# Fluval Stratum for Shrimps



## cold (Jul 18, 2011)

I have a question regarding Fluval Stratum (for Shrimps).

I know its incredible quality of lowering down the Ph of water which is essential for keeping and breeding healthy shrimps.

I just want to know for how long the substrate is able to lower the PH level in water? Does this quality of lowering the PH down to 6.6 or lower wear off as we do water changes or it stays the same?

Plus how much substrate (in KGs or LBs) should we put in the 15 - 20 gallon tank.

Any help in the regards will be highly appreciated.

Thanks,


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

cold said:


> I have a question regarding Fluval Stratum (for Shrimps).
> 
> I know its incredible quality of lowering down the Ph of water which is essential for keeping and breeding healthy shrimps.
> 
> ...


Apparently Fluval Stratum isn't too great. You're better off with Netlea Shrimp Soil, on sale at Aquainspiration.


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## cold (Jul 18, 2011)

Thanks for replying Solarz.

How often do I have to change Netlea Shrimp Soil? 

Tap water in my area is kind of Hard with a PH or 7.5 - 8. I want a soil which lowers down the PH to atleast 6.5 or 6.0

How much soil I need for my 15-20 Gallon tank?


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

if you use tap water, it won't last very long, 3-6 months, I think, or more if you have a really thick substrate.

It'll last longer if you use RO/DI water mixed with tap.

You'll want at least 1" of substrate so you can calculate. AI sells Netlea by 9L bags, thats 900 cm^3.


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## cold (Jul 18, 2011)

Is there any other (cheap) way to control the PH of the water?


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

cold said:


> Is there any other (cheap) way to control the PH of the water?


The short answer, not really.

The long answer, it's not as expensive as you think. Assuming a 20 gallon tank like I have, that's 24" width x 12" depth x 16" height. A 1" depth of substrate is 24 x 12 = 288 inches cubed, which is ~4.7L of Netlea Soil. You can buy one bag of it, with enough left over for adding to the substrate over the years, or you can buy ~5kg of it (AI sells it by weight as well, remember to specify that you want Netlea SHRIMP soil).

Now you need to fill your tank up with 50% RO and 50% tap. That's 10 gallons of RO water. You can get those at Walmart at ~0.16$ per liter, so that's only 6-7$ for 10 gallons.

Then, since you're keeping Crystal Shrimps, you only need to top off with RO or do 10% water changes with the same 50/50 mix. That's a one-gallon jug per week (assuming you do one WC per week), or if you're lazy like me, top-offs only. The key is to have lots of nitrate-absorbing plants, like mosses and duckweed. Duckweed is great because it's a floating flat, and thus is not limited by water dissolved CO2 levels.

Or, if you get a smaller tank, you can save yourself even more money and work. I keep about a dozen CRS/CBS in an 8 liter tank.


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## cold (Jul 18, 2011)

Which section of walmart has RO water


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

where they sell bottled water. Or just ask a staff person.


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## Viki (Aug 1, 2011)

Can we use "Tetra Correct pH 7.0" with Crystal Shrimps?


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Viki said:


> Can we use "Tetra Correct pH 7.0" with Crystal Shrimps?


I wouldn't use any pH adjuster. From what I've read, they cause more problems than anything else.


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## charlie1 (Dec 1, 2011)

solarz said:


> Apparently* Fluval Stratum isn't too great*. You're better off with Netlea Shrimp Soil, on sale at Aquainspiration.


Can you eloborate on this?, what is the issue that makes it not so great?


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## splur (May 11, 2011)

charlie1 said:


> Can you eloborate on this?, what is the issue that makes it not so great?


Some people had a hard time breeding CRS with it, but I feel as though there's more to it for those cases.

Bad reputation I guess.


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## dchow (Oct 30, 2009)

i'm assuming its like buffers in chemistry...

it will work and buffer pH either up or down to 7 -- then you kind of hit a breaking point and the pH goes poof. If you've produced a titration curve you'll know what I mean.


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