# Which Substrate do you use for RCS?



## Otto72 (29 Oct 2013)

I'm a little concerned which substrate to use for RCS, namely Sakura or painted fire red but I assume all types of RCS are the same.
Ideally I wanted to use ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia, I'm told this this buffers the water PH down and I read that RCS like a higher PH level.


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## Michael W (29 Oct 2013)

RCS won't mind PH as much, I've seen them kept with CRS before which prefers a low PH. I've kept RCS in a tank with gravel and currently keeping them in a tank with cat litter, peat and aquarium compost. You can go ahead and use the ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia with no ill effects.


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## NanoJames (29 Oct 2013)

You shouldn't have too many problems with Red Cherries and PH mate, it's Crystal Reds you want to be more lenient about. My cherries are at about 6.8 PH and they're doing fine. Active substrates are good for buffering the water to what some of the fancier shrimp like so you don't necessarily need to spend too much on substrate for RCS.
Cheers


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## NanoJames (29 Oct 2013)

Michael W said:


> RCS won't mind PH as much, I've seen them kept with CRS before which prefers a low PH. I've kept RCS in a tank with gravel and currently keeping them in a tank with cat litter, peat and aquarium compost. You can go ahead and use the ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia with no ill effects.


 You beat me to it Michael!


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## Michael W (29 Oct 2013)

Maybe next time James! Tehehehehehe


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## kirk (29 Oct 2013)

I've used gravel and sand this time round, last time just gravel. I have found rilis and cherries hardy. They are always berried and . Use ferts, co2.  they never seem bothered. have a look at some rili shrimp they are pretty little things


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## Otto72 (30 Oct 2013)

Ok so Amazonia is ok to use. Another question for you guys, will a lower ph effect breeding and molting of RCS or will they breed and molt just as well?
My first tank will be tap water, I'm leaning towards either black sand or Amazonia. I assume some plants will grow better in Amazonia.
In my mind I'm thinking the setup will be low tech, with plants that are not high light demanding. Light wise i'm thinking one or two daylight bulbs over the tank.


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## NanoJames (31 Oct 2013)

Within reason, cherries can thrive at a lower PH. I wouldn't risk going much below 6.4 - 6.5 for breeding. Molting shouldn't be an issue at that either. You can also get a PH buffer which would mean that if you were worried, you could cancel the Amazonia out and raise the PH a little bit. Don't worry about PH at the moment, just make sure your tank is cycled and there is enough algae/biofilm for the shrimps and you should be able to keep them alive! ADA Amazonia is a great substrate by the way, I've found that hairgrass especially really likes the soil. Go for that if you're looking for quick plant growth, if not just go for black sand. I use this Dennerle stuff that is inert and doesn't need rinsed: Dennerle Nano Shrimps Gravel Sulawesi black -Aquaristic shop
Cheers


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## OllieNZ (31 Oct 2013)

Whats your tap water like. If its hard then you wont need to worry about buffering.


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## plantbrain (31 Oct 2013)

RCS: that which cannot be killed.


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## Otto72 (31 Oct 2013)

Tap water is very hard around my way yeah.
So higher grade cherrys like sakura and painted fire red are just as hardy as low grade RCS?


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## Otto72 (3 Nov 2013)

NanoJames said:
			
		

> I use this Dennerle stuff that is inert and doesn't need rinsed: Dennerle Nano Shrimps Gravel Sulawesi black -Aquaristic shop


 
Is that the place you actually bought it from, I did a Google for a UK supplier but haven't found one as yet.


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## NanoJames (3 Nov 2013)

Otto72 said:


> Is that the place you actually bought it from, I did a Google for a UK supplier but haven't found one as yet.


 No I'm afraid not mate, I got it from an LFS. Have you tried Ebay?


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## NanoJames (3 Nov 2013)

dennerle nano gravel | eBay Check out the top result...


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## Otto72 (3 Nov 2013)

thanks James


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## Kev_M (3 Nov 2013)

I just use black gravel in my shrimp tank. I'm on London tap water so don't need to muck about too much.


