Hi folks:
7 days ago, I added a 2" male Amano shrimp, to my established, heavily-planted, CO2-injected, 30g community tank.
I'm scared of killing the little guy, during my next water change.
My aquarium water params:
My water change routine is currently as follows, every 14 days:
Dimitri
7 days ago, I added a 2" male Amano shrimp, to my established, heavily-planted, CO2-injected, 30g community tank.
I'm scared of killing the little guy, during my next water change.
My aquarium water params:
- pH: 6.8; GH: 7-8; KH: 3-4; TDS: 260 ppm
- ammonia: 0; nitrites: 0; nitrates: 0; phosphates: 0
- temp: 78 F
- pH: 8.8 - 9.8; GH 5; KH 4; TDS: 94 ppm
- ammonia: 0; nitrites: 0; nitrates: 0; phosphates: 0
My water change routine is currently as follows, every 14 days:
- Firstly, I don't top off, and lose about 4 gallons to evaporation during this time. (The driftwood's branches prevent me from covering the tank unfortunately.)
- I dose my tap water with Prime and Nutrafin African Cichlid Conditioner (to raise GH).
- Heat water to 78 F.
- After 5 hours, water params are: pH 8.4; GH 7; KH 4; phospates 0; TDS 175 ppm
- I siphon 4 gallons out of the aquarium, while vacuming mulm, plants, driftwood.
- I add back in 8 gallons of treated water, with a water pump, within about 10 minutes' time. (By my estimates, TDS differences aside, this is roughly equivalent to a 30% water change.)
- C02 injection (1.5 bps)
- Amazonia substrate
- huge piece of hornwood
- heavily planted with a variety of slow and fast growing plants
- Do a weekly 15% water change instead (instead of 30% in 14 days). This would hopefully cut the pH spike in half (from 6.8 to 7.0).
- Use 50% distilled water in addition to a 15% water change. That would hopefully reduce the pH spike to just .1 (from 6.8 to 6.9). Even if I pump it in quickly, rather than drip it in, I'm hoping a .1 "spike" is tolerable for amano shrimp. Of course, I'd also make sure to re-mineralize the water back to 175 TDS.
- Treat the new water with an acid buffer to reduce the pH to exactly 6.8. Assuming the TDS remains at 175, this would come close enough to matching my tank's water params, and I can continue my 14-day water change schedule.
Dimitri