Shellgrit / Wonder Shells...

[El Roberto]

Hey again,

in another thread I've been advised to get some shellgrit or wonder shells
to increase the buffering capacity of my water, which has a kH of 0ppm (very
soft water here).

Now, I'm in the UK and my LFS don't seem to have stuff like this: is this
what I'm looking for?

http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/catalogue/marine_substrates.asp

It's crushed coral substrate, is that what I'm after? If not, are there any
UK peeps who have a good online supplier?

best

R

[Gill Passman]

El Roberto wrote:
> Hey again,
>
> in another thread I've been advised to get some shellgrit or wonder shells
> to increase the buffering capacity of my water, which has a kH of 0ppm (very
> soft water here).
>
> Now, I'm in the UK and my LFS don't seem to have stuff like this: is this
> what I'm looking for?
>
> http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/catalogue/marine_substrates.asp
>
> It's crushed coral substrate, is that what I'm after? If not, are there any
> UK peeps who have a good online supplier?
>
> best
>
> R
>
>
I usually use aquatics-online for stuff I order on-line....Crushed coral
substrate should help with your problem but will not be a permanent
solution. What type of fish do you have? and what part of the UK are you
in? (rough locality)

Gill

[Gill Passman]

El Roberto wrote:
> Hey again,
>
> in another thread I've been advised to get some shellgrit or wonder shells
> to increase the buffering capacity of my water, which has a kH of 0ppm (very
> soft water here).
>
> Now, I'm in the UK and my LFS don't seem to have stuff like this: is this
> what I'm looking for?
>
> http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/catalogue/marine_substrates.asp
>
> It's crushed coral substrate, is that what I'm after? If not, are there any
> UK peeps who have a good online supplier?
>
> best
>
> R
>
>
Sorry forgot to click on the link and just assumed it was a coral based
substrate - there are quite a few here...which one were you considering?
I use a crushed coral substrate in my Mbuna tank plus rock that leeches
calcium etc....

Personally, I would look at the fish that you are keeping - if your
water is that soft you might do better buying fish that suit your
water....what is your pH?

Gill

[El Roberto]

"Gill Passman" > wrote in message
...

> I usually use aquatics-online for stuff I order on-line....Crushed coral
> substrate should help with your problem but will not be a permanent
> solution. What type of fish do you have? and what part of the UK are you
> in? (rough locality)
>
> Gill

Yeah, that's a great site - quick delivery and so cheap!

I've got a small tank, it's only 23litres, so am going to put 4-6 neons in
and a couple of platys (currently with just one goldfish, who cycled the
tank and is going to a new owner when I get the fish). However, the local
fish stores aren't happy because my pH is going between 7 and 7.5. I have no
idea why it's oscillating like this (I did the tests at seperate times of
the day but hadn't changed water or anything between them), but I want to
make sure that I don't poison the fish.

I'm in Scotland, and, consequently, the water's really soft - there's no kH
reading on the water at all, so I'm thinking that by adding crushed coral it
might make pH more stable. I can't find any wonder shells on that website,
but the "Caribsea Florida Crushed Coral" at the bottom looks like it might
do the job.

Any ideas? What could be making my water alkaline? I've got a plant in
(can't remember the name, but it's got long green strands like grass), and
some gravel, but that's it....

R

[Gill Passman]

El Roberto wrote:
> "Gill Passman" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>
>>I usually use aquatics-online for stuff I order on-line....Crushed coral
>>substrate should help with your problem but will not be a permanent
>>solution. What type of fish do you have? and what part of the UK are you
>>in? (rough locality)
>>
>>Gill
>
>
> Yeah, that's a great site - quick delivery and so cheap!
>
> I've got a small tank, it's only 23litres, so am going to put 4-6 neons in
> and a couple of platys (currently with just one goldfish, who cycled the
> tank and is going to a new owner when I get the fish). However, the local
> fish stores aren't happy because my pH is going between 7 and 7.5. I have no
> idea why it's oscillating like this (I did the tests at seperate times of
> the day but hadn't changed water or anything between them), but I want to
> make sure that I don't poison the fish.
>
> I'm in Scotland, and, consequently, the water's really soft - there's no kH
> reading on the water at all, so I'm thinking that by adding crushed coral it
> might make pH more stable. I can't find any wonder shells on that website,
> but the "Caribsea Florida Crushed Coral" at the bottom looks like it might
> do the job.
>
> Any ideas? What could be making my water alkaline? I've got a plant in
> (can't remember the name, but it's got long green strands like grass), and
> some gravel, but that's it....
>
> R
>
>
The Neons would prefer a lower pH and soft water so might be ideal for
you....my only area of ignorance would be the possibility of pH crash
with 0 kH....your plant or even varied lighting the pH can change within
a certain boundary - I know that my tanks have pH swings
naturally....without a massive crash or increase it should be fine as
the fish adapt with it as it naturally goes up and down.....

