test reading

[lilkey625]

i just bought one of those 5 test in one quick dip testing strip, dipped it in the water and all the pretty color came up but i have no clue what im doing. the niteate, nitrite i understand because it says safe and unsafe and im in the safe zone but i dont get the total hardness witch reads very hard-300, the total alkalinity which reads high-300 and the ph which reads alkaline-8.4. i have only cichlid(5) in a 40 gal tank with live plates and crush corral. are these reading fine? i alos just did a 20% water change

 

[Sky042]

What type of cichlid.

 

[lilkey625]

good question one of them in in my pictureto the left i can try and post a picture of the other two kinds but i dont know how, one kind has a really long nosie and the other kind is one that the sex are different colors yellow and blue

 

[Sky042]

with cichlids it's a good idea to always know exactly what you have in the tank and what you're putting in so that you don't wind up with fish killing each other.

based on your readings I'd say the crushed coral is doing the trick and that the water is fine for africans.