SHERALYN Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 My water is 46 ppm or about 2.5 hardness. I want to fill my 75 gallon with livebearers, especially guppies. I tried the Equilibrium and I hated it, it is hard to dissolve and makes my tank cloudy, as well as being expensive. After watching several of Cory's videos, I think I can get by if I use crushed coral substrate as well as some liquid Fritz Complete. I understood to use marine salt at 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons for the beneficial salt and all the trace elements and want to convert that formula to the liquid Fritz. Should this setup make my water good for guppies? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 I keep Loads of Guppies in soft water. Crushed coral may help, but if you are keeping up water changes, that KH may not really replenish much. Once your guppies multiply in your water, they'll be fine. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 (edited) I cannot comment on crushed coral as personally, I like to have a a direct impact on what I am putting in the tank if they will be playing around water parameters. I always use Equilibrium. I personally just scoop it and pour it all over the tank, just the amount I do with a water change. Cloudy for a lil time and then disappears. I don't even shake it in a seperate container and try to dissolve myself. Just put it in directly but not at a single spot. Single spot takes longer time to dissolve in my experience. If you are not doing so much water changes, I feel like Equilibrium should be okay. you have a direct impact on dosage, so you can target your ideal GH, and you know what you have in your water. Crushed coral increases gh with calcium for sure. But what about magnesium? Does it provide magnesium? I don't know much about that part. Also CC will increase KH and PH too, which I already have high readings myself. What about you? As I only need GH boost up as my tap reads 0, but already have high ph and kh, Equilibrium is the way to go for me! Edited March 23, 2023 by Lennie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppy Guy Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 I am going to say something completely different, and probably controversial, so please take it with a grain of salt. I wouldn't use equilibrium, or even crushed coral. Instead, I would go to your LFS and ask them if they have any locally bred guppies, as they will be used to the water parameters and have a better chance of surviving. I have kept guppies in very low pH(5-ish if I'm not paying attention), and very high (up to 8), and usually don't have a problem. But only with guppies I have bred. Guppies I buy that are farm raised or bred elsewhere generally don't survive without extra care, as they aren't used to the water. If locally bred guppies aren't an option for you, try the crushed coral, and once they start breeding, slowly remove a little bit at a time so they don't acclimate too quickly. I did the same thing except with guppies that were used to having salt in the water instead of high hardness, and I still have some from that strain today. If you have any questions, don't feel bad. I as well as many others here are more then happy to help, and we love to see new people joining this community, so welcome @SHERALYN! @Guppysnail, @Odd Duck, you might like to comment on this as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 I think your original crushed coral substrate idea is a fantastic option. I look forward to seeing you tank pictures swarming with guppies. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 i have soft water, from a water softener to boot, and have never had an issue with guppies, and endlers in my water. the only real trick is getting the first healthy guppies. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 On 3/24/2023 at 12:30 AM, lefty o said: i have soft water, from a water softener to boot, and have never had an issue with guppies, and endlers in my water. the only real trick is getting the first healthy guppies. Don't you have 0 gh with water softener? I get 0 gh with my water softener. 🤔 So I end up using equilibrium in my tanks for plants and inverts/fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smm333 Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 I struggled with livebearers in my soft water. I added arraganite as the substrate and everyone has been happy and healthy. It looks pretty too. Like nice white sand. 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 On 3/23/2023 at 4:41 PM, Lennie said: Don't you have 0 gh with water softener? I get 0 gh with my water softener. 🤔 So I end up using equilibrium in my tanks for plants and inverts/fish actually just ran a co-op test strip under the tap. im right in the middle of the chart on GH, but then my softener is not set on max 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 On 3/24/2023 at 1:05 AM, lefty o said: actually just ran a co-op test strip under the tap. im right in the middle of the chart on GH, but then my softener is not set on max Yea probably that's why yours are doing well. On the middle is pretty good for most species, and even considerably on the high end for some others. Otherwise in my 0 gh, things would get affected negatively pretty much, especially my snails and shrimp 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 I don’t have soft water at all unless I’m remineralizing my RO water. Even mixing 1/2 tap and 1/2 RO it still qualifies as relatively “hard” water. I have also only ever bought guppies locally from similar water so it’s not been an issue for me. All that said, if you have drastically different water than where the guppies were bred, you’ll need to start by trying to at least somewhat match their original parameters then gradually transition over a few water changes to your regular water. After that, you should be fine as far as hardness, pH, etc. Then once you get a couple generations in, it should be a complete non-issue as guppies tend to be quite tolerant compared to many species. