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JBL ProScape Plant Soil

My water is indeed hard London water
My Jbl proscape did tests (which I'm sure are the same as the non JBL dip tests) tell me my tank
water is now kh of 6 and Gh of 14.
 
I also have hard water here in Stoke but can't measure as again no testing kit. Interesting read. Thanks
 
I have been thinking about this a lot today and I came to the conclusion that the ShrimpSoil is great for those using tap water for the water changes that is very hard. ShrimpSoil used with RO that already has a KH of zero has resulted in a dramatic pH swing, if I were keeping Gouramis this substrate would be ideal but I'm not. If I were to stop with the RO and use tap I would still be facing the same problems as my water comes out the tap with a TDS of around 30, so I'd still have to remineralise the water before using it. The pH is still dropping, not sure if I should rip it out and put gravel back in.
 
Have you raised this with JBL. I queried something on their Facebook page and they came back quickly.
 
Hi all,
JamieB said:
I also have hard water here in Stoke
Click to expand...
You should be able to get the reading from your water company.

Have a look at <"How do I work out ...">. Via the Severn Trent Water web site (search was "Trentham Gardens - ST4 8AX") the value was ~13.5 dGH <"Water quality in your area">.
X3NiTH said:
ShrimpSoil used with RO that already has a KH of zero has resulted in a dramatic pH swing, if I were keeping Gouramis this substrate would be ideal but I'm not. If I were to stop with the RO and use tap I would still be facing the same problems as my water comes out the tap with a TDS of around 30, so I'd still have to remineralise the water before using it. The pH is still dropping, not sure if I should rip it out and put gravel back in.
Click to expand...
OK, that does explain things a little more clearly. I can just use our tap water (from a deep limestone aquifer) to buffer rain water if I need to raise the hardness.

Usually people have the opposite problem where the pH doesn't change. This is because the exchange sites are all filled with Ca++ fairly quickly, but the H+ ions liberated are neutralised by the reserve of carbonate buffering.

I'd probably leave the shrimp soil in, but add a calcium carbonate source. A bit of cuttlefish "bone" (they sell these for caged birds, reptiles etc) would do. Because it is "ion exchange" the water will stabilise fairly soon.

cheers Darrel
 
Thanks for that Darrel, I live close to Trentham Gardens and just checked with my postcode and it's the same, thanks again
 
Hi everyone!!
I'm using the Proscape Plant Soil but it didn't help neither the Kh or Gh.
When I set up the tank I followed the instruction on the package which was saying to clean the soil lightly. Once I filled the tank with water It turned the water really black. Is that normal? Do clean the soil before putting it in the tank ? Or you don't clean it at all ?
Cheers Giorgio


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk
 
I set up my aquarium about 6 months ago and all the fish, shrimp and plants are doing great, I used JBL PROSCAPE not the one for shrimps just the one to help plant life, my question is I need more depth in the tank so will my rainbowfish etc all be ok if I add more with the fish still in?
 
Confirming that Fluval Stratum is a pain to plant. When I set up my tank I really appreciated the drop in pH to ~6 (from 7.5 tap) but now, a year later, with snails in the thousands my plants get unrooted on a daily basis. I was aiming for a lawn but this is out of the question, the substrate can not hold the plants. Also the tank water is back at pH 7 (weekly water changes with tap water).

Darrell, how long do the cation properties of the substrate usually last?

Thank you
 
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