Substrate

[Dawn T]

Several years back, when I set up the tanks I still have up and running right now, I used EcoComplete with natural river gravel and play sand on top. That's worked out great for my planted tanks. However, I've noticed that the GH has gone up a LOT since I set up the tanks. Meanwhile, the KH has been dropping through the floor. I've been removing some of that with extra water changes, but man! Makes me think maybe the EcoComplete wasn't the best option for my water and needs.

I'm thinking about setting up one of my currently empty 10g (if I can free a place for it) for cherry shrimp. It boggles my mind how many substrates are available out there, and some say they affect pH, or hardness, or KH. Of course, they run the range of prices that's even more boggling, from very cheap to sell your first born to afford to use it. LOL I'd like an inert, or nearly so, substrate that won't affect my pH or GH while bolstering KH over time (which I know gets depleted by planted tanks).

So gravel and sand alone? Some commercial product other than EcoComplete? I understand that crushed coral can help with the KH depletion issue, but would it affect pH and GH as well? I've read numerous articles online, and they don't seem to agree. Ack!

Any help would be great.

Oh, btw, our water from the tap is 7.6 pH, 10 (180 ppm) dGH, 10 (180 ppm) dKH, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, varies between 0 and 5 nitrate. I want to keep that pH and DH, or at close to them, and hopefully maintain the KH better. In both of my tanks, when I finally tested the water recently, the KH had dropped to 2 in one tank and 3 in the other. Even with 20% water changes once a week recently, they've pretty much stay there. That 20% change can bring up the KH by 2, but it's back down within a week. I've been thinking about adding a bit of crushed coral to the HOB filter on each tank, but see previous comments about inconsistencies in information about the effect that could have on the pH and GH.

[Paul]

2 hours ago, Dawn T said:

Several years back, when I set up the tanks I still have up and running right now, I used EcoComplete with natural river gravel and play sand on top. That's worked out great for my planted tanks. However, I've noticed that the GH has gone up a LOT since I set up the tanks. Meanwhile, the KH has been dropping through the floor. I've been removing some of that with extra water changes, but man! Makes me think maybe the EcoComplete wasn't the best option for my water and needs.

I'm thinking about setting up one of my currently empty 10g (if I can free a place for it) for cherry shrimp. It boggles my mind how many substrates are available out there, and some say they affect pH, or hardness, or KH. Of course, they run the range of prices that's even more boggling, from very cheap to sell your first born to afford to use it. LOL I'd like an inert, or nearly so, substrate that won't affect my pH or GH while bolstering KH over time (which I know gets depleted by planted tanks).

So gravel and sand alone? Some commercial product other than EcoComplete? I understand that crushed coral can help with the KH depletion issue, but would it affect pH and GH as well? I've read numerous articles online, and they don't seem to agree. Ack!

Any help would be great.

Oh, btw, our water from the tap is 7.6 pH, 10 (180 ppm) dGH, 10 (180 ppm) dKH, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, varies between 0 and 5 nitrate. I want to keep that pH and DH, or at close to them, and hopefully maintain the KH better. In both of my tanks, when I finally tested the water recently, the KH had dropped to 2 in one tank and 3 in the other. Even with 20% water changes once a week recently, they've pretty much stay there. That 20% change can bring up the KH by 2, but it's back down within a week. I've been thinking about adding a bit of crushed coral to the HOB filter on each tank, but see previous comments about inconsistencies in information about the effect that could have on the pH and GH.

@Dawn T All my tanks are planted and have gravel bottoms. Aquarium gravels are inert so they should have no effect on your parameters. The exception to that is crushed coral and aragonite which do effect your parameters if you have soft acidic water.