# Are Oyster Shells needed?



## amkid247 (Aug 14, 2007)

Are oyster shells needed for a planted tank or not? If so is it just another thing found at the petstore? i wanna make my betta a nice el natural tank.


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

amkid247 said:


> Are oyster shells needed for a planted tank or not? If so is it just another thing found at the petstore? i wanna make my betta a nice el natural tank.


They're needed if the General Hardness(GH) in your tap water is 7d or lower.

Do you know what the GH of your tap water is?


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## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Red_Rose said:


> They're needed if the General Hardness(GH) in your tap water is 7d or lower.
> 
> Do you know what the GH of your tap water is?


Not so much GH, but carbonate hardness (KH) will determine the need for oyster shell as they provide the needed calcium.

-ricardo


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## amkid247 (Aug 14, 2007)

no i dont know any of that? how do i find out? 
wait, im planning on using the water already in my fishes tank, ill drain it into a clean bucket or something, and then put it back when im done... so if i do that do i still need the oysters?


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

amkid247 said:


> no i dont know any of that? how do i find out?
> wait, im planning on using the water already in my fishes tank, ill drain it into a clean bucket or something, and then put it back when im done... so if i do that do i still need the oysters?


Knowing what your GH and KH(carbonate hardness) is, is important for this kind of set up. I don't know if it would be good to use the old water from your previous tank.

If your GH and KH are high, then you don't need to add the oysters. If it's low(below 7d), then yes, you will have to add them to the soil.

Hagen makes a test kit for both the GH and KH. 

Also, here's a link on GH and KH. This will give you an idea on what they are.



flagg said:


> Not so much GH, but carbonate hardness (KH) will determine the need for oyster shell as they provide the needed calcium.
> 
> -ricardo


Are you sure? I could've swore that in Ms. Walstad's book, she says to use a lime source like dolomite or shells to raise water's GH if it's low. I do know that the GH is made up of Calcium and Magnesium.


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## amkid247 (Aug 14, 2007)

hm....heres a probably stupid question: if the water is filtered (from a refridgerator filter) and would that water be fine without having to do anything special? And does anyone know if using the old water from my bettas tank is good/bad? i think it would be good, b/c the betta would already be used to it, and the water is already conditioned to not have any bad thingies in in...


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

amkid247 said:


> hm....heres a probably stupid question: if the water is filtered (from a refridgerator filter) and would that water be fine without having to do anything special? And does anyone know if using the old water from my bettas tank is good/bad? i think it would be good, b/c the betta would already be used to it, and the water is already conditioned to not have any bad thingies in in...


You wouldn't have to do anything special if it was from the tap either. The only thing you'd have to do is let it age for at least 24 hours to get rid of any gases and then treat it before adding it to the tank and that takes little effort. It's also a good idea to test your tap water so you know if there's any ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, etc. in it and so you know what your GH/KH and PH is.

I also suggest that you read Ms. Walstad's book too. You'll learn a great deal about this kind of set up once you read it.


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## amkid247 (Aug 14, 2007)

well im not going to get the oyster shells. this is because someone else on another forum helped me remember that bettas like soft water and oyster shells will make the water hard and annoy my betta. thanks for all the help though =]


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

amkid247 said:


> well im not going to get the oyster shells. this is because someone else on another forum helped me remember that bettas like soft water and oyster shells will make the water hard and annoy my betta. thanks for all the help though =]


LOL! My betta is in hard water and he's doing better then when I was trying to soften it for him! The fin damage that he had gotten from me trying to lower the pH for him is now healing and the pH in his water is 8.3.


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