Shrimpfoot Posted September 5, 2018 Report Share Posted September 5, 2018 I have a silly question. If my ro unit is producing water with a pH of 6 and I have an active substrate like Amazonia will it lower the pH in the tank even lower? I ask because my tanks pH is now down to 5.3 and I have lost 2 shrimp. If it is possible would it be better to use half ro half tap water for water changes? Thanks in advance! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurice Posted September 5, 2018 Report Share Posted September 5, 2018 Hi shrimpfoot, When your water comes out from your RO unit, the ph will be low due to the process that its gone through in all of the different stages and this water is still full of co2, and the reason for the co2 will make your ph low, like 6. if you let your water stand for a day or two, or aerate the water the co2 wil gas off and you should have a ph of around 7 - neutral water. it wont be the case that your ro water has a ph of 6 and aquasoil will drop the ph even further due to your ro having a ph of 6.....if that makes sense a ph of 5.3 is quite low yes, but definitely do-able with Caridina shrimp. i run all my tanks with aquasoil. 2 9L bags in around 130L of tank water and my ph stabilizes at around 5.5 ph. how long have you had the BB in this tank? aqua_che_scapes 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpfoot Posted September 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2018 The newest set of blue bolts has been in the tank for 2 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hcuellart Posted September 6, 2018 Report Share Posted September 6, 2018 How long did you cycle your tank for? Well firstly, did you cycle your tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpfoot Posted September 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2018 Cycled the tank for 2 months, before adding some crystals and then some pandas and then the blue bolts. I am using a HM filter it is planted well no co2. I have about 2.75-3” of Amazonia for substrate. I use ro water reminerlized to a gh of 4 with bee shrimp gh+. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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