Water change matching PH for CRS

[andusbeckus]

I am planning on getting some CRS shrimp in the next few weeks and have a concern about PH. I am using ADA Malaya and the PH is around 6.0 at the moment. I use a 50/50 mix of RO and tap water and the PH of that is around 7.0 so I am worried about having such a big difference when doing water changes.

Will this affect the CRS and if so what is the best way around it? Alter the PH before adding to the tank using PH down or something like that?

[GeToChKn]

What is the kH of your 50/50 mix, and why not just go 100% RO and remineralize it instead?

[andusbeckus]

the KH of the mix is 6 but the aquasoil takes it to 0. May be a silly question but does remineralizing alter PH too?

[GeToChKn]

No, with RO water, it will have a kH of 0 as long as you use a remineralizer made for shrimp that only boosts gH. The 0kH RO was will buffer very quickly to the pH of the surround water because it has no buffer ability. Aquasoil will absorb kH and releases humic/fulvic acids, tannins, etc, that lower the pH, and with no kH, it will change fairly fast. With kH, it resists the change and the aquasoil has to work harder with to absorb more kH. Eventually it will run out faster, thats why 100% RO with minerals added is the best way to keep your soil going the longest.

[andusbeckus]

ah I see, thats cleared a few things up for me thanks!

So the next question would be what to use to remineralize? Mosura Mineral Plus?

[GeToChKn]

Mosura Mineral Plus is good, but I find, expensive. It starts to add up when you are buying bottle after bottle, and myself, and others have noticed, it's not consistent from bottle to bottle on how much you need to get your gh/tds in line.

The best and cheapest that I've found anyways, is Saltyshrimp Bee Shrimp Mineral GH+. For the price of one bottle of MMP, you'll get enough gH+ to do 50x as much water. It's very clean too, meaning there is little else other than whats need to get the gH to the proper level. These numbers are rough, but based off my experience.

MMP-gH 5-TDS 150
Fluval Mineral Shrimp-gH 5-TDS 165
Bee gH+ - gH 5-TDS 125

[vnghost]

lots of people do a 50/50 mix of RO and tap. works well and its cheap. i go straight tap with a little bit of dechlorinizer. my tap is ph 7.4 and if i remember right about 220 ppm. ada aquasoil takes it down to 6.4. my crs thrive and are breeeding. dont make things complicated, keep it simple.

[andusbeckus]

well ill give it some thought before I decide how to proceed. If i did go 100% RO do I just need to add remineralizer or do I need to add anything else?

[ThatGuyWithTheFish]

I use BorneoWild GH Up. Nope, only remineralizer and any additives like Stout, Crimson, etc, you just don't need to treat the water with dechlorinators.

[GeToChKn]

Originally Posted by vnghost

lots of people do a 50/50 mix of RO and tap. works well and its cheap. i go straight tap with a little bit of dechlorinizer. my tap is ph 7.4 and if i remember right about 220 ppm. ada aquasoil takes it down to 6.4. my crs thrive and are breeeding. dont make things complicated, keep it simple.

Yes, it will buffer your tap water, but it will run out faster. There is only a set amount of acids in the soil to lower the pH, and the harder it has to work, the more it uses and the quicker the soil will stop buffering. Your choice if you want to tear down a tank sooner because the soil has run out sooner. Also, tap water can vary greatly from season to season, week to week. If there is blue/green algae in your water source during the summer, they dump more chemicals to kill it. Big bacteria outbreak, more chemicals to kill it that end up in your tap water, etc. Mineral content can vary throughout the year as well. Glad it's working anyways for you.

Originally Posted by andusbeckus

well ill give it some thought before I decide how to proceed. If i did go 100% RO do I just need to add remineralizer or do I need to add anything else?

No, you don't have to add anything else.

[andusbeckus]

Think I will go for the full RO method at least I know my water is consistent that way and the soil will last longer. Thanks for all the advice

[vnghost]

Yup works great for me. I find that when I mess with too many things, leads to more complicated issues. When I first started I tried to be a hardcore enthusiast, buy all crs special foods, do all the rituals, religious water change and fancy equipment and I found the best success with ada aquasoil, a couple plants, and just letting the shrimps do there thing. The more I left it alone the better they did, the more I enjoyed it also. I'm no expert at all, only been doing this for 6 months. Don't take my advice, just know that it can be done many different ways.
For your reference:
http://scapeclub.org/forum/showthrea...rs-experiments

6 year old aquasoil, 50/50 RO tap and I don't even think this guy adds dechlorinizer.


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[vnghost]

Hey Andus here's another one for your reference

http://scapeclub.org/forum/showthrea...imp-experiment

I only checked ph, tds, gh, etc maybe once since the shrimps been in my tanks. Never really check anything anymore. They just breed and multiply. I enjoy the hobby more this way. Anyways good luck


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[dastowers]

Just bought two bags from Amazon. Excited to try it.