As much as I hate to do this (promote another group on this one)....can
I suggest you try posting the same question on the Google group The
Freshwater Aquarium where I know that there are people who can answer
the keeping the pH stable question.....it really isn't my area....you
could also try phoning Aquatics-online - they are quite user
friendly.... :-)

The link to TFA is:-

http://groups.google.com/group/The-Freshwater-Aquarium?lnk=li&hl=en

Gill

[El Roberto]

"Gill Passman" > wrote in message
...

> As much as I hate to do this (promote another group on this one)....can I
> suggest you try posting the same question on the Google group The
> Freshwater Aquarium where I know that there are people who can answer the
> keeping the pH stable question.....it really isn't my area....you could
> also try phoning Aquatics-online - they are quite user friendly.... :-)

Thanks a lot Gill, have posted on there. We'll see what happens.

re: Aquaticsonline, that seems a good idea too - have you phoned them
before? To be honest, Glasgow's not the nicest place in the world and most
of the people I've spoken to in these shops seem disinterested and at worst,
bloody disagreeable, so it'd be nice to speak to someone who could suggest
something positive.

More confusingly, tho - I've noticed that my drop in KH seems to have
corresponded with my introduction of the goldfish into the tank - does this
make any sense?

thanks again!

R

[Gill Passman]

El Roberto wrote:
> "Gill Passman" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>
>>As much as I hate to do this (promote another group on this one)....can I
>>suggest you try posting the same question on the Google group The
>>Freshwater Aquarium where I know that there are people who can answer the
>>keeping the pH stable question.....it really isn't my area....you could
>>also try phoning Aquatics-online - they are quite user friendly.... :-)
>
>
> Thanks a lot Gill, have posted on there. We'll see what happens.
>
> re: Aquaticsonline, that seems a good idea too - have you phoned them
> before? To be honest, Glasgow's not the nicest place in the world and most
> of the people I've spoken to in these shops seem disinterested and at worst,
> bloody disagreeable, so it'd be nice to speak to someone who could suggest
> something positive.
>
> More confusingly, tho - I've noticed that my drop in KH seems to have
> corresponded with my introduction of the goldfish into the tank - does this
> make any sense?
>
> thanks again!
>
> R
>
>
Hey, my ex-hubby would be very distressed to hear any attack on
Glasgow....there was one year he dumped me in the city centre on New
Years Day to "go shopping" while he went to the "old firm" match...when
he picked me up he was horrified to hear that I had had such a great
time in "barrow lands" - the people were really great - maybe they don't
get too many English down there <g>

Yep, I have had phone contact, but mainly down to a confusion on an
order but they seemed pretty clued up.....

Drop in KH and addition of fish kind of smells of water quality....have
you checked your ammonia and nitrites????? Add this into the TFA post
that you have made....

Gill

[El Roberto]

"Gill Passman" > wrote in message
...

> Hey, my ex-hubby would be very distressed to hear any attack on
> Glasgow....there was one year he dumped me in the city centre on New Years
> Day to "go shopping" while he went to the "old firm" match...when he
> picked me up he was horrified to hear that I had had such a great time in
> "barrow lands" - the people were really great - maybe they don't get too
> many English down there <g>

Hahaha, glad you enjoyed your trip North - it's a lovely place, but all the
fish shops seem to be in scummy areas and manned by scummy people!

> Drop in KH and addition of fish kind of smells of water quality....have
> you checked your ammonia and nitrites????? Add this into the TFA post that
> you have made....

The water quality's perfect, as far as I can see - nitrates around 20mg/l,
no nitrites, GH is around 9 degrees and ammonia at zero... I've been testing
every 4 days as well and these levels haven't changed. How could my KH have
dropped, I wonder...

R

[Gill Passman]

El Roberto wrote:
> "Gill Passman" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>
>>Hey, my ex-hubby would be very distressed to hear any attack on
>>Glasgow....there was one year he dumped me in the city centre on New Years
>>Day to "go shopping" while he went to the "old firm" match...when he
>>picked me up he was horrified to hear that I had had such a great time in
>>"barrow lands" - the people were really great - maybe they don't get too
>>many English down there <g>
>
>
> Hahaha, glad you enjoyed your trip North - it's a lovely place, but all the
> fish shops seem to be in scummy areas and manned by scummy people!
>
>
>>Drop in KH and addition of fish kind of smells of water quality....have
>>you checked your ammonia and nitrites????? Add this into the TFA post that
>>you have made....
>
>
> The water quality's perfect, as far as I can see - nitrates around 20mg/l,
> no nitrites, GH is around 9 degrees and ammonia at zero... I've been testing
> every 4 days as well and these levels haven't changed. How could my KH have
> dropped, I wonder...
>
> R
>
>
Well let's hope you get your answer....I have pushed your question with
those that can maybe answer you on TFA.....

I've been to Scotland a number of times (not just Glasgow)....my father
now lives on a trout farm just north of Aberdeen....we are looking
forward to visiting after christmas...

Being in the South East I tend to be a Maidenhead Aquatics
person....they have always been fair and given good advice to me....

