# How to change water in a shrimps tank?



## RONY11 (Jan 6, 2011)

I have heard, seen, read abt.so many versions how to change water in a shrimps tank that I dont know what is the correct way to change water in a shrimp tank!!! 

Can u hobbyists explain how to change water in a shrimp tank eg.CRS tank.  

I check the water parameters i.e.TDS, PH, GH ,KH take the RO add the Mineral liquid to raise GH n TDS, add tap water to get the as near as possible to the tank parameters n change te water by drip mehtod it takes me 3.5-4 hrs to change 4 litres i.e. 15% tank water every week. My tank temp. lowers by 0.3-0.4 degrees later on rises to the temp. before water change.

Is this the corret way coz I have to check the Water Paramters many times till I get to close to the tank parameters.

The disadvantage in this way is that it takes a lot of time n energy i.e.checking the tank for temp. n odd behavior of shrimps while the water is dripping, also I have to check the water parameters many times till I come close to the tank parameters


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## Bwhiskered (Oct 2, 2008)

I must be the only person that has healthy hardy shrimp. I rarely ever check the water except for ph to see if it is about 6.8 to 7.0 if it is not I add an oak leaf. My wife looks after the shrimp tanks and knows nothing about water other than it should get changed. A 10 gallon tank is drained down to half ways. A half a pail of RO is dumped in and the rest is filled with a garden hose. We have never lost a shrimp. The more you fret over them the more trouble you will have. In their natural environment they have to be used to rapid changes. Mother nature does not drip the water in. A monsoon can change a stream a foot deep to a raging torrent in only a few minutes.

There were 3 bags of our CRS in the Hamilton auction last Saturday most were at least S grade.

A word of advice never take advice from someone that stands to make money from the advice they give you. All these shrimp products I say are completely unnecessary and I do not use any of them.


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## mdvo (Nov 10, 2011)

I've wondered about this too, can you keep shrimp (and if so, what kind?) in a planted tank with EI dosing? I'd imagine the weekly 50% water changes and daily dosing would limit the types of shrimp you'd be able to keep. Also, would it be absolutely necessary to use RO water?


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## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

For new shrimp and new tank you'd want to be more careful, but even then 15%wc over 3-4 hrs is about as careful as you can get.

For shrimp tanks at least a few weeks old, it would be an overkill unless you have some very sensitive high grade shrimp like Taiwan bee. For my 8.5G CRS tank that has established over 1 month, I drain 15% of water with a smaller hose carefully (because of the shimplets), then cup in the new water. The whole process is less than 5 minutes. I could dump in the water faster but I don't want to stir the substrate. Haven't had any issue. They will act differently for a bit but that's just normal. The water I use for WC is normally lower TDS than tank water, PH is no more than 0.5 difference. For Neo tank though the difference is bigger since they are very tough. 

Just my opinion.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

mdvo said:


> I've wondered about this too, can you keep shrimp (and if so, what kind?) in a planted tank with EI dosing? I'd imagine the weekly 50% water changes and daily dosing would limit the types of shrimp you'd be able to keep. Also, would it be absolutely necessary to use RO water?


Keeping and breeding are two different things.

However, if you just want to keep shrimp while maintaining an EI dosing regimen, it is possible.


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## YourNoob (Dec 4, 2010)

I personally do not change water, but only top it off when the water levels get lower. 

Reason for this is to maintain as stable water parameters as possible. Its strongly recommended that you get the ph down to 6.4-6.8. However, if you are unable to maintain that consistant low ph, its far better to keep it at 7.2 as long as it entails your 7.2 wont fluctuate.

If you must do a water change, do it very very gradually. Siphon some out, and when you are putting in new water, do it via drip method (same way you acclimate shrimp) or put in the new water in intervals throughout a long time period.


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## Symplicity (Oct 14, 2011)

my water change process in a a 25G is as follows ...

-siphon out 1 bucket of water generally all around the tank (not just 1 area) stay away from shrimp as baby shrimplets will easily get sucked up.

-put your RO/tap water in a large bucket and slowly drip it from a higher location (ex top of bookshelf via a airline with a knot to adjust flow rate) aim for 1 drop per second. when you wake up you should have a nice full tank and 0 deaths!

(remember not to add more water than needed or it will overflow over night -_-

SLOW DRIP IS THE KEY!

never dump! water changes are very good as long as you use conditioned tap water or RO water and introduce very slowly!


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## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

Suck out, dump in. My tanks aren't in a spot to do a 12hour drip, nor could I be bothered.


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## Bwhiskered (Oct 2, 2008)

getochkn said:


> Suck out, dump in. My tanks aren't in a spot to do a 12hour drip, nor could I be bothered.


Thats the way to do it. Baby them and you will always have weak sickly shrimp.


