Clean up crew suggestions

[KatNor21]

You won't lower the hardness unless you remove the crushed coral, and it will continue to release dissolved calcium into the water. There is no safe way to counter this, as it will continue as long as the coral is present. I assume it is mixed in (or is the) substrate; if you have another tank for the endlers, you could use it inn that tank and then get a bag of Quikrete Play Sand or similar for the larger tank.

Will the crushed coral eventually stop releasing calcium?

 

[Colin_T]

Will the crushed coral eventually stop releasing calcium?

no

 

[Essjay]

Crushed coral is calcium carbonate. it will stop releasing calcium when it's all gone.

 

[Byron]

@Essjay means, when the gravel is completely dissolved--at least I assume she does. And I have never heard of that occurring over years and years.

 

[KatNor21]

@Essjay means, when the gravel is completely dissolved--at least I assume she does. And I have never heard of that occurring over years and years.

Well I guess I got some bad advice from my local fish store.

 

[Colin_T]

Coral rubble and shell can dissolve completely but it takes years, depending on the pH of the water. In acid water, coral rubble can dissolve completely in a few years. In water with a pH above 7.0, the coral rubble/ shell will last 10 years or more.

 

[Byron]

Well I guess I got some bad advice from my local fish store.

It is unfortunate that the majority of "advice" fish store staff give is not correct; it seems to be much the same as YouTube and such. A fish store owned and run by local aquarists/hobbyists should be reliable to some degree, at least more-so than chain stores. Even so, unless you have a store with known knowledgeable staff, it is always best to do your own research, ask on TFF, etc.

 

[KatNor21]

It is unfortunate that the majority of "advice" fish store staff give is not correct; it seems to be much the same as YouTube and such. A fish store owned and run by local aquarists/hobbyists should be reliable to some degree, at least more-so than chain stores. Even so, unless you have a store with known knowledgeable staff, it is always best to do your own research, ask on TFF, etc.

I mean it's Aquarium co-op, so I figured they'd know. But they told me crushed coral would raise the pH and it didn't. All it did was harden my water. So they told me to add more. Which I shouldn't have done. They've also told me other things like I could use potting soil as substrate, but all it did was make my water horribly cloudy and spiking ammonia. Also that a leech was planaria. I don't know. I do a ton of research. I spend an hour or more every day researching. But I've only been doing this for a couple months. Bad advice + limited experience.

 

[Kippalopsy]

I have a 30 gallon long with neon tetras and honey gourami - 27 total small fish. I'd like to add some cleanup crew. I do have a couple nerite snails and they're keeping the driftwood pretty clean, but many of my plants have brown hair algae spreading around. I already have amano shrimp in another tank (and they don't touch hair algae) so I was thinking fish, bottom feeders and/or algae eaters, but I can't have too many, and need them to stay small. Any suggestions? The water is medium hard with a low pH, 76-78 degrees.

Deffo shrimp . I love my little critters or Corys .