Air stones added , is there anything else

[Twellsy]

Hi all ,

This is is killing me don't know what's going on , I need some help

Bit of a back story , over the last few months one by one my CRS / CBS / SW have started dying Im now down to maybe 3 juvies. ( lost about 30 CRS , 30 CBS and 6 SW in two different tanks ) cherries share the tanks they have been breeding no problems ( only had one or two deaths in total )

I have tried a few things :-

Stripped the tanks and cleaned

Added bee balls ( 4 per tank 60 Litres )

Added activated carbon

Today added an air stone to each tank

Ph 6.4

Temp 23-24

ammonia , nitrates , nitrites 0

Tds 130 - 180

25% water changes fortnightly ( tap water treated and aged )

Is there something else that I have missed or I can try

Cheers Twellsy

[Squiggle]

What's the GH & KH?

[Twellsy]

What's the GH & KH?

Hey Squiggle ,

Never tested the GH & KH , figured I use tap water so can't adjust it.

I can get a test kit in the morning and checked them if that will help

[BlueBolts]

If you're using tap water, you really need to know all it's WP. If you're using buffering soil, and your tap PH is 7.5, you'll quickly wear out the efficiency and eventually the buffering factor of your soil. Together with deaths, the economics and pain would easiy pay for a RO unit ($90-$130) ? Tap water is also inconsistent, and can deviate from day to day.

As squiggs mentioned, check your GH and KH, as I think you'll find that they are too high for the Caridina's.

[Twellsy]

Thanks mate , I'll get a kit in the morning

Yeah my tap water is 7.4 and soil is buffering to 6.4

I think I will need to look into an RO system

[BlueBolts]

Damn, I'm out by 0.1. Lol

FSA sponsored one of our comps, and are on eBay....just email them on the approx. volume of RO you need a week, and they can point you to the right unit.

Please do share your findings and solution...:-)

[Bunnybom]

Let me share my story here too.

I had 40+ cherries with my CBS in 3ft divided tank.

Cherries started dying one by one every each day while none of CBS died.

At first I couldn't see why only cherries were dying.

One day I noticed that the shell of dead cherry half came off.

Yes, they all died due to molting imperfection.

I was using tap water since then, and my GH was around 7-8, when pH was 5.8

Both factors highly caused molting imperfection especially GH.

What I'm thinking that caused deaths among cherries while doing no harm to CBS was that GH rated just at the edge of the end line, if it went any higher, it might have caused severe harm to my CBS too.

Ever since then, I ordered RO water and reset the tank.

However, cherries were already weakened and non of them survived :worried:

Lesson here is that never underestimate the impacts that WP can bring to shrimps!

[OzShrimp]

I emailed FSA and i believe its about $150 for the portable R/O unit :)

[Twellsy]

I have an industrial size RO unit ( it's massive 5 stage I think ) but I think it will be far too much the system runs in Litres per minute ( I used to use it to feed two industrial boilers , 4000 liters each ) It hasn't been used in a while so might end being cheaper to get a small home unit instead of getting new filter cartridges and having it serviced.

I would only need 30 liters a week , it would probably be suited for someone with a fish room.

ill contact FSA and see what a small home unit will cost

[Bunnybom]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Portable-Reverse-Osmosis-System-WITH-ALKALIZING-FILTER-1-70CC-/231131240738?pt=AU_SmallKitchenAppliances&hash=item35d07ed922&_uhb=1

I bought my portable 3 stage RO unit from ebay.

I connect the unit to the kitchen sink tap and store the filtered water in my aging tank- 25L and use it for WC.

Then the unit is disconnected and sits in the corner when not in used :)

Above is the link.

[Twellsy]

Thanks for that link Emma , it's cheaper than I thought

One question isn't an RO system for drinking different to what we need for our shrimp ?

Thought I read it somewhere last night , while doing some research into RO systems

Cheers Twellsy

[OzShrimp]

This is the link to the portable unit from FSAhttp://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Portable-Aquarium-Filter-DI-Resin-0-TDS-Great-Fish-1-70DI-/230981508943?pt=AU_SmallKitchenAppliances&hash=item35c7921f4f They can swap over the diverter valve to one of r washing machine tap for free.These are the links to the replacement parts for that unithttp://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-x-GAC-Fridge-Filter-5-micron-Fittings-Suit-Samsung-Maytag-GE-LG-6-1G-/231157071859?pt=AU_SmallKitchenAppliances&hash=item35d208fff3http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Purolite-NR-W37-50L-De-Ironising-Nuclear-Resin-350gr-re-fill-pack-5-12-/310637453006?pt=AU_SmallKitchenAppliances&hash=item48536f5ecethey said this to me also

The first carbon filter will last 6 monthsThe membrane will last approx. 2-3 years

and if you require longer hosing for waste water etc its $8 per 3metres :)edit: the link emma posted is sold by them but its not the aquarium quality R/O Unit

[Twellsy]

Thanks Shaun ,

I thought there was a difference between the two units , the system looks the same except for the final filter it's a DI resin

Cheers Twellsy

[OzShrimp]

your welcome, yeah you can buy the cheaper one but you end up spending the same anyway cause its $50 for the other insert

[Squiggle]

Don't forget to remineralize the water with SaltyShrimp GH+ after it's been filtered :encouragement:

[jayc]

Yeah, you DONT want an RO with ALKALIZING filter.

RO units with Alkalizer is for drinking/human consumption - so your teeth won't rot due to acidity. Drinking RO units raise the alkalinity (pH).

Aquarium RO units don't need the ALKALIZING filter, since we want the water as neutral pH as possible or even slightly acidic.

[Bunnybom]

Didn't know there's difference in RO units other than GPD!Yeah the RO unit I've got kept on giving me 7.8-8.3 pH, which I in fact appreciated as my tank gives me pH 5.3 that I felt a need to increase.It still gave me TDS of 3, which is quite good.Anyway thanks for your info Shaun, I contacted the seller and ordered the Resin cartridge!They'll arrive tmr:happydance:Once the buffering effect of the soil worn off, I'll replace the cartridge to get ideal pH:)

This is the link to the portable unit from FSAhttp://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Portable-Aquarium-Filter-DI-Resin-0-TDS-Great-Fish-1-70DI-/230981508943?pt=AU_SmallKitchenAppliances&hash=item35c7921f4f They can swap over the diverter valve to one of r washing machine tap for free.These are the links to the replacement parts for that unithttp://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-x-GAC-Fridge-Filter-5-micron-Fittings-Suit-Samsung-Maytag-GE-LG-6-1G-/231157071859?pt=AU_SmallKitchenAppliances&hash=item35d208fff3http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Purolite-NR-W37-50L-De-Ironising-Nuclear-Resin-350gr-re-fill-pack-5-12-/310637453006?pt=AU_SmallKitchenAppliances&hash=item48536f5ecethey said this to me also and if you require longer hosing for waste water etc its $8 per 3metres :)edit: the link emma posted is sold by them but its not the aquarium quality R/O Unit

[OzShrimp]

Oh well emma atleast you will have less issues once you get the resin insert

:)