Hello everyone!

[simon_the_plant_nerd]

Hello everyone.

I was recommended this forum by the staff at Maidenhead Aquatics in Lasswade, Scotland. They’ve been very helpful and given me lots of advice so far. They’re clearly passionate about their hobby and business which is great.

I’ve got very soft water in my area (1-2 dGH/dKH from the tap) so I want to remineralise the water for the benefit of my invertebrates. I’ve ordered a tub of Salty Shrimp Mineral as it seems to have the ideal ratio of GH/KH for the shrimps to remineralise for future water changes and it was convenient for the short term. If anyone could point me towards some discussions on good multipurpose remineralisers (DIY or otherwise) that would be hugely appreciated.

I need to increase my tank water hardness too. Is an increase of hardness (from 1-2GH to 10GH) likely to have detrimental effects on a small population of neon tetras, cherry shrimp and nerite snails if done quickly (I.e. dosing straight to tank or large water change) or should I increase slowly over a period of hours or days?

Thanks everyone and look forward to getting involved with the forum.

 

[Tim Harrison]

Welcome 🙂

 

[MichaelJ]

Hello everyone.

I was recommended this forum by the staff at Maidenhead Aquatics in Lasswade, Scotland. They’ve been very helpful and given me lots of advice so far. They’re clearly passionate about their hobby and business which is great.

I’ve got very soft water in my area (1-2 dGH/dKH from the tap) so I want to remineralise the water for the benefit of my invertebrates. I’ve ordered a tub of Salty Shrimp Mineral as it seems to have the ideal ratio of GH/KH for the shrimps to remineralise for future water changes and it was convenient for the short term. If anyone could point me towards some discussions on good multipurpose remineralisers (DIY or otherwise) that would be hugely appreciated.

I need to increase my tank water hardness too. Is an increase of hardness (from 1-2GH to 10GH) likely to have detrimental effects on a small population of neon tetras, cherry shrimp and nerite snails if done quickly (I.e. dosing straight to tank or large water change) or should I increase slowly over a period of hours or days?

Thanks everyone and look forward to getting involved with the forum.

You only need to increase your dGH level not the dKH. Adding 3-4 dGH to your water for a total of 4-6 dGH will work perfectly for your shrimps and snails that needs it. The tetras will be fine as well. You definitely do not need to target 10 dGH. You're making a relatively small change by increasing your dGH a couple of degrees, so I would not worry about doing it between a couple of 50% water changes where you gradually add the extra dose in 1-2 dGH increments to the WC water. DO NOT just dump it straight into the tank as it will likely stress out of the livestock - causing osmotic stress - especially among the shrimps.

Bee shrimp GH+ would be a better choice for you as your tap is already very good (and containing a reasonable level of dKH) and you just need a bit of extra Calcium and Magnesium for the shrimps and snails to maintain their exoskeleton and shells.


Welcome to UKAPS!

Cheers,
Michael

 

[simon_the_plant_nerd]

Hi Michael.

Thanks for taking the time to explain that. I think I’ve misunderstood a few articles I’ve read online which were maybe more targeted towards shrimp breeding rather than keeping a community tank. I’ll increase the hardness over a couple of water changes as you suggested.

Thanks again.

 

[bazz]

Welcome!

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Welcome to UKAPS

I was recommended this forum by the staff at Maidenhead Aquatics in Lasswade, Scotland. They’ve been very helpful and given me lots of advice so far. They’re clearly passionate about their hobby and business which is great.

Good on them, "Darren" at Lasswade has got a <"mention before">.

I need to increase my tank water hardness too. Is an increase of hardness (from 1-2GH to 10GH) likely to have detrimental effects on a small population of neon tetras, cherry shrimp and nerite snails if done quickly (I.e. dosing straight to tank or large water change) or should I increase slowly over a period of hours or days?

It is a bit of a tricky one, <"Cherry Shrimps"> and <"Nerites"> need harder water, but Neon Tetra would be better in softer water. It is easy to add compounds to water, so you start from a good base.

Adding 3-4 dGH to your water for a total of 4-6 dGH will work perfectly for your shrimps and snails that needs it. The tetras will be fine as well.

I'd probably try that.

If anyone could point me towards some discussions on good multipurpose remineralisers (DIY or otherwise) that would be hugely appreciated.

You have come to the <"right place">, have a look at <"Do I need GH/CH?"> and linked threads.

cheers Darrel

 

[simon_the_plant_nerd]

Thanks Darrel. I’ll aim for a dGH of about 5-6 and keep an eye on the tetras. They’re very happy at the moment so don’t want to do a big change that will upset them. I need to digest those links this weekend when I have some time. They look very useful, thanks.

Darren spent a lot of time talking to me about planting which was helpful. Also worth mentioning Ross who’s helped me on a couple of occasions. A few others whose name I haven’t caught too.

 

[sparkyweasel]

Welcome!

 

[MichaelJ]

Hi Michael.

Thanks for taking the time to explain that. I think I’ve misunderstood a few articles I’ve read online which were maybe more targeted towards shrimp breeding rather than keeping a community tank. I’ll increase the hardness over a couple of water changes as you suggested.

Thanks again.

Sounds good. Most of the fish we buy that are breed in captivity are fairly well adapted to harder waters. As Darrel said above, Neon Tetras are soft water fish and soft water is definitely ideal for them. However it's probably as - if not more - important to keep the overall Electrical Conductivity (EC) low (of course, you don't want all the EC to be made up by Calcium...) which is preferable for both the shrimps and your soft water tetras as it directly correlate to osmotic pressure which is something you wish to keep low for shrimps and soft water fish. I am sort of a hardliner on that myself and I believe you can keep soft water fish and relatively harder water shrimps in terms of Ca/Mg together just fine in the 4-6 dGH range if you make sure you do not otherwise reach excessive EC levels.

Cheers,
Michael

 

[X3NiTH]

Welcome!

 

[simon_the_plant_nerd]

Sounds good. Most of the fish we buy that are breed in captivity are fairly well adapted to harder waters. As Darrel said above, Neon Tetras are soft water fish and soft water is definitely ideal for them. However it's probably as - if not more - important to keep the overall Electrical Conductivity (EC) low (of course, you don't want all the EC to be made up by Calcium...) which is preferable for both the shrimps and your soft water tetras as it directly correlate to osmotic pressure which is something you wish to keep low for shrimps and soft water fish. I am sort of a hardliner on that myself and I believe you can keep soft water fish and relatively harder water shrimps in terms of Ca/Mg together just fine in the 4-6 dGH range if you make sure you do not otherwise reach excessive EC levels.

Cheers,
Michael

Thank you.

I’ve not heard conductivity discussed before in aquarium water. I assume it’s a measure of all dissolved ions in the water, and not just those made up by ions contributing to general hardness? So the EC would be affected by nitrates for example.

To keep the overall EC low then, regular water changes with a known water quality would be desirable?

Presumably a well planted aquarium would also contribute to a low overall EC? Avoiding overfeeding or adding chemical treatments would also help?