At last i got my test kit, help with water parameters

[Gamezawy]

Hi all

this is my 1st shrimp tank it is cycled from about 3 months now i bought about 20 RCS , 15 died and it toke like 3 months for them to start breeding and finally yesterday i saw a babe shrimps hanging around

My tank Dimensions is 22' long 18' height 18' depth so it is about 28 gallon

filtration sponge filter , ofc am not running co2 , lighting are a DIY leds

substrate are MTS caped with a very very soft white sand

water source are 50% RO and 50% Tap water

pics for the tank









And about the test kit, yesterday i used it and here are the results right after a water changes



pH : 8.4

Amonia : 0

Nitrite : 0

Nitrate : 20

GH : 3

KH : 10

TDS : 500

so if there is anything wrong with my water parameters so please tell me what is it and how to fix it ,

Thank you

[Barbgirl]

You're pH is pretty high. RCS are hardy so if they have started breeding for you it means they have adjusted and I would leave it alone, stability is more important than "ideals" in my opinion. But that is probably a factor in why you lost 15 of the 20. Just don't plan on keeping any Crystal Shrimp without a lot of intervention, they like their pH low.

Your kH is also pretty high.

Lastly the TDS is high.


It looks like you may need to switch to R/O water completely or a 3/4 R/O and 1/4 tap mixture.

What are the values of just the tap water straight from the faucet?

[Barbgirl]

Oh yeah. What type of rocks did you use? Those can also alter parameters.

[Gamezawy]

ok so how i can lower the pH and the KH

and about the values of the tap water all i know now is its TDS about 230

and i don't now the the rocks source a friend gave them to me

[DBlauj]

Drift wood, almond leaves, oak leaves, alder cones, peat moss. Those are some of the natural ways to lower ph and kh because of the tannins they release.

[danielt]

Blackwater extract will do the same as it's rich in humic and fulvic organic acids. Indian Almond Leaves (IAL) will provide a source of food for the shrimp. Peat moss will lower kH as well.

Your kH is rather high for a mix of 50% RO water. Make sure you do the test correctly. 10 dkH for a 50% RO water mix means you have at least twice that in your tap water.

If you don't want to mess with the above natural solutions you can dilute the tap more with RO water or go full RO and re-mineralize.

I'm keeping neos with full RO water. I'll probably never go back to tap water

[Gamezawy]

thank you for your respond so using a bag of Peat moss in the filter will help

and what about the Nitrate it is 20 ppm is that high and if so how to fix it ?

[MABJ]

Ensure you're topping off with RO-only. That's why your TDS is so high. That gets stressful. First time I kept cherries, I kept them at 700 TDS unknowingly. They all just kinda died off.

[Nubster]

Originally Posted by Gamezawy

and what about the Nitrate it is 20 ppm is that high and if so how to fix it ?

Yeah, that's high. I assume that's your tap? If so, more plants or RO water are about the only options. There's some media that can absorb nitrates, but you have to ask if it's worth the money. I'd go with more plants and more RO.

[MABJ]

Originally Posted by Nubster

I'd go with more plants and more RO.

+1 times a million.

[Shrim'n]

nice log/tree look!

[CrypticLifeStyle]

Yeah your tree has inspired me to make one now too like that lol.
You in Alexandria, just curious, have a bunch of friends over there ?

[Gamezawy]

no i am from cairo , am so glad that you liked my aquascap Thank you, By the way this Tank is 100% DIY Tank, stand , lighting ,filtration , substrate even the wood of the tree. the tank is a DIY ADA 60P tank and the same ADA stand

[Gamezawy]

Today i have tested my tap water and found its nitrate is 0 ppm and pH is 8 and TDS is 230