any one use dragon stones with crs?

**mopa** · 22nd Aug 2009, 09:30

hi all. I want to use 10kg of green ohko rocks ina minimalist 95litre tank with a large piece of mangrove wood and afew small plants. i intend to use ro water but i am worried it will raise /lower my ph, gh,kh a lot? anyone know? is 10kg too much possible mineral content to put in? for gravel it is duplaground (inert) 2/3mm brown colour. thanks all

**Fuzzy** · 4th Sep 2009, 08:17

You might want to remineralize your RO water before you put it into such a setup. The rocks will likely leech minerals into the water.

It will likely require buffering of GH/KH to keep your pH stable. 95L would make your tank about 3ft?

Also how are you intending to maintain pH in optimal range for CRS with an inert substrate? Peat in the filter canister?

**mopa** · 5th Sep 2009, 02:44

hi there thanks for youre reply. yes i intend to remineralise the ro water with either powders or tap water mix. also shirakura mineral stone and mineral white powder
As for ph buffering i was hoping that the wood and ketapang leaves would produce some effect.. I was hoping the dragon rocks would not release a lot of minerals. Will they always release minerals or does it eventually slow /stop? i might have to put red bee sand in on top or instead..
how strong is the peat ph buffering properties?

i guess the answer is to grind up some dragon stone and ph test it, or leave it in a bucket with distilled water... how long should i leave it before testing?
If all else fails i suppose i can use them in a sulawesi cardinals tank?

thanks

**Fuzzy** · 5th Sep 2009, 19:04

I think if you grind up a gram or so and let it sit in about 100ml of untreated RO water for a week you should have a good idea of what will leech out of the stones.

Most CRS breeders use a soil substrate (like GEX Shrimp and Plant, ADA Amazonia, Nisso Custom Soil, Magic Soil) for its pH lowering properties.
Peat usually lower pH a lot, but its effects will not last very long, and it will have to be replaced monthly or thereabouts.