[Danimals]

Just saw my SS and S+ going at it with each other under the driftwood!

Now just because they mated in the tank...does it mean that they'll actually carry the eggs to completion? I didn't get around to softening my water at all and totally was not expecting them to start mating until I got around to cutting my well water with some RO/DI..although I may still do that because the mineral build up on my tanks gets pretty unsightly when the water starts to evaporate.

Here's my parameters (roughly, I'm using the test strips so the accuracy is not exact):

Temp: 70-71F
PH: 6.8
KH: 30 ppm
GH: 150 ppm
Nitrates: >20 ppm
Nitrites: 0
Ammonia: 0
TDS: 340 ppm

I've been giving my tank daily mini-doses of Prime as of late too because for whatever reason my tank decided to go into another mini cycle and kill off 3 of my shrimp.

No other ferts, C02 or additives.

 

[wrangler]

Are you sure about those readings for gh kh and nitrates..... As those levels are fatal to shrimp....... Someone correct me if I'm wrong...

 

[Danimals]

I don't think KH/GH can ever reach "lethal" levels in a regular aquarium as it's just a measurement of the mineral content of the water, of course there are optimal levels for breeding and stuff like that.

It's really hard getting a read from these test strips but the nitrates box is practically white with just a small small hint of pink if you squint at it. I may have read it wrong lol.

 

[HolyAngel]

Those levels and parameters look fine, translates to a dkh=1-2 dgh~7-ish I believe. they could be a tad lower but it's not horrible or anything.

And first time mama's usually drop most If not all their eggs, they get better at it the more they get berried, good luck!

 

[Danimals]

Just a little mini update. I did a 25% water change with distilled water I picked up from CVS just to see how much it would change my parameters.

TDS dropped a solid 40 ppm
GH went from very hard to moderately hard
KH stayed more or less the same
PH stayed more or less the same
0 Nitrites/Ammonia
Trace amounts of Nitrates

Those same two CRS mated again almost immediately after I performed the change so they must have liked it very much !

Looks like I'll be boiling up my own distilled water and storing it in plastic jugs until I can get around to buying a Brita filter or something.

 

[mordalphus]

You have a still for making distilled water? lol, nice!

However you totally buried the lead here... You should use that still to make moonshine instead of water!

 

[Danimals]

You have a still for making distilled water? lol, nice!

However you totally buried the lead here... You should use that still to make moonshine instead of water!

Ohhh, no nothing so complex, I just youtubed a video on how to distill water with a kettle and a cup lol.

Although I'm pretty sure I could fabricate a still from stuff at home depot if I needed to.

 

[mordalphus]

Ahh, cool, yeah I had a desktop water distiller at one point in time, and used it to make some grain alcohol, but it crapped out after about 6 months of heavy use. There are easy to make versions for distilling water using copper coil and a pressure cooker. I'd think that using a kettle and a cup wouldn't yield much water though