# shrimp tank dilenma



## modster (Jun 16, 2007)

I have a 10G shrimp tank with CRS's and HC in it. I have been using filtered water(not exactly RO but close) because my tap water is ridiclously hard. It has a pH of above 8. Recently, i have realized my HC leaves have started to turn yellow. I know i need to dose fertilizer more heavily from now on, but how much more? My main concern is the NO3 will be harmful to my shrimps. what should i do?


----------



## Dryn (Sep 6, 2007)

Yellowing leaves are usually a sign of low iron. Occasionally, they're also a sign of poor lighting (either too intense of not enough). Seachem makes a liquid iron supplement that works well. There are many other products as well.


----------



## modster (Jun 16, 2007)

hmm could be too intense. I have a 65w coralife on 7hr/day. I thought HC needs intense light. I will try to dose more iron first. Thanks


----------



## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

There is several deficiency's that can cause yellow leaves... 1) Magnesium:Yellowing of older leaves, veins stay green. 2) Iron: New leaves grow in yellow. 3) Calcium: Causes yellow leaf edges.

I would start off by increasing your ferts slowly, until you see an improvement in your HC. Say for example if you are dosing 1ml then increase to 1 1/2ml for 2 weeks, if no improvement then increase by another 1/2ml and so on. 

The only nutrient that is really harmful to shrimp is copper. N03 would be harmful in large amounts.


----------



## modster (Jun 16, 2007)

how high is too high for crystal red shrimps. I want to keep NO3 as low as possible because i have few shrimps with eggs.


----------



## modster (Jun 16, 2007)

also... does CSM+B contain copper?


----------



## eyebeatbadgers (Aug 8, 2007)

I'd like to know what "not exactly RO but close means" . I doubt not having perfectly RO'd water is your cause of problem, but if your parameters jump around a lot that can cause stress.


----------



## modster (Jun 16, 2007)

I am using the API tap water filter, which is not exactly RO. 

I just found out CSM has copper in it :-(. Whats a good source of micro to use for a shrimp tank?


----------



## Adragontattoo (Jun 3, 2007)

eyebeatbadgers said:


> I'd like to know what "not exactly RO but close means" . I doubt not having perfectly RO'd water is your cause of problem, but if your parameters jump around a lot that can cause stress.


What would necessitate RO water in a shrimp tank?

I use straight out of the tap in every one of my tank with NO issues at all.


----------



## southerndesert (Oct 14, 2007)

I use RO for CRS as they like more acidic softer water, here in AZ our tap water is over 8.0 PH.


----------



## modster (Jun 16, 2007)

yeah.. it really depends on your local water and the kind of shrimp that you are keeping. I started with plain tap water too and then slowly switch to RO. I must say the difference is observable. My CRS are more active when the water pH is below 7.


----------

