Hi folks,
I started trying to breed some RCS by using RO water, but they don't seem to be very happy (they look lethargic/stationary for the most part, and i lose 1 every 2-3 weeks).
What's odd is that i use RO water and remineralize with salty shrimp bee (KH+), add prime, and do a weekly water change of 20%, but my PH using API's test kit reads a solid yellow (i.e. 6.0 or below, but the kit can't go any lower). The PH of the RO water itself is 7.0.
I've added an air stone to try and bubble out CO2 to try and raise the PH to ~6.4-6.6, and just yesterday added Benibachi's Fulvic grains which claims to buffer PH to 6.0-6.6.
2 questions:
Does the buffer claim of Fulvic grains work both ways, i.e. it raises PH if the water's PH is too low, and can also lower PH if the water's PH is too high?
Any idea what I might be doing incorrectly/need to change to improve my setup?
Water parameters:
PH: 6.0 (or below)
GH: 4
KH: 0
RO water used
Temp: steady at ~75 deg
Nitrates/nitrite/ammonia: 0 ppm
20% water change weekly
Fulvic grains
Shrimp diet: Borneo wild shield, shirakura, bacter AE, mosura gravidas, blanched spinach
2-3 alder cones, 2 months old, not leeching tannins anymore
the first image shows the general tank setup, the second is shows the filter housing, with the fulvic grains on on the top chamber in a media bag, and the bottm is where i put the airstone to prevent the strong bubbling from interrupting water flow from the filter's powerhead.
thanks in advance for the help!
I started trying to breed some RCS by using RO water, but they don't seem to be very happy (they look lethargic/stationary for the most part, and i lose 1 every 2-3 weeks).
What's odd is that i use RO water and remineralize with salty shrimp bee (KH+), add prime, and do a weekly water change of 20%, but my PH using API's test kit reads a solid yellow (i.e. 6.0 or below, but the kit can't go any lower). The PH of the RO water itself is 7.0.
I've added an air stone to try and bubble out CO2 to try and raise the PH to ~6.4-6.6, and just yesterday added Benibachi's Fulvic grains which claims to buffer PH to 6.0-6.6.
2 questions:
Does the buffer claim of Fulvic grains work both ways, i.e. it raises PH if the water's PH is too low, and can also lower PH if the water's PH is too high?
Any idea what I might be doing incorrectly/need to change to improve my setup?
Water parameters:
PH: 6.0 (or below)
GH: 4
KH: 0
RO water used
Temp: steady at ~75 deg
Nitrates/nitrite/ammonia: 0 ppm
20% water change weekly
Fulvic grains
Shrimp diet: Borneo wild shield, shirakura, bacter AE, mosura gravidas, blanched spinach
2-3 alder cones, 2 months old, not leeching tannins anymore
the first image shows the general tank setup, the second is shows the filter housing, with the fulvic grains on on the top chamber in a media bag, and the bottm is where i put the airstone to prevent the strong bubbling from interrupting water flow from the filter's powerhead.
thanks in advance for the help!
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