RCS not breeding

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 12:08 pm

I don't think you broke any rules just saying the name of a store. Direct links and comercial discussions are just not allowed.

A 5 stage unit will work fine as will a 4 stage. Mine is a 3 stage and cost me about $200. It puts out 30 gallons a day of pure water. You need to change the membrane every 2 years and the other filters every year.

Test for chlorine about every 3-4 months just to be safe. Once the charcoal is exhausted it does not remove chlorine any more.

Newjohn · Post by **Newjohn** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 2:28 pm

Just make sure that the R/O water output rating is high enough for the expected use.

Most big box stores sell R/O units only rated at 3 to 5 gallons per day.

John

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 5:40 pm

If you have a large pressure tank, you can use a smaller rated R/O unit. These take up a large amount of space, but cost less. The lower the GPD rating, the longer the membrane lasts.

If you have the room to let it run into a large container like a garbage can, it isn't a big deal to have a 5 or 10 GPD unit.

With a 30 GPD unit it take about 4 hours to fill a 5 gallon bucket.

ToddnBecka · Post by **ToddnBecka** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 7:07 pm

Looks like a good system. I just picked up a used Kent Maxima R/O system, it has 4 stages, produces 60 gallons/day.

ec88 · Post by **ec88** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 8:56 pm

I didn't get a chance to buy a phosphate tester yet, but I did test the tap water for PH & Nitrate, and the PH was 6.5 and Nitrate was 0. Would R/O be enough or do I need Deionizer too.

ToddnBecka · Post by **ToddnBecka** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 9:05 pm

I would think R/O would be sufficient, it removes 99% of everything from the water. The D/I resin could be added later if necessary.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 6:09 am

A deionizer is overkill. Just be sure to re-harden the water with a quality product like Electro-Right or R/O-Right to the desired hardness.

Something isn't making sense here though. Last report you said you had 10 ppm nitrate in the tank, but were doing 50% weekly water changes. Now you say the tap water is 0 ppm nitrate. Either your test kit is goofy, the water supply has cleaned up, you didn't test it right, or the water supply is not the source of the nitrates.

What else is in the tank with them, and how much are you feeding?

ec88 · Post by **ec88** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 7:24 am

Thanks Badflash, I actually never said I do 50% water change a week, I do about 10-15% every 3 weeks on average. I feed one shrimp pellet every other day, maybe I'm overfeeding. I'll try to make my water changes more frequent to get the nitrates down. It's a shrimp-only tank with snails.

Thanks ToddnBecka, ok R/O only for me, no D/I.

PS. If I can get this fixed up, I would love to try breeding Tiger Shrimps

I saw some Bamboo shrimps in one of the pet stores in the States, I think I'm going try to bring some back, hopefully the border guys don't give me too much hassle, never tried it before

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 7:35 am

Now that you've cleared that up, you can skip the R/O unit. Go to changing 50% of your water each week. 15% every three weeks is way too little too late. You can also skip the phosphate test as I already know what it will say. Water changes, or lack there of is the root of your problem.

Do a 50% water change now, then another in 2 days. After that do 50% a week or 25% twice a week.

Don't feed pellets. Use flake food and just a pinch (small pinch) a day.

If you go for tigers or bambos, you'll need the R/O unit. You can mix in conditioned tap water to give you the right hardness.