REALLY soft water is REALLY bad for snails! HELP!

[TheSmJ]

I just moved into a new apartment which uses well water. A big problem I'm having with the water is that it is so very soft, that it dissolves my snails' shells in a matter of hours.

Currently I am keeping 6 broken cuttlebones in the snail bucket, and every time I perform a water change (every 2-4 days) I crush one of the peices of cuttlebone in the water, which seems to help a lot. Problem, with this is, cuttlebones aren't that cheap, and with the amount of changes I have to do to keep the bucket from smelling, not to mention how fast the bones are dissolving on their own - I will be going through cuttlebones very fast.

The way I see it is I have two options, either start buying the cuttlebones in bulk online, or get a cheap powdered supplement I can add to the water to raise the hardness of the water. Problem is, I don't know what kind of powders I can use, or where to buy them cheaply.

Any ideas?

[taureandragon76]

Pretty sure epsom salts raise the hardness of the water. Also you could try adding coral to your filter to help buffer the water.

[LilGreenPuffer]

I have heard of using baking soda, though I'm not 100% sure if this is okay. A chunk of limestone would help, too. Do you have some old seashells lying around? Those can leech calcium and harden the water, like coral or limestone, though not as much so.

[taureandragon76]

baking soda is pretty much only good for raising the ph

[Pufferpunk]

Well water is actually very hard, before it's filtered. Can you get to the water before the filtration usit? How about laying crushed coral or aragonite at the bottom of the bucket?

[Lil' Swimz$]

baking soda is pretty much only good for raising the ph

I've heard that too.

[TheSmJ]

I live in an apartment, and I'm sure they wouldn't be to happy with me messing with their filter.

In any case, I noticed while I was taking a shower last night the water got really hard, and now has a funny odor to it. Methinks they ran out of water softener.

I don't think it'll last, but for now the water should be ideal for snails.

I would use something to buffer the water like a hunk of limestone, but that might not harden the water fast enough after a change, and would also get in the way when cleaning out the bucket.

[LilGreenPuffer]

You could let it sit overnight with the limestone/crushed coral in another bucket before each water change.

[TheSmJ]

I could, but that would rule out the "snail bucket stinks, time to change its water before the guests arrive" spur of the moment thing I've always done in the past.

If I could find a cheap source of powdered calcium carbonate that would be perfect since thats what usually makes water "hard" in the first place. Problem is I've only been able to find it in pill form for human use as an expensive supplement so far.

[LilGreenPuffer]

I'll trade water with you. You can have half of my off-the-chart hard water, and I'll take half of your hydrochloric acid water, and then we'll mix it and both be happy!

But, really, you can't just keep an extra bucket lying around for when you need a quick change?

[TheSmJ]

I suppose thats an option. Although at this point I may as well see what happens with my current water situation. I have no idea how long it takes them to re-up the water softener after it goes out.

Once they do refill it though, it'd be nice of them to not soften it so damn much. Seriously, the water is so slippery after washing hands/showering it feels like you never quite wash all the soap off your skin. It's a very strange feeling after having grown up on water from the great lakes.

[Iliveinazoo]

I don't think that calcium carbonate will disolve but if you live in the UK then Aqua Essentials sells powdered calcium sulphate and any garden centre will sell epsom salts (magnesium sulphate). Sea water is a ratio of 3:1 magnesium:calcium but you will have to work out how many teaspoons you need by experimentation.

Aqua Essentials also sells potassium carbonate which I think helps to harden your water but I'm not sure.

All of the powders are stocked under "dry ferts"

http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.p ... 14_145_146

[robert_hollis]

I've done this in the past without issue when rehabbing turtles with calcium deficiencies, but I dunno *how* smart it is with fish or snails. Go to the pharmacy or Walmart or such, and buy regular calcium supplements. Just calcium, not a full vitamin supplement. Crush some up, and dump them in the water. You can usually buy big bottles of calcium pills for cheap. It's safe, non toxic, and designed to dissolve, so...

I'd also go with some old sea shells, and limestone as already suggested.

-Rob

[emartin]

I have heard of using baking soda, though I'm not 100% sure if this is okay. A chunk of limestone would help, too. Do you have some old seashells lying around? Those can leech calcium and harden the water, like coral or limestone, though not as much so.

Baking soda is 100% fine. All it is is Sodium bicarbonate. It is the same active ingredient in buffers like Seachems Lake Malawi buffer.

The best thing to do in my opinion besides buffering up the water with Baking Soda and letting the Snails get calcium for their shells from whatever food you feed them is either put some crushed coral in a filter bag inside your filter for maximum water contact (great biomedia too!) or buy lawn Lime (pure pulverized limestone) and add small amounts to the tank. It will cloud the water for a little while until all the limestone dissolves or settles on the bottom of the tank.

[bazil323]

Robert_hollis' suggestion works too. Just make sure that it is calcium only, no vitamin D. Also, give them tums. Seriously.

One way that is always successful is to keep crushed coral in the tank. You don't even have to put it in a bucket. Just put crushed coral in a mesh bag, pantyhose, etc. and hang it in the tank water or even use it as your substrate. Works wonders.

Also you can feed foods high in calcium and make snail jello. Here's a link to a great snail jello recipe: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/sh ... p?t=135871