# Post your CRS Water Parameters



## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

Thank you! 

after killing 40 of these cute critters and having my tank right where the parameters were 'suppose' to be I'm following your thread.


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

Haha I haven't killed any critters yet but I'm also following this.


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## RandomMan (May 31, 2011)

I'm still a noob at this, but in my small 2 gallon tank I've had my CRS and Tiger's berry and deliver several times.

Temperature - 70-74F. (No heater/chiller. I'm at the mercy of the office AC.)
I'm using RO/DI water, and adding 1/2 teaspoon of Kent's RO-Right per 5 gallons of water. TDS before it goes into the tank is around 140.
Substrate is ADA, which should be buffering the water to around 6.5ph.

I also run CO2, which I know is not helpful and may be detrimental.


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## Otto72 (Oct 1, 2010)

what is your your GH and KH RandomMan, also forgive my noobness but what is TDS?
*edit* nvm I found out now http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_dissolved_solids  

also maybe we should have a default layout for posting parametres maybe something similar to this;

Temperature:
Water Type:
Water change technique:
PH:
GH:
KH:
CO2: 
Ferts:
Plants:
Substrate:

and so on


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## HolyAngel (Oct 18, 2010)

Temperature: 68-74
Water Type: RO
Water change technique: Maybe 10% once a week during gravel vac if the substrate needs it, mainly just topoffs.
PH: 6-7
GH: 0-4
KH: 0-1
CO2: NO
Ferts: NO but doesn't hurt.
Plants: Moss, some s. porto vehlo/repens, limno's, whatever really, stick to low light and enjoy your shrimp!
Substrate: Tahitian moon sand(inert/no buffer) currently but it doesn't really matter. 
Keeping: CRS/CBS S-SSS, Golden bee's, TT's, BKK's


--
Biochemzorb makes a difference! your parameters could be spot on but you could have who knows what else in the water that we can't test for. BCZ will clear it up. 

Big things you need are *good* filtration,* lots *of dissolved oxygen, and lots of beneficial bacteria in an *established *tank. If you start a new tank and put em in, the parameters may be right, and there may not be any ammo/nitrite spikes, but new tank = very little if any BB = no food and bb for the shrimp, they dont just need it to eat..


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

HolyAngel said:


> Temperature: 68-74
> Water Type: RO
> Water change technique: Maybe 10% once a week during gravel vac if the substrate needs it, mainly just topoffs.
> PH: 6-7
> ...


Also, one of the most important things I've read is that CRS like aged water in your tank, a tank thats been setup for months and just been topped off, not WC'd 3x a week or anything. Another forum, a member just got back from Japan or Korea and none of them change water at all, just top off mostly.


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## Jorge_Burrito (Nov 10, 2010)

I would also have people add the grade they are keeping, lower grades are supposedly more tolerant of non ideal water conditions.


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## sayurasem (Jun 17, 2011)

how come no co2? I see alot of tanks with hc/iwagumi with crs on them


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

pH 6.2
GH 4
KH 0
TDS 180
Temp 72

20g filtered with an eheim 2211, zoomed 501, and 2 large sponge filters driven by air.
Susbtrate fluval stratum, 3 inch depth. 10% monthly water change with aged water.


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

How do you age your water? Do you just let it sit for a while?


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## HolyAngel (Oct 18, 2010)

I've been keeping CRS and CBS S-SSS, and golden bee's in these params and been fine for months, but I also just got Tangerine tigers(caridina) and bkk's and they also seem to be doing fine.


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## Otto72 (Oct 1, 2010)

Jorge_Burrito said:


> I would also have people add the grade they are keeping, lower grades are supposedly more tolerant of non ideal water conditions.


Good idea, main post edited thankyou 



jkan0228 said:


> Haha I haven't killed any critters yet but I'm also following this.


Whats your Parameters? you must be doing something right


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

Temperature: 70-72F
Water Type: Distilled mixed with tap water
Water change technique: just top off mostly, change a little bit here and there
PH: 6.0-6.2
GH: have to check
KH: have to check
CO2: nope, but I do a 1/4 dose of excel now and again
Ferts: squirt of flourish now and again
Plants: java moss, xmas moss, floating frogbite and some other stuff that I have no idea what it is
Substrate: Netlea soil
CRS Shrimp Grade: C-SS, black and reds


This tank was setup a few months ago when I bought the CBS and added my CRS that were kept in a 7.6pH tank and weren't breeding at all. Within a month I had berried shrimp and have about 8-9 babies I can see, and 3 more berried ones still I believe and possibly one that just gave birth, not sure but I've seen 1 or 2 clear babies today, so I assume they have to be just born and don't have their colors yet because normally after a few days even you can see the red and a little bit after that the white fills in and within a week or two you can tell the grade and pattern of the baby.


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

age water put a airstone in a bucket of water and bubble til you need it


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## Otto72 (Oct 1, 2010)

mordalphus your one of the very experience experts on CRS and shrimp in general, what are your parameters for your CRS?


