JLui83 Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 I have posted in the Journal section just for my own sake so I can keep track of things. Figured I'd ask a few question on this side of the forum for some advice. Started a 10 gal tank for neocaridina shrimp. Substrate: Fluval Stratum 10 Gal generic tank 40 gal air pump 40 gal Sponge Filter 50 or 100 W heater.. I forget which 4 Marimo Balls Subwassertang tied to a small sponge filter Tank Parameters are PH: Around 6.5 Ammonia currently sitting at around 3ppm (Added Pure Ammonia to get to 3ppm) Nitrites = 0 Nitrates = Around 20-30ppm I just added some Tetrasafe yesterday to help speed things up. Hopefully this will help. If not should I just leave the tank and just wait for the ammonia to start droping? Here's the link to my journal for reference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy6107 Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 yes it is best to leave it be and let it do its thing. Just make sure you ph does not bottom out or the process will stall. This happened to me as I tried cycling with ro water, but I did not add anything to up the kh to control the ph. EricM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLui83 Posted March 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 I'm using tap water. My tap has a ph of around 7.6..... the fluval stratum substrate buffers it down to around 6.5 or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy6107 Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 neos can def. handle 6.5, but those buffering substrates are meant for caridinas. Most use an inert substrate if only keeping neos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLui83 Posted March 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 Yeh. My plan was to keep crystal reds..... but going to get some dream blue velvets instead...... figured after some water changes the ph will go back up due to the fact my tap ph is around 7.6. Substrate will lose the buffering abilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricM Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 (edited) 3 hours ago, JLui83 said: I'm using tap water. My tap has a ph of around 7.6..... the fluval stratum substrate buffers it down to around 6.5 or so. any idea what your kh is of your tap water (today) thats more important than the ph. Edited March 28, 2017 by bostoneric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMG Aquatics Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 If you wish to deplete your substrates buffering, just add some baking soda which would deplete it faster and speed up your cycle due to higher pH. JLui83 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLui83 Posted March 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 No idea what my kh is. OMG- I have thought absolutely that. Gotta run to the store to get some if I do. To be honest, never tested kh or go or tds. I used to have fish and shrimp about 10 years ago. I had crystal red shrimp that bred and thrived. Also had red cherry shrimp that bred and thrived too. None to which I tested kh, th, or tds. That's not to say things have change and people have better knowledge on shrimp keeping and "ideal" parameters.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy6107 Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 it is not unheard of to not test for these things (kh, gh, tds) but most of us shrimp keepers do. especially if you plan on using ro water with a remineralizer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLui83 Posted March 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 makes sense for RO/DI water. overall, I'm just impatient and want it now haha. This is what I get for getting out of the game and having to start over! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLui83 Posted April 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2017 I did another test today. looks like my ammonia went down to about 1ppm or so. This damn color card is hard to tell sometimes. There's definetly still green in there. nitrities = 0 nitrates seem to have gone up. It's such a dark orange color almost red. I would say it's more at the 40ppm range. im thinking of doing a water change and then giving the tank a little bit of ammonia and test again to see if the ammonia went down. Or should I just leave it since there is already around 1ppm of ammonia? keep in mind I did add bio spira in the beginning, and then also a bottle of tetra safestart. I wonder if that's the reason why I have yet to see any Nitrite readings???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMG Aquatics Posted April 2, 2017 Report Share Posted April 2, 2017 Just leave it. Pretty sure high nitrates(180ppm+) doesn't affect cycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLui83 Posted April 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2017 Just now, OMG Aquatics said: Just leave it. Pretty sure high nitrates(180ppm+) doesn't affect cycle. That's kind of what I figured too. I'll do the big water change 24-48hrs before I get the shrimp. Even with the added baking soda, my ph came back down to around 6.4. I'll probably just end up going the CRS route instead of the Neos. The substrate is going to keep the ph down, and I'm not going to change out substrate now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLui83 Posted April 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2017 Just an update: Just did a test today April 3, 2017 PH: Around 6.6 Ammonia: 0 !!!! Nitrites: Around .25ppm Nitrates: Around 40-80ppm its RED! Looks like the cycle is going! Just added 1ml of ammonia. Based on the calculator this will give me 1ppm to my tank.... Hopefully the ammonia will drop to zero tomorrow morning when i test again and Nitrite will be .25ppm or less again! Thanks!! so exciting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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