What are some ways to lower GH?

[kaen130]

Hi all,

My tank water GH is creeping up slowly, from 4dGH to 5dGH now 6dGH over a month plus.

I been doing 50% water change at least once a week, suspect the rising GH is due to the rocks I'm using.

I'm keeping plants with some shrimps, oto, nerite snails, CPDs and Ember Tetra.

Can anyone share what are some effective way to reduce GH? (Except WC with RO/DI water)

Thanks


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[Bern C]

GH 7 is pretty fine for shrimp keeping. The effective way is to remove the rock or add the right amount of peat moss, Indian almond leave, driftwood.

[Ingen]

Or use distill or RO water

[kaen130]

GH 7 is pretty fine for shrimp keeping. The effective way is to remove the rock or add the right amount of peat moss, Indian almond leave, driftwood.

Thanks.

Is GH 7 also ok for CRS? can Indian Almond leaves be found in most LFS?

Drift wood and peat moss a bit challenging because scaping already done...



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[Bern C]

Thanks.

Is GH 7 also ok for CRS? can Indian Almond leaves be found in most LFS?

Drift wood and peat moss a bit challenging because scaping already done...



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Yup.. I keeping mine in GH 6-7. Kept them in GH 7-8 before too.

Indian Almond leaves(Catappa) can be found in most LFS and in many location of SG. XD I don't buy them but pick them. You can spot quite a number of Indian almond trees in LFS farm like Qianhu & OTF but no leaves on the floor.
If you wanna pick the leaves, pick those fallen brown leaves.. Must be fallen naturally. You can find them in east coast park, changi beach.. the rest of the location I can't remember... After picking the leaves I will wash & hang them with a string to air dry them for weeks.

You can add Alder Cones & Cholla wood for aesthetic purpose but I don't think the effect is better than Indian almond leave.

[kaen130]

Yup.. I keeping mine in GH 6-7. Kept them in GH 7-8 before too.

Indian Almond leaves(Catappa) can be found in most LFS and in many location of SG. XD I don't buy them but pick them. You can spot quite a number of Indian almond trees in LFS farm like Qianhu & OTF but no leaves on the floor.
If you wanna pick the leaves, pick those fallen brown leaves.. Must be fallen naturally. You can find them in east coast park, changi beach.. the rest of the location I can't remember... After picking the leaves I will wash & hang them with a string to air dry them for weeks.

You can add Alder Cones & Cholla wood for aesthetic purpose but I don't think the effect is better than Indian almond leave.

Thanks for sharing! Does the shrimps eat the leaves? How many pieces do you put in a time?


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[Bern C]

Thanks for sharing! Does the shrimps eat the leaves? How many pieces do you put in a time?


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Initially the shrimp eat the bioflim on the leaves as the leaves is too hard for the shrimp. As it breaks down, the shrimp will try to tear the soft part and eat it. Usually it will take like 2weeks or more for the shrimp to finish a leaves.

XD I not very sure the amount to add in leh as you wanna adjust the ph. I usually will bio the leave to remove the tanin before adding as I minimize the leaves from lowering the ph. Sorry can't help you on this. @_@ Maybe you can try adding a small pcs and measure the ph/gh for the next few days to decide if u wanna add more.

[kaen130]

Initially the shrimp eat the bioflim on the leaves as the leaves is too hard for the shrimp. As it breaks down, the shrimp will try to tear the soft part and eat it. Usually it will take like 2weeks or more for the shrimp to finish a leaves.

XD I not very sure the amount to add in leh as you wanna adjust the ph. I usually will bio the leave to remove the tanin before adding as I minimize the leaves from lowering the ph. Sorry can't help you on this. @_@ Maybe you can try adding a small pcs and measure the ph/gh for the next few days to decide if u wanna add more.

Ok, that already helps a lot. Thanks=)


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[Urban Aquaria]

Do note that if you use natural items like ketapang leaves or alder cones to lower pH and soften the water, they will tend to release tannins into the water which may give it a yellowish/brownish tint (depending on the amount used).

With tannin stained water in an aquascaped tank, do factor in the possible reduction of light getting to the plants.

[kaen130]

Do note that if you use natural items like ketapang leaves or alder cones to lower pH and soften the water, they will tend to release tannins into the water which may give it a yellowish/brownish tint (depending on the amount used).

With tannin stained water in an aquascaped tank, do factor in the possible reduction of light getting to the plants.

Oh will take note of that UA. Seems like no easy way out (X o X)


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[Bern C]

Yeah.. As what shifu UA said, it will stain the water if adding too much. I think aquasoil will helps to absorb the tannin but not sure if it will shorten the life of aquasoil. My tank with aquasoil never stain with tannin before so I guess it's due to the effect of the aquasoil ba.. You can use purigen/active carbon to absorb the tannin too. But active carbon vs planted tank... XD

[kaen130]

Yeah.. As what shifu UA said, it will stain the water if adding too much. I think aquasoil will helps to absorb the tannin but not sure if it will shorten the life of aquasoil. My tank with aquasoil never stain with tannin before so I guess it's due to the effect of the aquasoil ba.. You can use purigen/active carbon to absorb the tannin too. But active carbon vs planted tank... XD

Hmmmm, I saw a few instance the shrimp does not molt easily...but since the method to bring down the GH may bring other issues, I may put this aside and try another experiment to bring down temperature and monitor the survival rate.


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