JAG Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 I recently moved to the Puget Sound, Washington area and my water is PH 6.8 GH 0 KH 80 I have never had to deal with SUCH SOFT water before! I will be adding crushed coral, but do I also combine it with Seachem Equilibrium and Wonder Shells? I had to place all of my fish before I moved, so I am essentially starting over :o( Not fun!! So far, I have bought a lot of plants and I will be water testing, with each addition, as my tanks cycle. Any advice dealing with "GH 0" water ? ~ I need help! Thank you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 Welcome! I’m a beginner planted aquarium keeper in the NW. I’ve tried wonder shell but settled on Equilibrium because I like the precision. In future tanks I’ll try crushed coral, so I don’t have to add anything to my tap water. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT_ Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 I'm another equilibrium fan. Its got a lot minerals plants want beyond just mg+ca to up GH. Some people don't like the effort of manipulating their water but I only have a couple tanks so its a non-issue for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 10 hours ago, CT_ said: I'm another equilibrium fan. Its got a lot minerals plants want beyond just mg+ca to up GH. Some people don't like the effort of manipulating their water but I only have a couple tanks so its a non-issue for me. Do you make up a big batch of pre mineralized water for changes or do you add the Equilibrium after you do the change? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 Another equilibrium vote. I also use either Kent or api liquid calcium for my Livebearers and snails. I do occasionally throw in a wondershell my shrimp love them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT_ Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 6 hours ago, Patrick_G said: Do you make up a big batch of pre mineralized water for changes or do you add the Equilibrium after you do the change? The instructions say to premeasure and mix into a 1L bottle of water, but that's too complicated for me. I have a 0.5ml spoon (just under 1/8th teaspoon) that I take a level scoop from and add it for each gallon of water in my bucket. It's a pretty small amount so it dissolves okay in my bucket that I use add water to my tank. There's always a little that doesn't dissolve in the bottom. I suspect its some of the iron in there. If I'm only changing a gallon (out of about 11) I sometimes just put the water in first and dump a spoon full directly into the tank. I'm afraid to do that for larger water changes because of hardness swings, but IDK if that is a legitimate fear or not. I arrived at the 0.5ml scoop by calculating how much I needed and guessing at the density (its actually about 1g/ml if you shake the can first so the powder is somewhat loose) and then tweaked my dosing a bit over time based of off empirical measurements. In truth I don't think exactly X GH is critical though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 Thanks @CT_! Since I started the Equilibrium my tanks have been reasonably well balanced so I haven’t had to do much in the way of water changes. I know I’ll eventually have to do some and I’d like to keep a relatively stable GH. It doesn’t have to be perfect but the livebearers and inverts clearly don’t like my tap so a little boost is needed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 (edited) Ive found aragonite works well to harden very soft water. Snails can now live in my tanks and not melt. Edited June 3, 2021 by Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAG Posted June 3, 2021 Author Share Posted June 3, 2021 Thank you for your help and input everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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