featherblue Posted April 12, 2014 Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 My tap water is really soft, and has a super low tds. Ph 6.8-7 1-2 dkh 4-5 gh 20-40 tds With is as a base, do I need to mix ro with my tap (for crystals or tb)? Or can I just remineralize my tap after I dechlorinate? Louie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subtletanks91 Posted April 12, 2014 Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 With your kh and gh about perfect I wouldn't remineralize because it will raise those attributes. Unless there a mineralized that doesn't raise those. I would just use ro water and remineralize it to a gh 5 which should have a tds of about 150? Which is perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
featherblue Posted April 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 For potential missing minerals I was considering a buffering substrate, like the amazonia or red bee sand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wicca32 Posted April 13, 2014 Report Share Posted April 13, 2014 might think about cuttle bone for minerals. its cheap and will help get the tds up with out messing with the gh really. ive heard that a tds that is to low can cause molt issues. even with my tb they need a tds of at least 100 and ideal is about 125. i had crs with a gh of 7 and they were fine. the super low tds is more of a concern Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
featherblue Posted April 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2014 Cuttlebones raise kh as well as add mineral content. Ive used them to raise ca in water for baby mystery snails at one point...would the amazonia substrate take care of the kh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wicca32 Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 that i dont know. never tried it with tap water. the hard part will be getting the tds up where it needs to be with out changing the other parameters to much. to low of a tds can cause molting issues. with ro you would start with 0 gh,gk, and tds so raising just the gh and tds is easy with the use of amazonia to hold the ph steady since there is no kh. im not really sure what to do unless you raise the gh a bit to help with tds as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OblongShrimp Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 Is your water stable throughout the year? Many municipalities change the source of their water throughout the year and that can change the parameters drastically. It is more risky to use tap since you never know exactly what is in it but it is easier and based on those parameters you are likely going to be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
featherblue Posted April 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 Stable year round thus far....but im prob still going to go the remineralized rodi route for my future shadow panda project. I may try some CBS in one of my current neo tanks, but I nay wait a few more months and set up their own tank. One of my lfs keeps tempting me...they buy a lot of my neos. The manager offered me a great deal on a set of cbs to start with if ill bring in their babies too As far as remineralizing water goes, do you use the same mix for neos and cardina? Just add more for a slightly higher gh for the neos? Theres a potential move in a few months to a very different water table Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted April 16, 2014 Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 gh of 6+, and added kh is recommended or neos, whereas cards welcome no/low kh and a lower gh. They can be done together, but it is recommended to do params for cards and adapt the neos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louie Posted April 16, 2014 Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 featherbue, I use tap water which is dechlorinated prior to water changes and my shrimp which are several different types thrive and breed. The PH here is high and the water is hard . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted April 16, 2014 Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 Yepper. A couple things to keep in mind with tap. 1) It usually is not consistent throughout the year, and 2) tap differ from location to location. Louie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireRedShrimp Posted April 17, 2014 Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 Louie, Just out of curiosity, do you have city or well water? I'm sure both can change throughout the year...but would a spring fed well stay more consistent? Louie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louie Posted April 17, 2014 Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 I have city water . Perhaps it is because I change 10% of tank water every week but do so by only changing 5% every 3 days that I have not had any problems. I do have a filter under my kitchen sink but that is for fine particles and chlorine. I do agree with everyone here that water can certainly change but in my case years of the same water and never a problem. The water here is actually very good water but again it high in PH FireRedShrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireRedShrimp Posted April 17, 2014 Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 I have well water that is Spring fed. We seem to stay pretty consistent, but I also would rather do small, more frequent water changes to try and keep parameters as consistent as I can. So far things have been going well. I have CBS in with my FR and PFR and everyone seems happy Louie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
featherblue Posted April 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 What parameters are you running the multi species shrimp rank at, firered? Are the cbs breeding as well as the reds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty1776 Posted April 17, 2014 Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 I think the scariest thing in the water is the fluoride. taken from Here <--- Beware! Rabbit hole entrance Im transitioing to RO this weekend when I have time. Got my saltyshrimp standing by. I haven't bought the RO system yet, was close, but the glasgarten products came in so... yeah no worries, I will just have to suck it up and fill up my water jugs at the LFS to get switched over. I will definitely get it though, hopefully sooner than later. After all the time and money spent so far, it is a must have. Even with well water, I would only risk it for so long until I gave in to RO. But that's only because of all the pollution out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireRedShrimp Posted April 20, 2014 Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 My pH is 7-7.2 GH is 5 KH is 2 Tds is 170ish Temp is 72ish Reds are constantly berried. Crystals are good sized juvies. I haven't had any deaths, and I'm hoping to see home action from them in the next couple months. I know some people keep them at a bit lower ph, but I've read that consistency is most important, and my water seems to keep them happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctaylor3737 Posted April 24, 2014 Report Share Posted April 24, 2014 I think the scariest thing in the water is the fluoride. {style_image_url}/attachicon.gif fluoride.png taken from Here <--- Beware! Rabbit hole entrance Im transitioing to RO this weekend when I have time. Got my saltyshrimp standing by. I haven't bought the RO system yet, was close, but the glasgarten products came in so... yeah no worries, I will just have to suck it up and fill up my water jugs at the LFS to get switched over. I will definitely get it though, hopefully sooner than later. After all the time and money spent so far, it is a must have. Even with well water, I would only risk it for so long until I gave in to RO. But that's only because of all the pollution out there. I would go to wal Mart or a grocery store. Fill your jug there Its RO water. Most LFS charge 1$ a gallon which isn't bad but, it's under $2 for 5g. Just a heads up might save you, a few bucks. And also check purewaterclub.com got my RO there for 89$ works great, and is a nice system. Sorry if you know all this just sharing my research was also on a budget,and was always on the fence about using RO. Def worth it and shrimp will thank you with babies! -Chris Soothing Shrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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