Question for freshwater nerds

[SirDukelll]

I have a rodi water filter and i want to use it for my 29 gallon planted aquarium with fish. Can i just directly add the water during water changes without adding anything except 7.0 ph buffer? Will seachem flourish add enough minerals and nutrients?

 

[brandon429]

we used to use ro right to reclaim some alkalinity for it before use in planted tanks in the 90s

Randy will know a trick to use baking soda for it bet

*i use about 1/4 dechlor tap to balance out ro in my planted tanks, perfect. easy

 

[fishlover1478]

what is your water like without ro di?

 

[Joshcom]

Yes the product water will be fine for planted tanks and flourish will be fine.

 

[SirDukelll]

what is your water like without ro di?

I think off the top of my head, 6.8 ph, slight chlorine, very high GH, 2° KH.

 

[Joshcom]

Ro is good when you want to know exactly what you are putting in, and some fish really enjoy the cleaner water

 

[SirDukelll]

I think off the top of my head, 6.8 ph, slight chlorine, very high GH, 2° KH.

Actually the GH is very low in my freshwater tank for some reason and in my 75 gallon saltwater its very high. Still trying to figure out GH and how to adjust it.

 

[brandon429]

and shrimp too I tried crystal reds and wow when they say soft water they mean it


any tds is an issue, but zero is bad for shell formation. i stuck with neos/cheat shrimp anyone can keep and reproduce. wish I could keep the crystal reds.

 

[SirDukelll]

and shrimp too I tried crystal reds and wow when they say soft water they mean it


any tds is an issue, but zero is bad for shell formation. i stuck with neos/cheat shrimp anyone can keep and reproduce. wish I could keep the crystal reds.

I tried shimp many years ago back when i was a rookie using just tap water and dechlorinator. They or course died but i want to try them again now that i have rodi and fancy supplements. I have very soft water in my tank and plant substrate. Do you think with soft water and plant substrate they would thrive?

 

[brandon429]

yes I do the cherries / neocaridina for sure, theyll reproduce in that by hundreds over time


the fancy crystal reds on youtube want to be in detritus-free systems.

nitrite is incredibly impactful in freshwater, more than ammonia, and I bet accumulated mulm like what any planted tank has is leaking some nitrite and it kills the weak crystal reds.

on youtube they're in very basic systems, epoxy gravel etc and soft water but its the waste pellets that are kept clean, no uneated food, low protein feed and high plant matter specifically translates into less nitrites because those must originate either from direct metabolism or by breakdown of proteins.

I have planted tanks that I dont want to keep super clean of mulm, so I do cherry shrimp and they dont care

with accurate tds, and low reserve tank waste, the crystal reds breed in the hundreds and get twenty bucks a pop for the nice ones! keep a brood of 200 alive, $

 

[SirDukelll]

yes I do the cherries / neocaridina for sure, theyll reproduce in that by hundreds over time


the fancy crystal reds on youtube want to be in detritus-free systems.

nitrite is incredibly impactful in freshwater, more than ammonia, and I bet accumulated mulm like what any planted tank has is leaking some nitrite and it kills the weak crystal reds.

on youtube they're in very basic systems, epoxy gravel etc and soft water but its the waste pellets that are kept clean, no uneated food, low protein feed and high plant matter specifically translates into less nitrites because those must originate either from direct metabolism or by breakdown of proteins.

I have planted tanks that I dont want to keep super clean of mulm, so I do cherry shrimp and they dont care

Ill give them a shot in the future. I added my very first plants about 4 days ago so im new to planted tanks and the new water parameters.

 

[brandon429]

if there was one trick I could pass on it would be handling early tank algae in planted systems, its a pain

we are almost always using too much light as the prime cause

if you find a way to reduce your overall light intensity by about half when you see strand algae forming on the leaves etc, that will help greatly along with manual removal dont let it take over. we tend to run the lights hard thinking the plants like it but you'll see in time in really dense planted tanks that naturally shade, even the shaded ones dont mind and it all balances out to far less algae than a new planted tank that is leaves here and there, but mainly open bright spaces

algae takes hold there

dimming down the lights wont kill the plants when needed. let me show you on my desktop planted tank the lighting trick:

half gallon shrimp setup for neos, years old and full of crud. This LED light if allowed to be full on will algaefy my system.


but I painted exactly 1/2 the led cover

glass panel in black electrical tape liquid from a hardware store, now its half as strong and not one strand of algae for years. all due to light intensity modulation, algae control is not in the additives you buy.

 

[zoaprince]

depends on what KH/GH you are aiming for. if your RODI + flourish has KH/GH where you want it then you're good to go. However if you want a higher KH/GH use a product like salty shrimp http://www.saltyshrimp.de/english/

 

[SirDukelll]

Thanks for the help. I added new substrate about 4 days ago and my water is obviously murky and starting to turn green. I will definitely try the black electrical tape trick when the algae starts showing up. Should i do water changes more often to help with algae and green water?

 

[zoaprince]

Thanks for the help. I added new substrate about 4 days ago and my water is obviously murky and starting to turn green. I will definitely try the black electrical tape trick when the algae starts showing up. Should i do water changes more often to help with algae and green water?

what type of substrate? if it was nutrient rich soil then yes you'll want to do more frequent water changes to remove excess nutrients. If it was sand or rocks then there's no need for more frequent water changes.

 

[SirDukelll]

what type of substrate? if it was nutrient rich soil then yes you'll want to do more frequent water changes to remove excess nutrients. If it was sand or rocks then there's no need for more frequent water changes.

Carib Sea eco complete

 

[zoaprince]

Carib Sea eco complete

I don't have experience with it exactly but it looks like a nutrient rich substrate so it's a good idea to do more frequent water changes initially.