another crs param question...

[Stinkmonky]

hey guys. going to attempt to keep A grades in my fluval ebi. tooks some water tests today and this is what came out.

pH- 6.9
tds- 318
kh-5.5
gh-9.5

tank has co2....awaiting a drop checker
temp is 72^0F

If i Slowly acclimate these A grade CRS im hoping that i can get them to breed in these conditions. What do you all think?

[mordalphus]

I think no. KH too high pH too high (especially if ur running co2)

[sayurasem]

They will survive but I don't think they will breed. (If they breed, babies will not survive because of the hard water). Are you using 100% tap water? If so mix 50/50 Reverse Osmosis water with your tap water and you should be perfect for breeding CRS. 150 TDS, 4-6GH, 0-2KH

[ravensgate]

KH and GH is a bit too high. In my current tanks KH is 0 GH is between 5-6. I've had A grades in KH 4 GH 9, pH 7.4 and they did live and one bred but babies did not survive (not a single one, they all made it a full week and then all disappeared). Do you know the params of the water they came from? They may do fine if params aren't far off. CO2 is generally not recommend with CRS. But I don't have any experience with that so I'll let others chime in.

[sbarbee54]

Bam "I think no. KH too high pH too high (especially if ur running co2), plus to high gh and tds" Nuff said

[Stinkmonky]

Originally Posted by sayurasem

They will survive but I don't think they will breed. (If they breed, babies will not survive because of the hard water). Are you using 100% tap water? If so mix 50/50 Reverse Osmosis water with your tap water and you should be perfect for breeding CRS. 150 TDS, 4-6GH, 0-2KH

What if I were to use distilled water instead of ro. Don't want to purchase an RO thing either because the project is rather temporary and the tank is small. I'll put 4 gallons of distilled in

[ravensgate]

Originally Posted by Stinkmonky

What if I were to use distilled water instead of ro. Don't want to purchase an RO thing either because the project is rather temporary and the tank is small. I'll put 4 gallons of distilled in

You can buy RO water just as easily as you can distilled. That being said, either one is fine as I've used both, most folks go with RO though. RO water is generally called 'drinking water' or 'purified water'. It will say on the label if it's filtered by reverse osmosis.

[Stinkmonky]

Originally Posted by ravensgate

You can buy RO water just as easily as you can distilled. That being said, either one is fine as I've used both, most folks go with RO though. RO water is generally called 'drinking water' or 'purified water'. It will say on the label if it's filtered by reverse osmosis.

I'll take a closer look next time at my local grocery. Thanks

[Stinkmonky]

Originally Posted by sayurasem

They will survive but I don't think they will breed. (If they breed, babies will not survive because of the hard water). Are you using 100% tap water? If so mix 50/50 Reverse Osmosis water with your tap water and you should be perfect for breeding CRS. 150 TDS, 4-6GH, 0-2KH

Will the water slowly revert to those original parameters if I do a 50% distilled/ro?

[ravensgate]

No they won't. 50% of 5.5 is 2.75. That's what your KH would be if you added straight distilled or RO with no remineralizing.

[ravensgate]

Oh unless it's some sort of buffering substrate that sucks GH and KH out of the water column.

[sayurasem]

Originally Posted by Stinkmonky

What if I were to use distilled water instead of ro. Don't want to purchase an RO thing either because the project is rather temporary and the tank is small. I'll put 4 gallons of distilled in

Is there any drinking vending machine around your area? I use Glacier vending machine for my shrimp tank, also that is what I drink. It cost 20-25cents per gallon. And I use the 5 gallon drinking water container. Last time I check water TDS is 3. Very convenient if you don't want to spend on RO system or living in apartments.

[PuddlesAqua]

Originally Posted by sayurasem

Is there any drinking vending machine around your area? I use Glacier vending machine for my shrimp tank, also that is what I drink. It cost 20-25cents per gallon. And I use the 5 gallon drinking water container. Last time I check water TDS is 3. Very convenient if you don't want to spend on RO system or living in apartments.

Weird, the glacier machines around me spit out water that is gh5, kh4, tds 105. I had to find a different source.

[Stinkmonky]

Originally Posted by ravensgate

Oh unless it's some sort of buffering substrate that sucks GH and KH out of the water column.

substrate is AnA II

[Koro-chan]

Move to Seattle. We have perfect CRS tap water here. little bit of Tom's EI gh booster and water parameters are at: 1 kh, 4 gh, 6.6 ph (I use CO2 2bps 24/7). I use eco-complete for substrate and dry ferts. Just noticed 2 berried females and its been less than a month since setup