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By sdlTBfanUK
Anyone with very large, or many tanks will probably not be interested in this, aside from curiosity maybe, as I doubt this is cheaper than buying RO water. I am writing this purely in case it may help someone else who wants an easy alternative to RO water.
I am housebound (have MS) and as such needed to find an easy alternative to RO water if I were to keep Taiwan bee shrimp successfully. I have red cherry shrimp in my 30L FISH tank (neon tetras, ember tetras, endler guppies) and they do well with virtually nil care (or attention since I mastered the TBs) other than dechlorinated tap water (which is needed for the fish anyway) so I won't go any further on that subject.
About 3-4 years ago I set up a 15L shrimp tank and tried BRITA filtered tap water, but had no real success with that and so 2 years ago closed the tank down and stored it away assuming then that that would be it, no Taiwan Bee shrimp ever....... but after 2 years of no success, at that point it was a bit of a relief anyway to just be done and out of the way. You will see from the Tap water readings below that in theory the Parameters were pretty good but from my experiences I think you need to go back to NIL (so either RO or the zerowater) and remineralise as I guess that way you know what the tests are picking up is only what the shrimp need - this is only my belief I don't really know, but ie the tap water TDS (Ph, Gh, Kh etc) was ok but what was in the Tap water to make the TDS reading what it was, if that makes sense? I have read on many sites of people trying tap water , as I did, with good parameters but it not working so that is my theory anyway! And of course domestic water supply parameters can change and if there has been any repairs in the system that will change it etc so from my experience only way to go is take it back to NIL and remineralise.......
A year ago (about a year after closing down the old shrimp tank) I came across a water filter jug from zerowater (www.zerowater.co.uk), an american product which I believe is available in Australia on Amazon, but may also be in shops out there for all I know). I thought, why not give that ago.... so I set up the old tank Oct 2017 (15L with the back part partitioned of for filter etc so probably 12L of useable aquarium) put some soil in and a few bits of Java fern and moss from the fish tank and ran it with the zerowater for a couple of months. I didn't ever get any Ammonia, Nitrite, or Nitrate reading but did see a bacteria bloom for a few days. I treated the zerowater as you would RO water, so added shrimp king mineral fluid gh+. There is a lot of info on the website about what it removes etc.
Tap water PH7, Gh 5-6, Kh 3-4, TDS 174
Zerowater Ph6, Gh 0-1, kh 0-1, TDS 000
I added 6 blue bolts about 6-8 weeks later, then some red ruby and red wine a few weeks later and 3 blue steel in March 2018. All went quite well, though there were a few deaths but that may have been me as I am NO expert, I do drip acclimatise though. April 2018 Eggs started appearing (difficult to see on TB) and by the end of that month shrimplets, woohoo!
Time for the new tank, dennerle 35L scapers which I got in May 2018 which I ran for a month with the zerowater, 2 cheap sponge only filters, heater, light, rock, wood, java fern, soil etc, and one sacrificial fish (don't worry he went in the fish tank afterwards as he survived). Then I transferred shrimps a dozen every other day(ish) etc. At this point I was obviously shutting down the small tank and although I had only bought a dozen shrimps originally, when I started removing stuff it turned out I had about 90 baby/juvenile shrimp in the tank, most were probably only days old (probably wasn't wise to transfer them at that stage really but I had too many anyway and wanted to get the old tank out of the way, as it was on the dining table). I THINK WE CAN SAFELY SAY THAT I HAVE CRACKED IT NOW, WITH THE HELP OF THE ZEROWATER FILTER JUG. So closed down the 15L end of June 2018. Daily now I see about 50 shrimps of half to full size in the new setup but haven't yet had any success with babies (though most of the shrimps may not yet be mature enough as I believe they need to be 6 months+), and with the hot spell (unusual for here when tank got to 30 degrees) and with me fine tuning the parameters, done now thankfully PH5.5-6, Gh 4.5, Kh 0-1, TDS 160 (something incidently I probably wouldn't have had to do if I had added the Gh+ from day 1 with the new tank). I will say that I NEVER had any Ammonia, Nitrate or Nitrite readings in the new tank either, but as with the small starter tank there were a couple of days of bacteria bloom. I expect babies will happen now I have stopped messing with the parameters, but there is always option B, set up the old small tank and use as a breeding tank, or C, buy more shrimps???? With the shock of how many babies there were hiding in the small tank, there could well be loads of babies in the new tank that are hiding anyway. I will give that a rethink if there haven't been any babies by xmas, though I have enough anyway at present. The only other things that may now affect babies (ie different than the smaller tank) is, the jets from the filters are a bit strong and circulate the water in the tank more, and I have rock (actually Geodes) in the tank???