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHERALYN Posted March 23, 2023 Author Share Posted March 23, 2023 Thanks everyone, The only fish I have access to here are shipped from Asia and most likely bred in very hard or brackish water. I was going to order guppies from Aquahuna so I will try to contact them and find out if they can tell me what their water hardness is there. Thanks again for everyone's input. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 On 3/23/2023 at 5:34 PM, SHERALYN said: Thanks everyone, The only fish I have access to here are shipped from Asia and most likely bred in very hard or brackish water. I was going to order guppies from Aquahuna so I will try to contact them and find out if they can tell me what their water hardness is there. Thanks again for everyone's input. just got an aquahuna order in today. the paperwork states their PH is 6.8-7.0 . 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfisher Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 You should be fine. Guppies are pretty resilient. I would not worry as much about the water being soft but instead that you buy guppies breed in fresh water. Many are mass produced in brackish water. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppy Guy Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 On 3/23/2023 at 6:34 PM, SHERALYN said: Thanks everyone, The only fish I have access to here are shipped from Asia and most likely bred in very hard or brackish water. I was going to order guppies from Aquahuna so I will try to contact them and find out if they can tell me what their water hardness is there. Thanks again for everyone's input. Another option is Aquabid. Cory swears by them, as it is like an eBay for fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Cory Posted March 24, 2023 Administrators Share Posted March 24, 2023 Substrate of crushed coral. Toss in some minerals from marine salt or wonder shells, Stick to water changes of like 30% once a month and you should be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levi_Aquatics Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 Crushed coral works well for me. I have had success with guppies from aquabid in the past 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quikv6 Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 You could also use Seachem Replenish, which is the liquid version of Equilibrium (with more salts.). It basically dissolves instantly. The crushed coral is a great idea in addition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 (edited) On 3/24/2023 at 1:07 PM, quikv6 said: You could also use Seachem Replenish, which is the liquid version of Equilibrium (with more salts.). It basically dissolves instantly. The crushed coral is a great idea in addition. Seachem does not recommend to use this on planted tanks due to ingredients may be harmful for plants. Equilibrium is adviced for planted tank gh increase Edited March 24, 2023 by Lennie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHERALYN Posted March 24, 2023 Author Share Posted March 24, 2023 Thanks again everyone, I really just wanted to make sure there were no really bad issues with doing it this way that I was not aware of. Thank you all for all your help and insight, especially Cory who I really hoped would chime in! Cory you are not only smart - you are intuitively smart and able to think outside the box and I admire that. You guys have made me one happy fishkeeper! I will be dreaming livebearers! 🤩 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gumbo99 Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 On 3/23/2023 at 7:17 PM, Cory said: Substrate of crushed coral. Toss in some minerals from marine salt or wonder shells, Stick to water changes of like 30% once a month and you should be good. How much marine salt is safe in a planted tank, say tsp or tbsp per gallon? I'm assuming a little goes a long way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHERALYN Posted March 24, 2023 Author Share Posted March 24, 2023 I said Fritz Complete but I meant "Quick Change" which is: Concentrated Easy To Use Liquid Salt Enhanced Calcium & Magnesium Levels I do hope to have some simple floating plants such as elodea and java moss but if they cannot stand the water so be it - my main goal are the livebearers. BTW my PH is 6.8. GH is 2.5 and KH 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 get yourself some guppies, your water is not that far off. guppies really are adaptable, as long as they are healthy to start with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Cory Posted March 24, 2023 Administrators Share Posted March 24, 2023 On 3/24/2023 at 6:42 AM, Gumbo99 said: How much marine salt is safe in a planted tank, say tsp or tbsp per gallon? I'm assuming a little goes a long way. I've used 1 teaspoon per 20 gallons after water changes with success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now