Water for Neocaridina Davidi and CRS/CBS

[Mabber]

Hi guys :) 

my name is Mauro and i'm from Italy, sorry for my bad english... try to understand me pls.

I'm not new in shrimp keeping but i have some problems with Neos.

My water parameters for NEOCARIDINA:

Soil: inert

Ph 7.8

Gh 11

Kh 3

No2 0

No3 50

Are them good? I read a lot of forums and everyone has different opinions about WP.  Do you think my parameters are ok?

I also have some deaths in my Super Crystal red tank, parameters are:

Soil: Environment 

Ph: 5.4/5.6

Gh: 6

Kh: 0

No2 0

No3 50

Other shrimp in the same water still alive and healty.

For all my tank i use RO water with SS Gh+ and Dennerle gh/kh+ for neos. 

Help me pls

 

 

[jayc]

I think the ph and kh is too high.  Use the SS GH+ for the neos. 

And the nitrate is getting on the high side for both neos and crystals. Try bringing it down. 

What does the shrimp look like when they die? 

Edited July 11, 2017 by jayc

[Mabber]

Dead shrimp are normal, i dont see any kind of fungus or parasite. I think the problem is No3 but i really dont know how to reduce and keep them low...

I do a 70% water change and the day after No3 are the same as before... 

How can i reduce ph in tank with inert substrate? Just reduce kh?

[Zoidburg]

IMO, the pH and KH is fine.

Nitrates however are indeed high.

 

How did you cycle these tanks?

How long were the tanks cycled for?

What is the temperature of the tanks?

How often do you feed?

Do you use ferts?

If yes, how often? And what?

 

What test kit are you using? (liquid? strips?)

[Mabber]

In order:

- Cycled  with cycled water from another tank and ADA Bacter 100 + Bacter AE on the substrate

-A month min.

-24C°  room is conditioned all year long

-every 3 days

-No is only a shrimp tank without fert and co2

-Liquids and digital for ph

 

Still thinking how to reduce No3...

[jayc]

Doh! Did I say KH?

I meant GH.

GH at 11 is on the high side. What is your TDS if GH is 11?

The shrimps might be finding it hard to molt.

 

8 hours ago, Mabber said:

Still thinking how to reduce No3

Use Seachem Purigen.

If you were in Aus, we have a cheaper alternative to Purigen called Macropore.

[Mabber]

Ok, i have 450/500 us with Gh11.

Using GH + gradually the KH will go to 0, how can I handle the ph?

About No3, may the problem be the tickness of the ground? 

[Zoidburg]

Does your TDS meter give you an option to change us to ppm? Converted, it should be 288-321 ppm.

Are you using RO water in all the tanks, or are the neos getting tap water instead? If any of the tanks are getting tap water, what are your tap water parameters?

I don't necessarily find that 11 GH is high for a Neo tank (just came across someone who has 20+ GH!), but you can attempt to lower it. 8 GH is a good number. If you want to lower GH while keeping KH up, then you need something to add KH to the tanks.

 

As far as the super crystals go, you might want to consider lowering the GH down to 5 and see how well they do. Certain strains of crystals can be more sensitive to higher GH levels and may do better in lower GH, such as 4-5 GH.

 

If you do choose to make any changes to the GH levels, make sure that the change is gradual.

 

As mentioned, something like Seachem Purigen may help to reduce No3, although adding more fast growing plants may also help to combat that issue.

[Mabber]

Ok, for GH.

I already have lot of plants like Ceratophillum and Limnobium Levigatum. Purigen can low my No3 but i want to understand where the problem is.

Thickness of the substrate?

[jayc]

8 hours ago, Mabber said:

i want to understand where the problem is.

That's difficult to answer. GH, or General Hardness can be caused by a number of things.

Dirty filter,

Dirty substrate,

Fertilisers,

Aquarium salts,

Rocks that might have some limestone in it,

Coral and Shell grit,

Using too much GH+ or GH/KH+ remineralising products. You need to replace some water with pure RO water occasionally to replace the evaporation. Calcium and Magnesium do not evaporate out of water. So any water lost due to evaporation will make the concentration of Ca & Mg higher.

The substrate itself could be a cause of increased GH. Some supposed inert gravel actually have parts of it that are formed with calcium or magnesium. What substrate are you using?

Long intervals between water changes. 

 

If I had a tank with high GH, I would do the following...

Look for ornaments that might be causing GH to rise like rocks, or even filter media.

Gravel vacuum the substrate, which also does a Water change.

Replace water with pure RO or rain water slowly. 

Clean filters, using the water removed above. Just rinse and squeeze it out. 

Test again, then add Purigen or Macropore as necessary. 

 

Edited July 14, 2017 by jayc

[Mabber]

On 14/7/2017 at 2:47 AM, jayc said:

That's difficult to answer. GH, or General Hardness can be caused by a number of things.

Dirty filter,

Dirty substrate,

Fertilisers,

Aquarium salts,

Rocks that might have some limestone in it,

Coral and Shell grit,

Using too much GH+ or GH/KH+ remineralising products. You need to replace some water with pure RO water occasionally to replace the evaporation. Calcium and Magnesium do not evaporate out of water. So any water lost due to evaporation will make the concentration of Ca & Mg higher.

The substrate itself could be a cause of increased GH. Some supposed inert gravel actually have parts of it that are formed with calcium or magnesium. What substrate are you using?

Long intervals between water changes. 

 

If I had a tank with high GH, I would do the following...

Look for ornaments that might be causing GH to rise like rocks, or even filter media.

Gravel vacuum the substrate, which also does a Water change.

Replace water with pure RO or rain water slowly. 

Clean filters, using the water removed above. Just rinse and squeeze it out. 

Test again, then add Purigen or Macropore as necessary. 

 

Thanks but i want to understand about No3 :) 

[jayc]

10 hours ago, Mabber said:

i want to understand about No3

Sorry. Brain fade.

However !

Dirty Filters and dirty substrate can also cause NO3 increase. Clean your filters and gravel vac the substrate. Then replace water with RO water.