RESET TANK, D'oh!

[sdlTBfanUK]

I think it is time I start thinking about resetting my tank and ordering supplies. My taiwan bee tank is up to PH7.5 (I need to check this though with a NEWER test kit first to check the kit is working correctly) and has been creeping up over time. There are no obvious signs of a problem with the shrimps whatsoever (incidentally I had half hoped that it may slow down the breeding but it appears that was not the case, dammit), so I am not rushing into doing this but as summer seems to be arriving I feel less reluctant to faff about with buckets of water than I have until now! The tank has been running on JBL Proscape shrimp soil but only the one bag of 3L which is about 3//4 inch and clearly that may be why it hasn't lasted as long as I thought it would so I  am planning on using 2 x 3L bags this time which should be about 1.5 inches, Is that enough? I only used 1 bag before as I have to admit I don't particularly like looking at inches of dead space at the bottom of a tank when it has a clear glass front so you can see the substrate. I did have a geode in the tank as decoration but that has  been removed now, but that may have affected the PH etc. It has 30L of water in the tank. The water that goes into the tank is Ph 5.5 so I'm not sure why the Ph has risen tp 7.5 other than the geode maybe?????

My questions are,

1) Is 1.5 inches (6L) of substrate sufficient for 30L tank?

2) Will having more substrate than before extend the time before the tank needs to be reset again or will it not affect the length of time the soil works/buffers?

3) Do I even need to change the soil and reset the tank as everything seems to be fine otherwise?

Allowing 1 week for getting the stuff and then the 2 weeks prepping the soil in the bathroom it will be a month probably before I actually do the mammoth task of changing everything around.

Simon~
 

[jayc]

2 hours ago, sdlTBfanUK said:

1) Is 1.5 inches (6L) of substrate sufficient for 30L tank?

It depends on what substrate you are replacing with. A good brand like ADA Amazonia will only need 1.5 - 2 L.

 

2 hours ago, sdlTBfanUK said:

2) Will having more substrate than before extend the time before the tank needs to be reset again or will it not affect the length of time the soil works/buffers?

It might extend the length of time, but it will affect the pH for sure. Too much and your pH will drop below the ideal 6 - 6.5.

 

2 hours ago, sdlTBfanUK said:

3) Do I even need to change the soil and reset the tank as everything seems to be fine otherwise?

I wouldn't reset it if everything is fine. You can try other methods of dropping pH like more dried leaves and driftwood.

[sdlTBfanUK]

Thanks JayC, I may order the stuff so it is here so that I can do it without delay IF/WHEN something goes wrong or is obviously not right.

The Soil is JBL ProScape shrimp soil and it was set up a year ago, forgot that point! Also the tank PH was 5.5 for the first months so as you say maybe I used too much, however the new betta tank is smaller and I used a 3L bag and actually it turns out the deeper substrate look is growing on me??

Thanks again JayC, I will heed your advice, all the other parameters are perfect and there is zero problems with the shrimp (as far as I can see anyway) so I will probably just buy spare soil in preparation and store that (unopened) somewhere in a dark cool cupboard so I have it for I|F/WHEN necessary!

Bertie the betta also doing really well, active and curious thanks to your advice from the start of that project.

Simon

[beanbag]

Check if the GH or KH are slowly rising.  The Salty Shrimp GH+ is very mildly buffering and should have a pH of about 6.6 when mixed with RO water.

[sdlTBfanUK]

All the other parameters are stable and perfect, and the newly filtered remineralised water that goes into the tank when doing a water change is Ph5.5.

I use the dennerle mineral double in place of salty shrimp as it is easier to use being a liquid!

I do 10% water changes each week.

It is a bit baffling to me but as there is no obvious problems at this point I am not too worried but will probably get some new substrate ready, just in case. The substrate that is in the tank is a year old and as mentioned the only other unknown that may have caused the problem was I had 3 geodes in the tank, which are a type of rock?

Simon

[beanbag]

acid test them or leave it in a glass of remineralized water and check its pH again after a few days.

[sdlTBfanUK]

Thanks for that, I think I will try that just so that I know, though I don't think they will be going back into the tank now.

Will be good to know though whether they were the reason.

Simon

edit 1hr later - I have done this, and also put some of the water in a cup to test the water itself, will leave both a week and report back. Ph was 5.5 , TDS 148 when set up

Edited May 19, 2019 by sdlTBfanUK
update

[jayc]

Geodes, if it's what I'm thinking of 

Will dissolve in a tank and impact water parameters. but if you have removed it, than you should start to get back to water parameters that are more to the expected values.

[sdlTBfanUK]

Thanks JayC, I think it is called a Geode, that was what it was sold as when I bought it in US many years ago though it could be something else? I think it is some sort of meteorite?

Hopefully, as you say, now it is removed the PH may start to drop and I have put one in some prepared water to test in a week. I will also just see what happens with prepared water left out for the same period just to see what happens with that.

Simon

[beanbag]

Another thing you can do to avoid rescaping:

Just take some of the fresh soil and put it in your filter.

[sdlTBfanUK]

I tested the filtered water in a cup that had been sitting a week, PH6 (so crept up slightly from 5.5), and the container with the ?geode? which was PH7-7.5 so I think we found the culprit for why the soil only lasted a year, when I would have thought it would last longer as the water going in the tank was PH5.5-6, so about (or below) what the soil would buffer too!!!

Something else I have learnt and won't use these rocks/geodes/meteorites this time round. I was planning to put a piece of rock in the tank but will do this test BEFORE I put it in the tank this time as there is no rush?

Simon

[Shrimp the world]

I add 5-6cm thick layer of soil ... ADA is ok to use.. should give you a ph at mid 6 range... I find the more you add the longer the soil lasts and the stronger base of the water their is as their more soil to Buffer the water... the ph will no go lower will say at mid 6 on ada but will last longer the more you add to a tank so less time changing it over next time 

thanks connor 

[sdlTBfanUK]

Thanks for that. I put the substrate in the tank and I think that is exactly the depth. I need to add more water as only 6L in there at the moment but it does look too much soil to my eyes at the moment but that's probably just because I only had half that before and I just need to get used to it like that. I will half fill the tank (hopefully get that done today) ready to start putting the plants and decorations back in and then decide, but it is a great help to know that that is the depth others use and works ok!

Thanks again shrimp the world.

Simon 

[Shrimp the world]

All good mate .. let me know how it goes ..any issue with it send a message 

thanks connor