Help need for a Sulawesi tank

**dam123355** · 24th Dec 2012, 14:42

Hello. I wanted to start a Sulawesi tank which I'm not good at. So I need pro advice ~

**darrentyl** · 24th Dec 2012, 20:45

Erm, what advise you require?

**kennethc** · 25th Dec 2012, 15:45

Do you have experience keeping common ones like sakuras, firered and crs..? Before you dive into sulawesi, you should have experience in keeping other shrimps first.. Sulawesi set up is painful process if you do not have experience.

**dam123355** · 27th Dec 2012, 19:46

hello everybody sorry for late reply. i keep some bb, fire red, golden back, bkk and hkt prl. so i think i got the basic past?

**dam123355** · 27th Dec 2012, 19:48

i just got 2 sulawesi rocks and recenlty i put natural river gravel. as i see people saying dont put any coral sand or what. and lfs also encourage me to do that. now still cycling~ added shizhen, bt9,tonic pro,bioplus, borneowild enlive and shield.

**chansl** · 28th Dec 2012, 11:33

Coral sand helps to buffer up the ph .. why dont put ?

**Draka** · 28th Dec 2012, 11:38

Haha as a general rule of thumb, metal ions aren't very soluble in alkaline pH and the buffering of pH by addition of salts might be affected by the use of sufficiently large amounts of coral sand. However, there have been reports of people using coral sand successfully. Myself, I prefer to not have too many things interacting with the water chemistry, so if I'm using the salt I'd rather use inert substrate.

**chansl** · 28th Dec 2012, 11:46

Oh Draka, i didnt know that .. haha .. When i was keeeping sulawesi in the past, i used coral sand and Dansai distilled water. Since Dansai water PH is high and 0 KH, little coral sand is required to buffer the water up to 8.5.. Cardinal breed like mad ..

**Draka** · 28th Dec 2012, 11:49

Haha I used to aerate distilled water in coral chips to get the desired pH. Didn't get cardinals then but trying them out now

**AhVy** · 28th Dec 2012, 22:20

So distilled water and coral sand works then? Is it really a need for tds meter?

I've tried sulawesi shrimps twice and it failed.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

**chansl** · 28th Dec 2012, 22:48

Dont need tds meter ... For my 1 feet tank .. One sulawesi rock and a lava rock .. I moss ball .. 2 cm coral sand with dansai distilled water ... my cardinal from 11 breed to 20 plus in just 2 months ..

**Draka** · 28th Dec 2012, 22:50

If you don't mind the expense, maybe can try salty shrimp salts for sulawesi.

**Fujisasuke** · 29th Dec 2012, 10:16

chansl what are the parameters for your 1 feet tank?

GH: ?
KH: ?
PH: ?
TDS: if possible

**kennethc** · 29th Dec 2012, 17:00

Coral sand is a must LOL. Need high ph..

**dam123355** · 30th Dec 2012, 10:59

What if I add already have river gravel. But Can I add a layer of coral sand on top?

**Fujisasuke** · 30th Dec 2012, 12:00

Can do anything you want really, as long as PH is 7.5 and above your good to go. I believe most of us use coral sand as it helps to buffer the ph, coral chips does the job as well but breaks down faster. I have heard of people using soil/ coral chips/ gex pure sand combo and have success stories to tell as it's really anybody's game. Good luck!

**dam123355** · 30th Dec 2012, 16:12

My ph now 8.2

**oiishi** · 31st Dec 2012, 10:18

Coral sand is not a must.

As long your parameters are within range for sulawesis shrimp, you can go ahead.Can send in the advance party

Problem arise only during the change/topup water and unknown deaths(be it moulting, diseases..etc) where all parameters seen alright

Good luck!

**kennethc** · 2nd Jan 2013, 17:58

Thats good enough.. care to share your setup?

**AhVy** · 2nd Jan 2013, 19:09

Any distilled water is fine right?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

Thread: Help need for a Sulawesi tank

Thread Tools