lizam Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Hi, So I'm starting a fluval Spec 3 for neo or OEBT. Haven't completely decided. Some of my plants came in today so I'm setting it up tonight. I added a little layer of of Benibach mineral powder, then about cm of Tropica Plant Substrate (which is not supposed to alter ph, merely a clay substance that absorbs nutrients and can be used under gravel/sand) and then I added 2 to 3 cm of National Geographic black sand (also not supposed to alter PH). I used RO water and RO/DI. Well my PH is showing at over 9!!! I'm not happy. Even my plants won't survive in that and with shipping it's not cheap! I was going to plant it then add seeded media in the next couple days and run it for a couple weeks to a month before adding shrimp. Will my PH go down or should I just start over again?? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizam Posted March 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 I think it's the sand...I put some in a bowl with ro/di water and PH shot through the roof. I think it might be initial use because I have it in a betta tank that I use tap water in. My water out of the tap 8.2 and my betta tank is at about 8.1. So that's about right I think??? My goldfish tank is at 8 and its bare bottom. Should I change the sand out for fluval stratum or something? I'm going to use RO water for the tank and Salty GH/KH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wygglz Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 I don't know if it would make a difference, but did you rinse the sand first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizam Posted March 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 I don't know if it would make a difference, but did you rinse the sand first? I don't think I rinsed it enough I'm embarrassed but I kind of panicked. I will do big water changes over the next couple of days with my tap water and see what happens. The sand should be okay I think because it keeps my betta tank steady... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pokeshrimp Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Whoa good find on the sand! I have some of the same sand in two tanks, one of which I'm experiencing some problems. Five deaths in the past week and little to no breeding...and in the other tank the yellow neos are doing fine but the OEBT are not breeding at all...maybe the sand is to blame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizam Posted March 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Whoa good find on the sand! I have some of the same sand in two tanks, one of which I'm experiencing some problems. Five deaths in the past week and little to no breeding...and in the other tank the yellow neos are doing fine but the OEBT are not breeding at all...maybe the sand is to blame. From what I can tell the sand likely raises PH by maybe .1 and this was indicated by the difference in my betta tank vs my bare bottom goldfish tank. I did a water change and my PH went down a bit. I am going to try a few more times before I give up. National Geographic sand claims not to increase ph but maybe it does...just a little anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizam Posted March 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 You got to get rid of the substance raising your Ph. Water changes can't fix that & most tap water is naturally alkaline. An indicator of this is if your plants melt over the next 2 weeks considering you have proper lighting. It's the sand. My stupid mistake of hurrying and not rinsing enough. Ugh...live and learn I guess. I put my plants in another tank for now. I'm just trying to use tap water to see if I can get the ph down with water changes rather than redoing the whole thing. I don't want to waste the tropica layer I have in there if I can help it. I have to get everything shipped because of my location. I also have to buy ro water. Wygglz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizam Posted March 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Whoa good find on the sand! I have some of the same sand in two tanks, one of which I'm experiencing some problems. Five deaths in the past week and little to no breeding...and in the other tank the yellow neos are doing fine but the OEBT are not breeding at all...maybe the sand is to blame. So I did another experiment and rinsed the sand well and put some RO/DI water in bowl and the results were not good. I think over time it wears down but I'm not trusting National Geographic sand. I think it's okay for less sensitive aquatic life and I'm new to shrimp but if I want OEBT...and even the neos I like are $10 each, That's all in Canadian dollars and our dollar sucks right now. I'm going to try something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 I think you should try this with remineralized water. The pH of RO/DI is very hard to measure accurately since it's so pure. Shrimple minded 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pokeshrimp Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Yea I'll have to test my PH today to see where its at. I wonder if its disturbed it alters the PH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizam Posted March 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 I think you should try this with remineralized water. The pH of RO/DI is very hard to measure accurately since it's so pure.Okay I will when I get home from work. ☺Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpsmasher Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 What are you remineralizing your GH/KH values to?Take some RO water and add the remineralizer and test it outside of the tank.Your KH value is what will affect the PH levels - for me a KH 3 means my PH would be around 8.0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizam Posted March 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 Okay so its really a matter of soaking, rinsing, soaking and rinsing like mad to make the National Geographic Sand stable and safe. I did tests tests with National Geographic Sand): Tap Water * Sand (rinsed & soaked and rinsed in a sieve today) 5.5 g Betta Tank (sand in tank for 2 months with 50% WC weekly) PH 8.2 8.5 8 GH 10 10 10 KH 7 8 6 *Sand is not rinsed enough and that was done 3x and only about 1/3 of a cup! Its very deceiving because it's so clean. I am surprised I didn't kill my betta when I added it the first time. I added it to his tank that had been running for about 5 months and I'm sure I didn't rinse it enough the first time. Anyway I learned my lesson and I have changed my mind about going with a dark substrate. Thank you for all your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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