cichlid ph

Question
I started an african cichlid tank about 4 weeks ago, I have a 55 gallon tank.  I bought the special gravel and also the seachem lake salt.   I started with 2 small cichlids and added 2 more in 1 week and just added 4 more yesterday, giving a total of 8 in my tank.  My initial ph was 7.6, now it is 8.4-8.8.  I tested for ammonia and it is 0.  I'm not sure if I should be worried about the ph as the one store I bought from said they keep their african cichlids at 7.0 and the other said I should keep it at 8.0.  Could you please let me know the proper ranges and the corrective action if needed.  The fish seem to be doing fine.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

Answer
Hi Bobbi,
 A pH of 8 should be just fine.  The thing about pH is not to fiddle with it too much.  Now that you have things set, don't mess with it.  A change in pH can be harder than whatever the actual level is.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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