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

....only if you're really lucky and have perfect shrimp water out of the tap...I'm in the process of laying a one inch pipe from Mordalphus' house to mine....wonder if Home Depot will give me discount on 20 miles of PVC?...


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

Otto72 said:


> Whats your Parameters? you must be doing something right


By that I mean I haven't started my tank yet. Hahaha


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

Otto72 said:


> mordalphus your one of the very experience experts on CRS and shrimp in general, what are your parameters for your CRS?


He posted it on the first page, post 10


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## Otto72 (Oct 1, 2010)

see this is where things get confusing, the main sticky on this very forum (Crystal Red Shrimp Information (Care and Breeding)) says 

'3. Moderate water hardness seems to work the best for robust breeding and coloration.'

moderate to me would suggest harder water no? some threads I seen on other forums say that CRS need harder water to moult too, this is why i stick with this forum people seem to know what they are talking about here


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## HolyAngel (Oct 18, 2010)

Yeah that thing needed updated awhile ago...


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## Senior Shrimpo (Dec 4, 2010)

CBS/CRS SSS population tank:

Temperature: 71o
Water Type: RO reconstituted with fluval mineral supplement
Water change technique: Top offs, water changes when TDS gets too high
PH: 6.5
GH: 5-6
KH: 0
CO2: None
Ferts: None
Plants: Fissidens fontanus, mini pellia, java fern windelov, christmas moss, riccia fluitans
Substrate: Fluval shrimp stratum

10 gallon Taiwan Bee tank (Blue bolts and hybrids)

Temperature: 71o
Water Type: RO reconstituted with fluval mineral supplement
Water change technique: I'm a little better with this one, maybe every 2 or 3 weeks or whenever TDS gets too high... plus top offs
PH: 6.2
GH: 5-6
KH: 0
CO2: NONE lol
Ferts: No way Jose
Plants: Fissidens fontanus, amazon frogbit, duckweed
Substrate: ADA Amazonia 1

Well, I got my params as best I could after months of research. As for water changes, I used to think they weren't important, but DO THEM! lol. Overdoing them is worse than underdoing them for sure, but once every 2 weeks is a healthy medium for me. (I change maybe 10% or 20%)


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## Cynth (Sep 11, 2010)

Just tested this evening. 

I have two Fluval EBI tanks, one with red and one with black crystals.

Both tanks:
Temperature: 68-70
Water Type: RO
Water change technique: I was removing 2 gallons and refilling each week. But starting last month I am going to top off until TDS start getting to high.
PH: 6.8 (last month this was 6.4 in both tanks)
GH: 4
KH: 3
CO2: no
Ferts:no
Red tank Plants: needle leaf java fern, fissidens, java moss, water lettuce.
Black tank Plants: xmas moss, peacock moss, flame moss, zipper moss, cabomba, water lettuce. 

Substrate: Fluval stratum
Grade: A - SSS but mostly S and S+
Red tank TDS: 120
Black tank TDS: 96


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## blacksheep998 (Jan 16, 2011)

Temperature: 70-75F

Water Type: Dechlorinated tap water (I have very soft tap water)

Water change technique: 5% change twice a week. The tank has only been set up around a month, so once the driftwood stops turning the water tea colored I'll probably go down to once a week

PH: 6.8-7.2 depending on what time of day I check the pH

GH: 3-4

KH: 0-1

TDS: 75

CO2: Nope

Ferts: Nope

Plants: Java moss, riccia, java fern, ludwigia, anubias and a couple others. It's a 40G tank so there's plenty of room

Substrate: Inert black quartz sand

Shrimp grade: A-SSS, mostly S+ grade


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## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

I know this is a really old thread but I really like the info and format that this has. I say we bring it back alive and continue on as this info has helped myself and sure will help others. 

CRS population tank:

Temperature: 74f
Water Type: Half Tap/Half RO Remineralized with Salty Shrimp GH+(Soft TAP)
Water change technique: Mostly Top offs, water changes when TDS gets above 200. Will do a 10% Regardless every 2 weeks.
Water Prep Technique: Prep 5 gallon bucket with half ro/half tap mixed with SS GH+. Powerhead and Airstone run to keep mixed and help age water. This also helps lower the PH from normally 7.4ish when RO mixed with tap. 
PH: 7.1(No co2)
PH: 6.6(Co2)
GH: 5 Exactly
KH: 1.75
CO2: 13-15ppm
TDS: 150-180
Light/s: Beamswork DHL 6500k dimmed to 50%
Photoperiod: 8 hours daily
Ferts: ThriveS Half dose 2 times a week.
Plants: Fissidens fontanus, Amazon Swords, christmas moss, Java Moss, Pearlweed, MonteCarlo, Rotalla Mini Butterfly, Dward Sag, Italian Val, Frogbit, Water Spangles, Limnophilia Aromatica, 2 types of Buce, Subwasertang, Alternanthera Reineckii Variegated, Hydrocotyle sp."Japan"
Substrate: Inert Black Diamond Blasting Sand
Grade: S-SSS mostly S and S+


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## GrampsGrunge (Jun 18, 2012)

Temperature: 68 to 72

Water Type: soft tap water. typically about 6.6 pH and 46 TDS out of tap.

