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Question about Rain Water


Chickini

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Hi, I'm new here and just have a question. 

I have had yellow and red cherry shrimp in the past but due to our tap water having increasingly high amounts of copper after our towns water tank became empty i lost all my shrimp :(
I live in the country and don't have many options for water for my tanks. It's either i travel 30kms each way to my mums and pinch 120L of her tap water or buy a tank for rain water. We have been going to mums for about 6 months and now i'm over it lol so we are going to buy a water tank.

I have some Up Aqua shrimp sand and plan on using it and it buffers at 6.5, is there anything else i'll need to do to make it ready for the harder type shrimp? ie conditioner etc? 
Any help would be great and sorry if it's a silly question :) 

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I don't think so. Our town water is pumped straight from the river into the town tank. Treated there and then sent through to our taps (which i have been told is still old school asbestos pipes). When i do the copper test the first drop turns very dark brown :/ It is non potable and very dirty so we only use it for showers, washing etc. 

Do you know what i'd need to do with the rainwater? 

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If you are going to get a tank, make sure you get one that is plastic to reduce risks of any metals leeching into the tank water.

The pH of rainwater should be low-ish around 6. And TDS should be around 10, maybe less if you are in the country (and if your roof and gutters are clean).

So depending on your type of shrimp Cherries or Crystal or TBs ot Tigers, you need to adjust pH and you need to remineralise the rain water to increase TDS.

To increase pH, you could use potassium carbonate  (K2CO3)  or BiCard Soda (not baking soda).

To increase TDS you can use a product like Salty Shrimp or make your own.

I have posted a DIY thread on making your own remineraliser...

A pH pen and a TDS meter will be very handy to help you measure the levels.

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I do have a ph tester and tds pen. So basically using salty shrimp to remineralise and keeping up with the ph is all i'd need to do than just keep checking that the WP are correct? 
According to the fish shop i rang they said they just use Aquasonic tropical conditioner for there fish and shrimp and told me thats all i'd need with the rain water. Were they right? 

Also thank you @jayc for replying :) 

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I use rainwater from a plastic rainwater tank 1200 litres and also collect rainwater in a green waste bin 210 litres using a collector fitted to a down pipe from Bunnings. The TDS of my rainwater is 4 and ph is around 8ish. I use Amazonia substrate which after 5-6 weeks of cycling the tanks gives me a ph of 6.5 and TDS of 125. I have cherry shrimp and CRS. The parameters have remained stable for the last 6 months. Each tank have mineral balls and I also use Boss Mineral Powder as stated on the pack.

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I think i understand it a little more. I just looked up the salty shrimp on the aquariumonlinestore.com.au you posted in your other thread and it explained it lol I think i was over thinking that i'd have to do a lot to the water. 
 

Could i possibly use the salty shrimp for cherries and tigers as well? 

Thanks @zn30 How many mineral balls should be used? I will have a 20L tank for starters that i want to have crs and i also have a 50L tank for yellows. 

Do you keep your crs with cherries? The tank we are looking at ordering is 3000L made from uv stabilised polyethylene. Is that shrimp safe? 

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10 minutes ago, Chickini said:

Thanks @zn30 How many mineral balls should be used? I will have a 20L tank for starters that i want to have crs and i also have a 50L tank for yellows. 

Do you keep your crs with cherries? The tank we are looking at ordering is 3000L made from uv stabilised polyethylene. Is that shrimp safe? 

@Chickini the pack for the mineral balls states how many per litres for your tank also depends on size of mineral balls. I get my rations and all shrimpneeds from @newbreed newbreed aquatics, one of the traders on this forum click on the flier on top of the page for more info. I have my higher grade cherries and differing patterns with my CRS.

The tank I have is also made from uv stabilised polyethylene safe for human consumption drinking water. For cleaner water I use a 1meter first flush pipe from Bunnings remember to release the water after each rain good for water plants as it holds approx 7 litres, also prior to going into the tank I have a easy clean mozzie stoppa, hope this helps.

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@zn30 It helps a lot. I have been searching online but find so many different answers to questions lol We've never had a tank so new to it all to lol I will definitely have a look at the sites above. :) 

If i was to keep my cherries and crs seperate can i use salty shimp for both tanks and just differ the mineral balls, ph etc? Or can they both live in the same type soft water? 

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@Chickini I use the mineral balls and the boss mineral powder in all my shrimp tanks. 

Boss Aquaria Mineral Powder is an old sea mud that is packed with all the essential minerals for shrimp moulting, breeding, colour & general health. It will also help to improve water quality Dose: 1 spoon per 50L 1-2 times a week as stated in the following link

https://newbreedaquatics.com.au/boss-mineral-powder-100g.html

I think the salty shrimp powder is a different product, I have not used the bee shrimp range see link for use

https://newbreedaquatics.com.au/salty-shrimp-bee-shrimp-mineral-gh-1000g.html?category_id=41

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@zn30 May i ask which brand you use if it's not the one above? I'm going to buy some mineral powder as well :) 

Thank you so much for all your help so far :D 

Is this the other one? https://newbreedaquatics.com.au/salty-shrimp-shrimp-mineral-gh-kh-850g.html

My post merged. 

