio wheels also seachem matrix,and two mark5 sponge filters this is on the 125 gallon mbuna tank,ive had some issues with illness and listless fish im not sure if this is bad luck or water quality issues just wondering if i should attempt to bring up the ph,gh,kh i know the readings are low for these fish just wanted to get some input from people who have kept these fish longer than i have, do i need to make some changes or not thank you for any advice.

 

[colleen0309]

My kh and gH are the same as yours and my pH is 7.6. I recently was talked into setting up a tank for africans. Mine are very lively. I haven't been keeping them for long, only about 2 months, but they seem to be doing great. If you want to raise your pH, do it slowly and naturally. To lower pH, I use driftwood and peat. To raise the pH I am using limestone and some different rocks from the creek. Seems to be working for me. Good Luck!