For my cichlid tank, I just went down to the sea shore and picked up rocks that I thought would work well.
Bring home and boil them.
Very cheap!!
Will having crushed coral substrate be enough to raise the PH? I want to make sure I don't have to use additives if i don't have toNope, most of the rocks up here I grab are polished granite.
Interesting, and they were African cichlids?My personal experience has been if I added a coral to the tank it caused my fish to become very erratic.
I have a 60 gallon and put in a bag of coral in and had to remove it.
Now I just put in snail shells.
Your mileage may very though.
Did you ever have to add buffer salts?Yes, zebras, bumble bee, labs, and peacocks.