Gill

[Julie T]

"El Roberto" > wrote in message
...
> in another thread I've been advised to get some shellgrit or wonder shells
> to increase the buffering capacity of my water, which has a kH of 0ppm
(very
> soft water here).
>
> Now, I'm in the UK and my LFS don't seem to have stuff like this: is this
> what I'm looking for?
>
> http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/catalogue/marine_substrates.asp
>
> It's crushed coral substrate, is that what I'm after? If not, are there
any
> UK peeps who have a good online supplier?
>
> best
>
> R

I bought wondershells mail order from the US as they ship to the UK.
I bought several large ones (which I break up before adding) to save
on shipping - from here:

http://americanaquariumproducts.com/MedicatedWonderShell.html

I live in Aberdeen and have similar very soft water. I've added a bit of
wondershell and some crushed coral. My pH from the tap is about 7.8
but it was hitting 5.7 or so in the tank during the worst of my recent
problems. My heater lost it's thermostat so temps went above 30degC
and then something (possibly the heat) upset my biofilter and ammonia
& nitrite levels began to increase. It all went pear shaped like a cascade
effect (nightmare sitution). I keep tetras & rams mostly (they suit the
water here) with corys. The corys seemed unaffected by the problems
but the others began to die. My poor fish were gasping at the surface
from the heat & poison. I think Prime helped with the nitrite and the
acidic water reduced the ammonia toxicity somewhat, plus I chucked in
some aquarium salt and did frequent partial water changes - twice a
day for a week.

I lost a total of 8 fish (including my 2 bolivian rams and one blue
ram - amazingly the other blue ram survived) from 33 - none of the
losses were corys, they are amazingly sturdy fish. I also added a
load more plants (from an excellent ebay supplier) which helped
enormously.

Anyway all is stable again, thankfully. pH has stabilised at 6.6-6.8. A
very demoralising fortnight tho' with a few late night dashes to Pets At
Home for supplies before they shut.

Julie

[carlrs]

Julie T wrote:
> "El Roberto" > wrote in message
> ...
> > in another thread I've been advised to get some shellgrit or wonder shells
> > to increase the buffering capacity of my water, which has a kH of 0ppm
> (very
> > soft water here).
> >
> > Now, I'm in the UK and my LFS don't seem to have stuff like this: is this
> > what I'm looking for?
> >
> > http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/catalogue/marine_substrates.asp
> >
> > It's crushed coral substrate, is that what I'm after? If not, are there
> any
> > UK peeps who have a good online supplier?
> >
> > best
> >
> > R
>
> I bought wondershells mail order from the US as they ship to the UK.
> I bought several large ones (which I break up before adding) to save
> on shipping - from here:
>
> http://americanaquariumproducts.com/MedicatedWonderShell.html
>
> I live in Aberdeen and have similar very soft water. I've added a bit of
> wondershell and some crushed coral. My pH from the tap is about 7.8
> but it was hitting 5.7 or so in the tank during the worst of my recent
> problems. My heater lost it's thermostat so temps went above 30degC
> and then something (possibly the heat) upset my biofilter and ammonia
> & nitrite levels began to increase. It all went pear shaped like a cascade
> effect (nightmare sitution). I keep tetras & rams mostly (they suit the
> water here) with corys. The corys seemed unaffected by the problems
> but the others began to die. My poor fish were gasping at the surface
> from the heat & poison. I think Prime helped with the nitrite and the
> acidic water reduced the ammonia toxicity somewhat, plus I chucked in
> some aquarium salt and did frequent partial water changes - twice a
> day for a week.
>
> I lost a total of 8 fish (including my 2 bolivian rams and one blue
> ram - amazingly the other blue ram survived) from 33 - none of the
> losses were corys, they are amazingly sturdy fish. I also added a
> load more plants (from an excellent ebay supplier) which helped
> enormously.
>
> Anyway all is stable again, thankfully. pH has stabilised at 6.6-6.8. A
> very demoralising fortnight tho' with a few late night dashes to Pets At
> Home for supplies before they shut.
>
> Julie

I would try and figure out why your pH jumps around. Check for a "mulm"
build up in your filter or gravel, especially in areas under and around
rocks in the gravel. Some decor such as mango wood can lower pH too.
Of course a stable kH will keep your pH in check. I generally recommend
a kH of 80 ppm or more for general tropical fish aquariums, but if you
go with soft water fish as suggested by others here (a good idea
considering your water conditions in your area), a kH of 60 is still
OK.
Aragonite is good for pH/kH control in livebearer and African cichlids
aquariums, but I do not recommend it for soft water or general aquaria.
Aragonite is good at stabilizing a higher kH of around 240 ppm or more,
but does not respond to changes rapidly enough at lower kH levels, nor
does it add the electrolytes and calcium at levels needed by fish such
as discus.
I recommend the wonder shells for this application, but again check for
any pH lowering factors.

More kH info:
http://kh-aquarium.blogspot.com/

Carl
http://www.forumsvibe.com/betta/