[Dead Can Dance]

Hiyas,

My new tiger tank has (white) river sand in it and my tap water is pH 8.0, tank is currently 8.2.

If I use RO water, will that bring my pH down without changing / adding a soil ?

I was thinking of adding a soil like Fluval Shrimp Stratum ?
What bout CaribSea Instant Aquarium - Moonlight Sand ? (Would that lower pH?) Or would I need a shrimp substrate ?

Basically, I want a lighter soil to see the colours in the tigers.

 

[wicca27]

tigers will pop on a dark substrate pretty well. i had mine on black sand and i saw them really well.

as for water if its 8 out of the tap what is it when it sits out for 24-48 hours? also what is the gh,kh, and tds that will have alot to do with the ph of the water

 

[lamiskool]

your tigers should be fine in ph8...mine are and I have a whole tank filled with em! I believe my ph out the tap is 7.8-8

 

[Dead Can Dance]

Just tested cycling tank. It's been going for a week now.

GH is 6
KH erm, after 5 drops (turned green), after 6 (turned yellow) ?
TDS is 299

tigers will pop on a dark substrate pretty well. i had mine on black sand and i saw them really well.

as for water if its 8 out of the tap what is it when it sits out for 24-48 hours? also what is the gh,kh, and tds that will have alot to do with the ph of the water

 

[wicca27]

what brand of sand are you using? is it possible for cichlids? i know some will buffer the ph up. i always go with pool filter sand because its really light in color and is inert so there is no buffering at all.

what are the parameters of your tap are they the same? are you using ro or just tap water?

i always had a higher tds with my tigers and they did fine. not quite 300 but around the 230-250 range. other than the ph a bit high they dont look bad really. i would let it run for a while and see how it levels out. what is the ph in the tank? and what decor do you have in the tank ie rocks or wood that might be affecting the parameters?

ideal tiger shrimp parameters are
ph: 7-7.4
gh: 6-10
kh: 4-8
tds: 100-180

 

[Dead Can Dance]

Just tap water.
What if I mix half tap and half RO ?

 

[wicca27]

its worth a shot. not sure what it will bring the numbers to but a gallon of ro is pretty cheap so it cant hurt to try

 

[Dead Can Dance]

I've got an RO unit...
I'll try it out.

 

[Master503]

Hi.

Does Eco Complete sub. will raise pH UP?

 

[aznrice247]

Eco complete raises Ph

 

[somewhatshocked]

No, it doesn't always raise pH. Depends on the batch.