AshRolls
Member
I live in a very soft water area here in Cornwall so I use Seachem Equiliberium to remineralise the GH of tap water. Testing the water the carbonate hardness sits at around 1 dKH (possibly more possibly less I don't trust the kits at all), TDS is 130. The water company adds an alkaline to the supply so my pH is around 7.6, I understand that pH swings aren't as important in soft water tanks but that soft water can quickly become acidic with no buffer.
My snails have been fine for the last 8 months but over the last month I have noticed that their shells have gone almost totally white. Searching around the web I see this is most likely due to a calcium deficiency. I'm not sure why this would occur after all this time though so have a few questions
1) My Ludwigia Repens stems seem to have gone on a bonkers growth spurt. Do plants strip KH from the water, and if so could this be why there is suddenly less carbonate hardness for the snails?
2) Do water parameters in winter change with all the recent rainfall, could there be naturally softer water coming out of the taps?
I also fished out a dead cherry shrimp the other night. It may just be coincidence and the shrimp died of natural causes, but it's in the back of my mind that something in the tank has gone out of balance.
Should I consider trying to add some extra carbonate hardness to the water as well? If so what would be the best way in my tank that already has high alkalinity from the water company additives?
My snails have been fine for the last 8 months but over the last month I have noticed that their shells have gone almost totally white. Searching around the web I see this is most likely due to a calcium deficiency. I'm not sure why this would occur after all this time though so have a few questions
1) My Ludwigia Repens stems seem to have gone on a bonkers growth spurt. Do plants strip KH from the water, and if so could this be why there is suddenly less carbonate hardness for the snails?
2) Do water parameters in winter change with all the recent rainfall, could there be naturally softer water coming out of the taps?
I also fished out a dead cherry shrimp the other night. It may just be coincidence and the shrimp died of natural causes, but it's in the back of my mind that something in the tank has gone out of balance.
Should I consider trying to add some extra carbonate hardness to the water as well? If so what would be the best way in my tank that already has high alkalinity from the water company additives?