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## mdvo (Nov 10, 2011)

Bwhiskered said:


> Thats the way to do it. Baby them and you will always have weak sickly shrimp.


Will they breed if we don't "baby" them? What kind of shrimp are we talking here, I'm thinking not Sulawesi or anything delicate.


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## Scotmando (Jul 10, 2011)

Bwhiskered said:


> I must be the only person that has healthy hardy shrimp. I rarely ever check the water except for ph to see if it is about 6.8 to 7.0 if it is not I add an oak leaf. My wife looks after the shrimp tanks and knows nothing about water other than it should get changed. A 10 gallon tank is drained down to half ways. A half a pail of RO is dumped in and the rest is filled with a garden hose. We have never lost a shrimp. The more you fret over them the more trouble you will have. In their natural environment they have to be used to rapid changes. Mother nature does not drip the water in. A monsoon can change a stream a foot deep to a raging torrent in only a few minutes.
> 
> There were 3 bags of our CRS in the Hamilton auction last Saturday most were at least S grade.
> 
> A word of advice never take advice from someone that stands to make money from the advice they give you. All these shrimp products I say are completely unnecessary and I do not use any of them.


Are you bringing any CRS to the Brantford Auction?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

YourNoob said:


> I personally do not change water, but only top it off when the water levels get lower.


How do you prevent your TDS from rising if you do not do water changes?


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## splur (May 11, 2011)

Darkblade48 said:


> How do you prevent your TDS from rising if you do not do water changes?


Just top off with RO, it'll never really go up.

I just started doing more frequent water changes though after a 3 month hiatus lol.


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## Bwhiskered (Oct 2, 2008)

I will be bringing a couple of bags of CRS to the Brantford Auction. 

Do any of you people that baby your shrimp ever raise enough to sell?


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## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

Bwhiskered said:


> I will be bringing a couple of bags of CRS to the Brantford Auction.
> 
> Do any of you people that baby your shrimp ever raise enough to sell?


I am just starting CRS, only have 4 atm and they're still growing. Three tanks now are cycling and I'm looking for higher grade CRS (SS or SSS or even Taiwan bees), been looking at breeders/importers in BC and the states, but definitely prefer local.


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## charlie1 (Dec 1, 2011)

Bwhiskered said:


> I will be bringing a couple of bags of CRS to the Brantford Auction.
> 
> Do any of you people that baby your shrimp ever raise enough to sell?


" No offense to anyone"
Charlie, i have come to accept that a lot of the advise offered up on forums is based on what is read as opposed to what has being tried, in other words hobbyist is eager to jump & in & regurgitate what they read somewhere , like Tom Barr would say " Do then talk - No do don`t talk "
I have CRS in all my tanks from high light heavy nutrient dosing & Co2 ,community tanks to a dedicated CRS tank - are they as productive in the community supplemented tank -No, but they are breeding in a 25 gallon co2 enriched tank that gets 70%-90% water change weekly - water out - water in from the tap.
In my dedicated 15 gallon they are as productive as cherry shrimp so much so they are responsible for my ability to set up my 2 recent starfire tanks.
Regards


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## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

I learned to do what works for my shrimp by watching. I have about 90 babies right now, S-SSS grade and have setup a second tank for my A-S grades. Sticking by your tank has to be this number resulted in my loosing half my adults with no babies for the first 6 months of trying. The last few months have been going good.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

splur said:


> Just top off with RO, it'll never really go up.
> 
> I just started doing more frequent water changes though after a 3 month hiatus lol.


Errr. TDS won't go up? What about DOCs that are produced as a byproduct of metabolism?

For example, if you had a piece of driftwood in the aquarium, it would be leeching tannins. Without a water change, how would the tannin content of the water remain the same and "never really go up?"

What you are describing (aside from feeding your shrimp and topping off occasionally) is a completely closed ecosystem.


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## splur (May 11, 2011)

Well, if there's anything leaching into the system then it will build up unless you have something like activated carbon or purigen removing it. You also risk having bad bacteria build up.

But TDS should not build up as there isn't really a source for it within the system. You're right, it is a closed ecosystem. Also, really bad idea if you don't have the tank heavily planted.


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## RONY11 (Jan 6, 2011)

I have a well planted tank mostly with mosses.The plants cover abt.80% of the substrate. I do weekly water changes sometimes twice a week depends.

Anyways I have old (big) shrimp red fire n sakura dying sometimes the younger ones seem merry they r all around the tank eating n nibbling. I have not had females carrying for a while but just today I saw a CRS with eggs may be that's a good sign.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

splur said:


> Well, if there's anything leaching into the system then it will build up unless you have something like activated carbon or purigen removing it. You also risk having bad bacteria build up.
> 
> But TDS should not build up as there isn't really a source for it within the system. You're right, it is a closed ecosystem. Also, really bad idea if you don't have the tank heavily planted.