Water change technique: 15~20% change twice a month. plus topping up. 3 smallish tanks, two recirculating between each other. I use my own mix of sulfate based remineralizers.

PH: 6.9-7.1 depending on time of day.

GH: 5 ish

KH: 2~3

TDS: 160 to 182

CO2: No

Ferts: DIY iron and micros, and some light macros

Plants: Java Moss, native moss, Java Ferns, Anubias, Susswassertang.

Substrate: Inert washed river sand/gravel.

Shrimp grade: CBS not fancy. (Will they ever stop breeding?)


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## PhilthyMcnasty (Oct 16, 2011)

How are you guys getting your tanks cool during the summer? My AC can't keep the water that cool.


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## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

PhilthyMcnasty said:


> How are you guys getting your tanks cool during the summer? My AC can't keep the water that cool.




Either a chiller or a fan or two blowing on top which evaporation naturally cools the water. With a fan on top I'm able to get a 4 temp drop. Awaiting my diy chiller then I will no longer need a fan. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## PhilthyMcnasty (Oct 16, 2011)

clownplanted said:


> Either a chiller or a fan or two blowing on top which evaporation naturally cools the water. With a fan on top I'm able to get a 4 temp drop. Awaiting my diy chiller when then I will no longer need a fan.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Can you provide resources for the diy chiller?

Right now I have a fan blowing on my Fluval V with RCS in it. I also get about a 4 degree drop but have to top off about every other day,


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## katas (Jan 12, 2015)

Temperature: 75
Water Type: RODI with Salty Shrimp GH remineralizer
Water change technique: 10% monthly & RODI top off weekly.
PH: 6
GH: 6
KH: 1
TDS: 150
CO2: no
Ferts: GLA micro/macro
Plants: DHG, wallichii, rotala macrandra
Substrate: ADA Amazonia type 1
CRS Shrimp Grade: S/SS


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## Aqua99 (Jan 6, 2017)

Temperature: 71
Water Type: RODI with Salty Shrimp GH+
Water change technique: 10%-15% when needed (tds) & RODI top off.
PH: 6.3
GH: 6
KH: 0
TDS: 150
CO2: none presently (sometimes very low pressurized)
Ferts: Nilocg Thrive-S (1/2 recommended dose)
Plants: Monte Carlo Carpet, Sußwassertang, Anubias White, Anubias Pinto, AR Variegated, Mni X-Mas Moss, Wave Moss, Ranunculus inundatus, Hygro (we'll just cal them "Various"...lol), Riccia on stone, Ludwigia RxA, Java Fern, Crepidomanes Sp. Calicut
Substrate: Controsoil 
CRS Shrimp Grade: PRL


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## Aqua99 (Jan 6, 2017)

PhilthyMcnasty said:


> Can you provide resources for the diy chiller?
> 
> Right now I have a fan blowing on my Fluval V with RCS in it. I also get about a 4 degree drop but have to top off about every other day,


I have built 3 in the past 2 weeks. @clownplanted is about to receive one in the next few days and will grab extensive data (temp drop over time in various ambient temps and tank volumes). It's nothing ground breaking (peltier based), but is 100% doing the job as intended in my 6g and 4.5g cube with minimal cost (you may even have half the parts laying around your house right now). They can be expanded upon for greater chilling power.

Clown will let us know how it does in a 20g with higher ambient room temps. I'd hate to steer anyone in the wrong direction expecting it to work wonders in a larger tank. Currently mine have no problem keeping my tanks at 71° in a 75-76° room (cycling on/off when needed on a thermostat, not running constantly). I've run the temp down to 68° in testing (75° room I believe) but didn't want to take the shrimp any lower.

One thing I will say is that insulation is your best friend. Whether you run a fan over the surface or a chiller, you're fighting more of a battle with zero insulation. I've used a $12 sheet of Dow board to cover the back and sides (colored black so it looks pleasing). Clown might grab some data in various situations.


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## theglassisalreadybroken (Feb 9, 2018)

So what are the generally-accepted measurement tools for getting GH, KH, and TDS data? Lots of products on the market but was wondering if there is a consensus between serious shrimp people


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## Zoidburg (Mar 8, 2016)

theglassisalreadybroken said:


> So what are the generally-accepted measurement tools for getting GH, KH, and TDS data? Lots of products on the market but was wondering if there is a consensus between serious shrimp people


API GH/KH liquid test kit and any cheap TDS meter from E-bay or Amazon that can be calibrated with a TDS Calibration Solution.


Some people do use other test kits though, such as Sera, Nutrafin, etc. Main "requirement" is that it's a liquid test kit because the test strips aren't very accurate.


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## theglassisalreadybroken (Feb 9, 2018)

Thanks broski



Zoidburg said:


> API GH/KH liquid test kit and any cheap TDS meter from E-bay or Amazon that can be calibrated with a TDS Calibration Solution.
> 
> 
> Some people do use other test kits though, such as Sera, Nutrafin, etc. Main "requirement" is that it's a liquid test kit because the test strips aren't very accurate.


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