pH levels

[lyebw225]

Recently I've lost a couple of my fishes (cichlids and goldfishes) due to an unexpected drop in pH levels. I have several questions regarding water management.

1. Where can i get a cheap (preferably 30 dollars) pH meter? Does C328 sell them?
2. Are cichlids (blood parrots, german blue ram) generally more comfortable in neutral to alkaline water levels? What is the suggested range of pH?
3. Is coral chips a good way to increase pH? How do I ensure that the pH remains constant (at the healthy levels)?
4. Will driftwood and ketapang leaves cause a sharp drop in pH levels?

Thanks alot

[technotango]

Coral chips will increase PH to ~7.8 and stop there. They are pretty good stabilizers of PH as they will increase the PH whenever there is a drop in PH. Good Link: http://www.cs.duke.edu/~narten/faq/chemistry.html

Driftwood and ketapang releases tannic acid gradually into the water and thus will cause a gradual change in water PH.