I change 2L of water each week, mainly so I can squeeze the 2 sponges from the 2 filters and just clean the glass etc. I also use Fulvic acid, beta glucan and am just starting on bacter ae (hoping that may help babies). As with RO water, top up is pure zerowater and water change is zerowater with GH+ added.
Each zerowater filter does about 100L of my water (about 6-8 months worth) but there is info on the website above that shows how many it will do on different TDS basic water etc. The filters aren't cheap at £20 each (I have bought 4 for £50 so much more reasonable, and they don't have a shelf life anyway. They are of course available readily in USA in places like Walmart as it is an American product. If anyone knows where you can get them in other countries it may be a good idea to add it to this string/topic etc to help others, as mentioned before I THINK you can get them on amazon.com.au for Australia.
If anyone wants to ask any questions I will do my best to answer, but I am NO EXPERT by any measure.
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Update 27 Sep 2018
I am daily seeing babies, in small numbers (all colour varieties), but from the top picture you can see there are a vast number of hiding places anyway, so there must be others. I have also seen a couple of shrimps heavy with eggs, grey, so they must be near birth...............
I will keep this updated if there is anything worth reporting, or there seems to be any problems with using the zerowater filter jug as a substitute for RO water but so far (1 year now) all has been very successful.
Update 7 Oct 2018
Probably be the last update - unless all goes wrong etc
I am seeing lots of babies of varying sizes and patterns now (20 today), so much so that I am going to have to start culling to make room for just the ones I really want to keep, and enough room/food etc for babies! I will try taking one big one out each week when I do maintenance and see how that goes!
Any questions just ask!
BIG UPDATE 24 MARCH 2020
MORRISONS SUPERMARKETS HAVE STARTED SELLING ZEROWATER HERE IN THE UK!
ALSO OCADO SELL ZEROWATER IN THE UK!
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By Aquahobby
Hey guyz, im cycling a 30l tank to get some rcs in it. The tank is almost cycled and im thinking of getting them next week.
I have tested the water and the kH is at 9 and ph is 7 (i have yet to buy a gh test as i bought the jbl pack and didnt realise it does not include gh). I have read about parameter for neo carodina and they say that the hardier the water the better. But i have also read that the water can be too hard which will make it hard for them to molt.
What would you recommend for the parameters ? And how much should i start as a basic colony?
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By sdlTBfanUK
I am considering getting a betta, either for the existing fish tank, or I have a 15L which I could set up. Could someone please let me have preferred water parameters, ie GH, KH, PH, TDS ranges. I have been looking on the internet (other than this site) and getting well p*ssed off with reading loads of 'waffle' only to find it doesn't even give these basic details, so please, just the asked info, no explanations necessary at this early point!
I plan to put the fish in my long term tank, which uses (dechlorinated) tapwater, or an old 15L which is in the cupboard, but that will probably have the same water parameters as I will run it the same. Actually, sitting here looking at the 'Fish tank', probably too much water movement in there (I have never had a Betta in that tank).
I have tried Betta in the past (years ago) but not had much luck and they rarely lived more than 6 months, devastating as they have more character than most other fish, and as they are supposed to be easy to keep, I really don't know why this is? Anyway, start with what the parameters should be, that may stop me going any further?????
Regards
Simon
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By st4tic
Hey all I am new to the shrimp thing and am a bit confused by a few things. But first a bit about what I have and want to achieve.
I am looking at keeping Crystal Reds and Blacks and as my confidence increases trying for a few different types like Hulks and Blue Bolts and maybe a selective breeding program. I have a cycled rack with 5 tanks ( 4 x 3ft and 1 x 5ft) a common sump (3ft with normal media and a 10000 l/h pump with return so pressure isn't through the roof) and sponge filters for each of the 5 tanks. It has a 300w heater but I am thinking of adding a second 200w just in case of a problem. Will this be ok for the above shrimp or stop the sump and just use the sponges? And now for my newbie questions and things I would like clarified.
- Pinto's are a hybrid shrimp of tigers and bees bred for specific patterns or is there something more complicated happening?
- Can you have mishlings and end up with a few different bee type shrimp after breeding. ie 2 x mishlings bred and offspring could be KK or Hulk or Panda (or any others) depending on genes?
