Inert Substrate with Caridina

[Andrewjones]

So, My tap water is around 6.5 and with my RO unit and Salty Shrimp my ph rests around 6-6.2. Because of this I can not get much breeding for neocaridina so Im moving to all Caridina. I have a new tank set up with just plain black sand, and my ph stays at the 6-6.2 range, just like it does with my tanks with a buffering substrate. So even if i try to get a high ph, I can't. Would you think its ok to put Caridina in the inert substrate tank given it keeps the ph low? what other issues could there be? Also, my tap has too much ammonia is kills the shrimp even with prime

[wyzazz]

13 hours ago, Andrewjones said:

So, My tap water is around 6.5 and with my RO unit and Salty Shrimp my ph rests around 6-6.2. Because of this I can not get much breeding for neocaridina so Im moving to all Caridina. I have a new tank set up with just plain black sand, and my ph stays at the 6-6.2 range, just like it does with my tanks with a buffering substrate. So even if i try to get a high ph, I can't. Would you think its ok to put Caridina in the inert substrate tank given it keeps the ph low? what other issues could there be? Also, my tap has too much ammonia is kills the shrimp even with prime

 

In short, No. 

 

Active Substrate not only lowers pH but it keeps it stable at a particular pH and prevents swings.  If you have rapid pH swings you will kill your shrimp.  

 

[Andrewjones]

2 hours ago, wyzazz said:

 

In short, No. 

 

Active Substrate not only lowers pH but it keeps it stable at a particular pH and prevents swings.  If you have rapid pH swings you will kill your shrimp.  

Right, but it doesn't have swings and holds steady. That's why i think it should be possible

 

[wyzazz]

I can almost 100% assure you that it doesn't hold stable unless you've got kH in your water, or some sort of buffer holding it down there.  The pH can change drastically in planted tanks from night to day due to CO2 release (and lack thereof) from the plants.  

Heck, put some of that remineralized water in a bucket without a lid on it and add an airstone.  Check it when you drop it into the bucket, 2 days later, then 6 days later.  I'd be willing to bet that the pH has changed.

 

 

[aotf]

19 hours ago, Andrewjones said:

So, My tap water is around 6.5 and with my RO unit and Salty Shrimp my ph rests around 6-6.2. Because of this I can not get much breeding for neocaridina ...

 

Right, because Salty Shrimp GH is designed for caridina. If you aren't adding any carbonates in the water (what kH indicates), you're not going to change the pH. If you used Salty Shrimp GH/KH, your pH would bump up to 7-7.5 and your water would be neocaridina suitable.

 

19 hours ago, Andrewjones said:

Also, my tap has too much ammonia is kills the shrimp even with prime

 

Sounds like you would benefit from a cycled reservoir tank with some plants in it to convert ammonia to nitrates. That would be a great thing to have in general since it avoids pH swings in the main tank as you add "fresh" tap water as a result of degassing, but in your case could fix the ammonia issue. Keep the reservoir tank topped off and use that for livestock tank water changes.

 

[Shrimp Life]

,

[Andrewjones]

thank you everyone! i will get the gh kh + and use that for neocaridina and get buffering for the caridina. Thanks!

[haroutvartanian63o]

i have a quick question. I kept my crs in fluval stratum with ro water and bee shrimp mineral. Lately i removed the fluval stratum because it got old and i exchanged it with regular substrate that doesnt buffer. I did this because i got tired of changing the vacuuming and cleaning it was a mess. With fluval my ph was at 6.2. Obv my ph is going to be much lower sinze ro water water and bee shrimp mineral doesnt have any kh. Here comes my question, To keep my ph stable around 6.2 without buffering substrate, can i use salty shrimp gh kh and bee shrimp gh together to add about .5 kh to keep my ph stable? What do you guys think? Ive dont the math and 25ppm of gh+kh and 100ppm of Gh+ would give me .5 kh , gh 6, and tds 125. If i dont use the kh , my ph drops to under 5 and i prone to ph swing since there is no buffering substrate, do you guys think buffering substrate is all that necessary for crs to live and thrive?