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## basil (3 Nov 2013)

I have a 25kg bag of black quartz sand if anyone wants it. Free if you can collect and perfect for RCS!


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## Otto72 (5 Nov 2013)

How do you do a tank cycle with an inert substrate, I read somewhere online that you use pure ammonia like what they sell in the diy stores? I was reading the back of the bottle and it says not to be used with animals, also when I opened the bottle it was like pure acid giving off lethal fumes! This is the same ammonia that we use to cycle our tanks correctly? The bottle states its a cleaner, it smells eggy like drain cleaner! Is there no safer way?


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## OllieNZ (5 Nov 2013)

Otto72 said:


> How do you do a tank cycle with an inert substrate, I read somewhere online that you use pure ammonia like what they sell in the diy stores? I was reading the back of the bottle and it says not to be used with animals, also when I opened the bottle it was like pure acid giving off lethal fumes! This is the same ammonia that we use to cycle our tanks correctly? The bottle states its a cleaner, it smells eggy like drain cleaner! Is there no safer way?


The safest  way to cycle a tank is to plant it and leave it for a few weeks. Fishless cycling is mainly used for tanks where people want to dump a load of messy fish on a tank at once, think malawi setup. If you dont add a large bioload straight away it makes the amonia method pointless


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (5 Nov 2013)

Or a slow introduction of livestock is an
Alternate method.


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## Michael W (5 Nov 2013)

It is suggested that we could cycle a tank by just planting it heavily and waiting for a week or two as Ollie has suggested. I'm sure Clive posted somewhere saying that adding ammonia is counter productive as ammonia kills bacteria rather than establishing them into a healthy colony. I think Clive used the example of cleaning agents and that their main ingredient was ammonia which suggests that it has a major role in eliminating bacteria. Please correct me if I'm wrong as I'm trying to recall what he had actually typed as I can't find the thread.

Nathaniel makes an excellent point on a slow introduction of livestock. Acclimation is key especially if your talking about shrimps. When I kept CRS I acclimated them for 5-7 hours definitely no less than 5 through the drip acclimation method which involved me using some air line tubing and starting a siphon, tying a knot so the water has a slow drip.


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## Andy Thurston (6 Nov 2013)

I think it may have been this thread

Should I fishless cycle a new planted tank? | UK Aquatic Plant Society


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## Otto72 (14 Nov 2013)

thanks all for your input I think I'm gonna go with Dennerle Sulawesi Black, obviously I will check my ph from tap before I buy it and if the ph is particularly high I guess ADA will be the other option


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## Dane (28 Nov 2013)

One company does a black volcanic glass substrate (inert) which works really well, i think its Unipac. As far as i know freshwatershrimp.co.uk (sponsor) sells it, if its not on the website then its worth giving him a call or email as i know he has a habit of not always putting stock on the website


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## Otto72 (10 Dec 2013)

Ok I received my order for five bags of Dennerle Sulawesi Black today, this stuff is perfect the grains are tiny 
I was suprised however how small the bags were when they arrived.
Apparantly 4 bags should be enough for a 60 litre tank although I don't really think this is enough hmm ..
Each bag is 2kg, I bought 5 bags thinking this would be enough for an ADA 60p tank but then I started reading on the back of the pack and they suggest to use Dennerle Sulawesi Black as a 3cm cap over 2cm's of Dennerle DeponitMix. Do I also need this DeponitMix? I read it's designed for plant growth but it's a hideous pinkish colour which would look a bit naff under the nice black grains or shall I just order a few bags more of Dennerle Sulawesi Black and make all of it 5cm?


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## aliclarke86 (16 Dec 2013)

If you leave a 1cm gap around the sides you can have the black gravel fill it in and you won't see any pink 

Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk


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## sa80mark (16 Dec 2013)

I used 2 bags of the Sulawesi Black in my 30x30x30 and it gave a good deep covering approx 2 inch at the front up to approx 4 inch at the back so 5 bags should be fine, the DeponitMix imo is rubbish if your want a plant substrate base id go for the tropica one


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