- Can you ever breed true bees from mishlings?
- When doing water changes do you gravel vac the substrate or just top up water?
- I was planning to have the tanks bare with mosses and plants in pots to help with cleaning will this be ok?
- I am using rain water it has a 6.8 PH, 0 KH and I don't have a test kit for TDS and GH is it necessary to have these tests and will I need something to buffer the water and keep the PH lower like ADA soil? - (I have read if KH and PH are low you cannot have a high TDS????)
- Can you get Crystal Blues, Greens or Oranges and what is the difference between Pandas and Crystal Black is it just a slight colour difference?
Please forgive any obviously silly questions as I have searched a lot on the net and confused myself with different information. I am also wanting to minimise any deaths so have not bought any shrimp yet until I am satisfied I know enough and can achieve what I would like to.
Any extra advise would be appreciated thanks for the help and if you need any more information about my setup or anything let me know sorry again if anything seems obvious.
Cheers :)
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By Stasiak
Hello,
I have a question about distilled water.
I read that using distilled water and then adding shrimp minerals to it to bring the minerals back up is a good way to lower the PH.
So I went out and bought bottled distilled water. I tested it, and the ph was 6.0. I added the minerals and then let it sit for 1 hr. I tested the water again. The GH was at the high end for cherries, and the PH was about 8.2. I figured I added too much minerals.
I had another bottle of of distilled water. I tested it when I opened that one. It was 6.0. I added the minerals. Only a little dash. I let it sit. 1 hour latter, tested the water. Barely a trace of gh and kh but the ph was 8.0.
So, my question is. Does the ph of bottle still water go up after you open it and then come back down? Do I have to leave it sit before it comes down?
Thank you very much for any help you may have to offer.
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Posts
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By jayc · Posted
@fred-koi, great photos. But sorry to hear you have issues with your shrimp. What shrimp is this? It's showing signs of a bacterial infection. Are these brownish spots circled in red normally there? How long have you had these shrimp? Bought recently? What is your water parameters like? Temperature too, please. Bacteria do better in warmer water, so make sure your tank is cooled. Separate any shrimp that are showing signs like this shrimp - inflamed mandibles, and brown spots. If you are brave enough to want to further treat these shrimp, have a look at the treatments for "Rust Disease" in the Disease and Diagnosis thread. No guarantee we will save this shrimp, but you can give it a go. -
By fred-koi · Posted
Hello, I have been experiencing a mortality problem for several months. I realize that there is a problem on the mandibles the shrimp is weak eats little then the shrimp dies. Do you have an idea ? THANK YOU -
By Avctasi · Posted
Thank you both for your help, my newer tank that doesn’t have anything does have stratum and is heavily planted (some carpet plants like Monte Carlo, anubis, java ferns), parameters are good the only issue is the temp change. My other tank where they are housed currently has sand, river stone pebbles, and a bunch of assorted plants (java moss, cabomba, ludwigs etc) I haven’t thought of doing tiger shrimps but I may go into that route instead if this doesn’t work for crystals. Thank you guys again! -
By sdlTBfanUK · Posted
This is 'INSANE' and what happens when you get carried away in this hobby! PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME WITHOUT CONSULTING YOUR PSYCHIATRIST FIRST! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKH1ABcN6-g I would not want his electricity or water bills, let alone all the cost of the equipment. -
By sdlTBfanUK · Posted
Putting the crystal shrimp in with neocaridina (cherr) means the setup will benefit one type more than the other and it looks like the tank is better suited to neocaridina. Neocaridina are more robust anyway, caridina are a lot more sensitive and therefore harder to keep. The parameters quoted are definitely off for caridina and better suited to the neocariidina! I'm sure that that is the reason for the deaths. You shouldn't need a heater if the house sits arount 74F (and it is unlikely to get so cold that it would kill your shrimp, especially with the other heat sources in the room) and the crystals would be ok at that sort of temperature, though the 80F is getting a bit warm for them, whereas neocaridina would be less affected by that higher temperature. Of course you also need to bear in mind how hot it will get during a really hot spell as even if they are doing well normally, if you even get a few days of over 80+ (in the aquarium though, not necessarily room temperature) that could wipe them out. You could try tiger shrimps as they are almost as tough and robust as cherry shrimps and require similar water parameters, and give a bit of variety? I'm not sure that I would try the caridina in your position due to the difficulty of keeping them and the extra costs involved, when it probably won't work?
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