Lol Just noticed the salty bee is for soft water shrimps and the other is for cherries so it answers my question. Maybe i should get both and use salty bee for crs and use the other for the cherries? 

Edited by Chickini
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Didn't notice that myself ref the salty shrimp mineral being for CRS as I use the boss products, I was started on this range and had no problems to date. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, I should read all the info in the future.

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Thank you for all your help. I think i'm going to be buying the salty shrimp and using it with the boss products :) 

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4 hours ago, Chickini said:

Thank you for all your help. I think i'm going to be buying the salty shrimp and using it with the boss products :) 

That's what this forum is all about helping each other and passing on knowledge no matter how small as every bit of info helps someone. I'm glad that I could of been some help as others have helped me, happy shrimp keeping @Chickini

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Yeah I'm pretty glad I came across it ☺️ I was totally confused before I asked my question here lol thank you 

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Looks like zn30 has been helping you out. 

But just remember,  Salty Shrimp and mineral powder are two different things for two different purposes. 

You use Salty shrimp to remineralise RO or rain water, as rain & ro has close to no minerals. This type of product raises TDS.

Salty shrimp GH+ for CRS and similar Caridina shrimp. 

Salty shrimp GH KH for cherries and similar neo caridina. This product raises TDS & PH.

Mineral powder on the other hand is used to replenish lost minerals in the tank. This product will not normally alter pH or TDS. Shrimps use up calcium after moulting to regrow their shells,  so keeping these minerals in check is good to avoid moulting issues. 

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+1 for@newbreed

Got my salty shrimp from there and other goodies. Plus it's always good to support our sponsors.

Mention SKF and I'm sure they'll look after you.

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1 hour ago, NoGi said:

Mention SKF and I'm sure they'll look after you

Mention SKF and I believe you get 10% off !!

 

 

Seriously ...   enter 'skf1' (all lower case) in the coupon field and then click redeem. You get 10% off.

That's why we recommend our sponsored retailers. That and the fact that they are all the best places to shop for fish or shrimp goodies. 

Edited by jayc
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1 hour ago, NoGi said:


Mention SKF and I'm sure they'll look after you.

10% for all SKF members is correct from @newbreed great service as well.

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Thanks for the wraps guys, and definitely be sure to redeem your Skf discount @Chickini!!

I also exclusively use rainwater in my tanks and remineralise with salty shrimp. I mainly use gh+ as majority of my tanks are set for crystal/TBs and cherries can adapt. But if wanting ideal parameters for Neos then the GH/kh+ is the one. 

We have a 3000L plastic rainwater tank, I had it for a couple of years prior to using it on tanks. But I find TDS fluctuates from 4-10 depending on time of year and rainfall amount. Thankfully this year has turned out to be plentiful.

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Sorry for the late reply, i have been at the hospital and my mums for last few days. 

I'm thinking if cherries can adapt i might just go with the gh+ one as i'd love to have them in the same tank. When i'm home again i'll definitely be making an order through for it :) 
Thank you so much everyone for the replies and explaining it in detail so i don't get mixed up and buy the wrong one lol 

:) 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey @Chickini, it can be a good idea to process your rainwater through a filter before it hits your tank. While rainwater is close to pure neutral water, it does collect a few contaminants on the way from the clouds to the rainwater tank. What's in the air or on your roof from day to day can vary, so you're never 100% sure. I have 2 housings in series, the first with a fine spun poly prefilter and the second with a big carbon block. If you have to buy all the bits it can run to about the same cost as a cheap ro unit but it processes water much faster. 

@newbreed are you filtering your rainwater or just using it?

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25 minutes ago, kizshrimp said:

Hey @Chickini, it can be a good idea to process your rainwater through a filter before it hits your tank. While rainwater is close to pure neutral water, it does collect a few contaminants on the way from the clouds to the rainwater tank. What's in the air or on your roof from day to day can vary, so you're never 100% sure. I have 2 housings in series, the first with a fine spun poly prefilter and the second with a big carbon block. If you have to buy all the bits it can run to about the same cost as a cheap ro unit but it processes water much faster. 

@newbreed are you filtering your rainwater or just using it?

Hey @kizshrimp,

Never filtered my rainwater mate. But I do live 50kms from nearest industrial area plus my house is over 100 years old, so whatever may leach off my roof well and truly has already!

If we ever get around to replacing the roof I will be running RO to be safe. 

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I'm actually more interested in organic load than anything leaching out of the roof. Most houses will accumulate sticks, leaves, possum faeces etc on the roof along with who knows what else. And sure there is the issue of leachate from some too. 

You probably should head for ro @newbreed because long term it's impossible to keep zebras soft enough on rainwater. The tank will slowly get harder via the minimal evaporation going on. 

 

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