TDS PEN

[zacsbee89]

Hi guys, just read through the thread on Water parameters and noticed alot of you rate TDS over kh and gh. Was reading due to every water change i do, 20% per fortnight i always loose shrimp. Today I lost 2 heavily berried Red Cherrys (which have been put in a mesh breeding basket so hopefully the eggs stay alive) I carried out the WC on sunday.

just wondering will this be sufficient for tds testing ? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DIGITAL-TDS-WATER-QUALITY-PURITY-TESTER-METER-drinking-water-filters-aquarium-/320881608287?pt=AU_Seed_Starting_Hydroponics&hash=item4ab608c65f&_uhb=1#ht_2237wt_811

[blindfisherman]

I think you should reduce the water change amount.

I rarely water change (maybe 5% a month) and my cherries breed like rabbits.

Cherries are pretty hardy so there may be some other cause.

[zacsbee89]

yeah i was going to reduce WC to more like 2-3L per week...as My plants havent established enough to get rid of the nitrates. ammonia, nitrite and nitrate were all ok. Ph was what i though a little high at 8.2-8.4 temp has been at 29-30 for the last 4-5 weeks so i doubt its temp related. got a aquaclear 30 HOB and aeration aswell.

however i dont have gh, kh or TDS test.

[bailey88]

Might need to think about getting ph down a bit I only WC once a month on my red cherry tank and just top up with ro water and yeah mine breed like rabbits aswell

[zacsbee89]

i read in the water parameters section that Dean has his cherry tank at 8. thats why i wasnt sure? im slowly adding ph down atm. try and get it atleast under 7.6 so i dont have to use high ph and low ph test kits lol

[jacet]

I have crystals and do a 10% per week and re fill very slowly and 1-2 days after the water change I have a couple of molt shells ... This works for me so If you find some thing that works mate stick to it...

[blindfisherman]

I have the cherries breeding like crazy in sydney water which is 8+. It may be temp related and may be taking time to show any issues. Are the shrimp swimming for the surface much/ any indication the tank could be low on oxygen?

[northboy]

I water change here in Cairns 25%+ about 4 times a week, no issue with dead and I have lots of Cherries with eggs, I would look at some thing else as the good fish farms water change 24 x7.

Water changes = good growth and good health.

Bob

[northboy]

Just adding, what are your tap water conditions, if you don't know talk to the guys at A1 aquarium they know there stuff. you realy need to stick to finding out local conditions as you are in the tropics and it is way different up here.

Bob

[zacsbee89]

hey bob what do your tanks sit at temp wise???

ill take a sample in to A1, im mates with one of the guys there so ill get him to test it. Or Don whoever is there lol.

[northboy]

Don is your man and a legon, my tanks sit around 28 at this time of year and get up to 32 in a few weeks, then in winter they drop to 16 to 18 range, every thing handles that well.

See if they will test KH, GH and do you TDS as well.

Bob

[zacsbee89]

Will do,

Was just thinking, I put crushed coral into my tanks. Would this raise my ph to the high Level?

[bailey88]

Yes crushed coral would raise the ph the calcium carbonate in it best natural way to raise ph other then sandstone

[zacsbee89]

Bugger, I added the coral for the calcium, not the added ph lol. Swear being a scientist would help so much more with all these water parameters haha

[zacsbee89]

Alrighty, got my TDS pen today. Went and tested all tanks.

Red cherry tank (sand substrate, medium planted) = 204ppm

Cycling tank for chocs (sand substrate, anuibas and java fern) = 203ppm

(problem tank, moulting etc) yellow cherry tank (fluval shrimp stratum, riccia pillow) = 150ppm

obviously sand buffers to 200ish ppm. looks like ill be changing the yellows to a sand substrate tank.

what does up aqua sand and benibachi buffer to?

oh my planted community tank gets bulk ferts and sits at 550ppm :/ is that ok? haha

[BlueBolts]

Congratz. Most of my tanks sits at 200ppm. Cherries can withstand a lot more, so your TDS looks great. For molting issues, check you GH. Cherry shrimps like a GH of 6+.

550ppm for a planted tank is probably pretty normal...

[zacsbee89]

Thanks bb, I thought gh and kh were the same as testing tds. I'll buy a kit on the w/e. So 150ppm is ok?

[BlueBolts]

I would personally bump it up to atleast 200ppm for cherries or more....but that's my personal experience, as there are others who prefer a lower TDS. If they're happy and breeding, then it's all good, as there's other WP that works in combination. But with your moulting issues, definitely check you GH....API test is a combo of KH & GH.

[zacsbee89]

I was thinking because i've had such good luck breeding my reds with sand as substrate that i'd convert from fluval substrate to just sand. It seems to work well for cherrys. obviously wouldnt be the best for crystals.

Cheers BB ill be making a trip to the aquarium for sure for kh, gh kit. ill post results here.

[Aquathumb]

I agree with BB I'd get your gh upto 6+. Dean sells API GH/KH test kits on his website. I got one off him last week was $12 (my LFS sells them for $22) ordered it Monday morning, was in my mailbox Tuesday afternoon!

[Gbang]

also, try sulawesi mineral mix mate. that stuff can really help with the moulting and gh issues!

[zacsbee89]

I removed the fluval substrate yesterday morning. Transfered the yellows to the sand substrate tank. Refilled the original tank with just water and filtration no substrate. After a night to stabalize I retested the TDS and EC. TDS: 99, EC: 196.

compared to the sand substrate tanks TDS: 213 EC: 428

So it seems Townsville water is has bugger all solids in the water. Ive still got to buy a gh,kh kit which ill do the sarv. also need to get more sand with the arrival of more shrimp ;) hey gbang? lol ive got some black sand in my 2ft which is being pulled down this week, so I might raid that.

[BlueBolts]

That's some great TDS there. Upaqua/Benibachi sand buffers depending on the water....nature of the specifics.... High TDS for cherries isn't a huge issue...had found a HUGE cherry in my pond at 700+ppm and he was huge !

[zacsbee89]

high tds = roids for cherries ya reckon BB? lol

[BlueBolts]

There's a correlation of tank space to fish growth, the larger the tank, the larger the fish can grow to it's potential size...

Most ponds are larger comared to tanks, have higher TDS, and have an abundance of food/algae.....so perhaps all those 3 combine ?