TDS will go up no matter what. As I mentioned, tannins from driftwood would contribute to this. Let's say you don't have any driftwood. What about rockscape? Unless all your gravel and rocks are epoxy coated, little bits will eventually find their way into the water.

Then, of course are the DOCs that contribute to TDS coming from the shrimp (pheromones, hormones, etc).

These cannot simply disappear/be used by plants, and have to be removed one way or another (water changes and/or specialized media that will absorb/adsorb it, and then their subsequent removal from the filter).


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## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

My theory is go with what works for your tank. Every tank, rock, substrate, water is slightly different and what works for one doesn't work for another. 

You can go the easy bwiskered way, no additives, nothing special and get lots of babies. You can dump $500 into additives into your tank before you even set it up (ADA style) and get lots of babies. Whatever works. I just fed mine and can probably count 100 babies out right now. TDS, 265. gH, 7. ph <6. Ideal, probably not but it's working for me.

I am friends with some European breeders and they have high pH water in Poland where one of them is and it's expensive to get any fancy soils, etc, so they start off with SSS+ shrimp, Taiwan Bee's in a low pH tank to match them to what they came from and spend 3-4 months acclimating them to a high pH tank. The strong survive, they take losses, but whats left is a Taiwan Bee King Kong, Blue Bolts that can breed and live in 8pH tank. Tell that to an Asian breeder who swears by the 5pH for TB rule and they'd think it's insane but it works.

I started off with the fancy soil but I figure when it runs out, the buffering will slowly stop buffering over months and they will slowly adapt to the rising pH and be better suited for a higher pH tank.


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## splur (May 11, 2011)

Darkblade48 said:


> TDS will go up no matter what. As I mentioned, tannins from driftwood would contribute to this. Let's say you don't have any driftwood. What about rockscape? Unless all your gravel and rocks are epoxy coated, little bits will eventually find their way into the water.
> 
> Then, of course are the DOCs that contribute to TDS coming from the shrimp (pheromones, hormones, etc).
> 
> These cannot simply disappear/be used by plants, and have to be removed one way or another (water changes and/or specialized media that will absorb/adsorb it, and then their subsequent removal from the filter).


Tell that to my tank, the TDS hasn't changed over 3 months of no water changes, only top-offs. The driftwood can't be contributing that much tannins as the water is crystal clear. Maybe the active soil is absorbing stuff.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

splur said:


> Tell that to my tank, the TDS hasn't changed over 3 months of no water changes, only top-offs. The driftwood can't be contributing that much tannins as the water is crystal clear. Maybe the active soil is absorbing stuff.


Interesting! What active soil are you using? Also, how are you measuring the DOCs that contribute to TDS, but cannot be measured using a TDS meter?


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## splur (May 11, 2011)

Darkblade48 said:


> Interesting! What active soil are you using? Also, how are you measuring the DOCs that contribute to TDS, but cannot be measured using a TDS meter?


I can't, I assume my TDS meter measures conductivity I'm pretty sure, so it would not include the bulk of DOC. At least from what I've read, the majority of biogenic DOC is biodegradable, can't really say the same about the stuff we put out in the water.

I'm using ADA aquasoil, if anything it should be releasing stuff into the water such as humic acid, but is used by plants in the end.


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## CrystalMethShrimp (Apr 27, 2010)

Hey getochkn
You can keep crs at higher ph by using drawin's law of natural selection. If you start with 50 crs in 7.6ph, you'll lose about 30% but the F1,F2 will be more adaptive down the line. This is great in terms of not having to deal with the expensive soils we need to change every year and ro water. The disadvantage though is it becomes difficult to bring in new blood lines which may not be adapted to those water, especially if it's a higher grade from asia with beautiful thick whites all over the body and legs. Ofcourse this is more of a long term outlook and again it goes back to how much each person is commited to the hobby. Personally speaking I had a very difficult tine keeping crs back then when the active soils weren't available yet, I used to lose crs left right and center. It wasn't until I bought a bag of the ORIGINAL ada from james that I found out how easy it was to keep crs. Hmm maybe it's the water from toronto. How many tanks do you have running now? Are most of them tap water?

As for the water change, don't just dump it all in. Just drip or add slowly about 15% per week is perfect. You want to make sure the temp and tds are close. That's it, not too tough.



getochkn said:


> My theory is go with what works for your tank. Every tank, rock, substrate, water is slightly different and what works for one doesn't work for another.
> 
> You can go the easy bwiskered way, no additives, nothing special and get lots of babies. You can dump $500 into additives into your tank before you even set it up (ADA style) and get lots of babies. Whatever works. I just fed mine and can probably count 100 babies out right now. TDS, 265. gH, 7. ph <6. Ideal, probably not but it's working for me.
> 
> ...


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