Okay so one of the first things I did when I got down here was to go buy a new API test kit and the API hardness kit. Here are the results for the tap water for where I am living:
GH ~ 11
KH ~ 5
pH ~ 7.8 (comes out of the tap around 7.6 and then creeps up a few more tenths after sitting overnight)
Before I arrived here I was thinking that if my water was relatively soft and acidic (or neutral), I would have a go at CRS's. But that seems to not be in the cards, and I don't want to mess with trying to use spring water or any such thing. I'd just like to find species that will thrive in the water I have coming out of the tap.
So in light of those water conditions, any suggestions? Help me brainstorm!! I don't want to do RCS, as I have done them before and, while enjoyable, I am ready to move on to something else. Seeing some pictures of the Blue Pearls have got me interested. I am also a bit fascinated by Malaya shrimp and their color-changing properties--I think that would be a neat phenomenon to observe in a tank. I am also interested in possibly branching out into dwarf crays, though I've seen (comparatively) little info on what water conditions the cajuns or CPO's prefer. Some of the attempts to selectively breed the blue coloration in the cajuns sounds like a project I might be interested in.
Heck, I've even given a thought to the possibility of putting down aragonite substrate in a tank and trying my hand at Cardinal shrimps or other Sulawesis...but as far as I can tell, prices on those things are still running $100+ for a mere 5 or 6 shrimp, which is simply WAY out of my price range.
Anyway, sorry if this is a bit rambling, but I am just at the stage now of really trying to figure out what has the most chance of being successful in my water here. Any ideas at all are welcome!
P.S. -- As far as space goes, right now I am living in what is essentially a college dorm room, so I am looking at a 20 long (or, two 10 gallon tanks) as the max I am going to be able to fit, at least for the time being.
