35ppt Posted August 17, 2016 Report Share Posted August 17, 2016 I’m going to try switching from tap to RO for my neos and TT on inert substrate. So it’s my turn to ask the question – SS GH or SS GH/KH ? I have read many comments saying people are using SS GH for their neos, but why? Sounds like people are using it without adding anything for KH? I know you can use SS GH and then increase the KH, but why would you? Is it just to control the KH level to your needs, or pH , or what? The only advantage I see for using SS GH is so that you could use it for neos and caridina. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dao Posted August 17, 2016 Report Share Posted August 17, 2016 Neos will be good in kh 0 water, so many choose to just use gh only minerals. Bear in mind that kh provides ph stability so if you lack experience it is best to just use a gh/kh minerals which are dedicated for neocaridina shrimp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
35ppt Posted August 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2016 right, KH helps keep pH stable. So what happens when you have 0KH/inert substrate? And plants? Do you check the pH and add in some KH if needed? And now that I'm thinking about it....what happens to pH when you add SS GH to RO? And likewise for SS GH/KH to RO? Suppose I should just get SS GH/KH and forget about cardinia ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah Posted August 18, 2016 Report Share Posted August 18, 2016 I use the GH/KH and find the pH to be very high. At around 250 TDS the pH in my tank is about 7.8. I have tried to lower it, to no avail. I am considering switching to the GH+ and just adding a bit of GH/KH to get the KH up a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dao Posted August 18, 2016 Report Share Posted August 18, 2016 0 KH on inert substrate will cause the pH to fluctuate more. As long as you are keeping your tank simple, and know exactly what you are doing having 0kh on inert substrate is fine. The pH might swing for around 0.5 from day to night, but from my experience, even fragile shrimp like TB's don't seem to care about that. I have also read claims that large pieces of driftwood may help in buffering the water when you have 0kh. I have no idea if that is true or not. The main difference between neo's and caridinas is that neo's being hardier, can survive and breed in water with more toxins in it. With caridinas you really need overkill filtration for your tank. Mr. F 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. F Posted August 18, 2016 Report Share Posted August 18, 2016 0 KH on inert substrate will cause the pH to fluctuate more. As long as you are keeping your tank simple, and know exactly what you are doing having 0kh on inert substrate is fine. The pH might swing for around 0.5 from day to night, but from my experience, even fragile shrimp like TB's don't seem to care about that. I have also read claims that large pieces of driftwood may help in buffering the water when you have 0kh. I have no idea if that is true or not. The main difference between neo's and caridinas is that neo's being hardier, can survive and breed in water with more toxins in it. With caridinas you really need overkill filtration for your tank.Driftwood or leaf litter buffer the water to an acidic pH by slowly releasing acids into the water, versus alkaline like with high KH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted August 18, 2016 Report Share Posted August 18, 2016 From my experience my neos bred more in gh than gh/kh., but everyone has their own water chemestry from differing sources. Mr. F 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. F Posted August 19, 2016 Report Share Posted August 19, 2016 ^definitely true.Neos don't actually require any KH, or carbonate ion, but the effect of pH buffering imparted on the water. Sometimes you can have other sources of base present, such as hydroxide, which can drastically raise your pH without the need for carbonate. I personally use the tiniest bit of seachem alkaline buffer and GH+ to 6 with RODI for water changes and keep my pH around 6.8 for most of my neos, since they're all kept with at least one species of caridina at this point. I don't usually test, but I'd guess the KH is 1 or below. Seems to be working well. [emoji1303] Soothing Shrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uslanja Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 Hi 35ppt! I have been researching the same question............. mind if I ask which way you decided to go, why and how is it working out so far? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
35ppt Posted August 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 I decided to go SS GH+ mainly because I would potentially be able to use it for caridinia. I figured I could add KH if needed. I am still trying to figure out all this chemistry, so I can't say how it's going. Soothing Shrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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