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this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2023
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I actually collect rainwater for that tank and mix it with some RO from the store. I also add just a dash of tap to put a tiny bit of mineral content back into the water column. To be 100% honest, though, I have no idea what my pH is - I mostly judge by the health of the flora and fauna. I've got visible fungal colonies starting to replace the nitrifying bacteria as the pH drops so I think I'm on the right track?
One thing that I think made the process a lot easier was the way I setup the tank. I let plants dissolve in a bucket of rainwater with some small snails and rotifers to speed things up. Once I have a thick layer of mulm, I go ahead and use that as the bottom layer of my substrate.
The idea there is that the decaying organics will provide a semi-permanent layer of humic acid to serve as a buffer. I mostly came up with this process through trial and error, but I was inspired by Alex from The Secret History Living In Your Aquarium on YouTube. He has a whole series on blackwater that I would highly recommend. He lacks the polish of the bigger fish streamers but his content is super easy to listen to in the background and extremely well researched.
Hey thanks for the insight! I'll check out that channel as well. I think I'm gonna start off by cutting my tap water with purchased distilled water, see if i can't knock off some of the hardness without too much fuss and then just keeping an eye on the stability of tank parameters while it cycles and seasons with some plants