Using Crushed Eggshells To Mineralize My Aquarium 

I have been doing this for years for my shrimp! 1.Rinse shells 2. Microwave 3. Mortar and pestle. Problem solved and easy peasy.

Bosco Hemi where did you get the mortar n pestle at I can't find one

Don't Laugh , I got two at Bed Bath and Beyond. Only place I could find them but I live in Canada!

Bosco Hemi I would've never guessed there, I'm in Mi and surrounded by pharm stores n couldn't find one, just ordered off eBay, for $4 and payed almost $9 for shipping. Lol thanks!

Yea no worries I think they are 6 bucks or so here. They do work well. If you eat eggs once a week it takes no time at all to collect a whack. But like I said I just microwave mine less hassle and my shrimp tank is insane. I give them away to buds all the time. Not sure if that is why, but hey if it is not broke don't fix it I say!

hello, i’ve been trying to figure out how to have pothos in my aquarium, any tips on how you have yours?

@@Beautybabyxoxo13 Do they die when you put them in? I can imagine lighting would play the greatest factor. My lighting is probably subpar for the pothos, but they still grow...slowly. If you're asking how I started them, I got cuttings from a pothos plant, and put weights on the bottoms of them...the weights are so they don't float around the tank.

@@BarryWillBuck no I haven’t tried to put them in, I don’t know how to have them in the water without the foliage touching the water, but cuttings easily root in water. I have different variegation a of pothos and want some in my aquarium I just don’t know how to set that up

@@Beautybabyxoxo13 oh, I initially had the bottom half in the fish tank through one of the holes on the hood of the fish tank. The foliage prevented it from falling in, and it started rooting fine. Eventually, I submerged the entire cutting because there was more light in the fish tank. Since then it has managed to grow out of the water and up against the light on the top. As a plus, when a guppy gives birth, the fry tend to take refuge in the leaves that are still submerged.

I started using rainwater recently and was looking for rain water review and finally happy to hear one. How is your rain water tank doing and any tips! For betterment.

I think the pH tops out around 7.6, similar to crushed coral. I does dissolve more slowly as the pH increases though. It sorta self regulates.

@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly Following some of the comments on two different videos on this topic. I cooked the eggshells for 15 minutes before crushing then in a coffee grinder. This works very well and does make a somewhat fine powder that still falls to the bottom. Some of my fish did feast right away on this (12 hours later, they're not dead yet😅 so I guess it's ok). The shrimps seemed to love it a lot also. Thanks again for the tip.

Thanks!

They're probably right. I've never been able to detect any "hardness" in tanks with eggshells in it. It can't hurt, but I don't think it'll do a whole lot.

You can do it but make sure there's no dyes in them. I've used them to experiment and all I had was the flavored ones that are also colored. Lol The water looked like a murder scene. (I used red ones)

@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly Lost another red cherry shrimp yesterday. If the tank has to run red with colored tums tablets, so be it if I can save my shrimp! :P Either that or I'm gonna find someone to eat a crap ton o' eggs and then put all the shells in after I boil them. :)

Thanks! That's just some deformity. It's always had a "fat lip" like that. (about 5 years now)

I do 220 degrees for about half an hour.

I do it from time to time. I'm not sure how much it helps, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly my goldfish eat the eggshell

My thoughts as well...

Also what volume or water did he use?

I know they need it in the water, but I don't know if they need additional calcium to feed on directly. Should be fine in the filter to harden the water a bit.

We throw them in the compost pile occassionally.

Both tend to grow in acidic soils. You could even add lime you use on lawns to help buffer the soil for those plants. Roses and Hydrangeas both benefit from a 1/4 cup of epsom salts added to the soil each year. Sprinkle it around the base of the plant stem and use a claw tool to scratch it into the soil to a distance up to two feet from the stem. If your Hydrangeas' blossoms are pink the epsom salt will turn them blue. I usually added mine to my plants in the fall so it will et diluted by winter snow and spring rains and sent deep into the subsurface soil.

It doesn't dissolve fast enough to shift the pH.

I'd like to know as well please Dan.

It's not enough to harden the water much. In fact, it made no change when I tested hardness.

I don't have a formula. I just put some crushed eggshells in the tank. Maybe 2 or 3 eggshells in a ten gallon.

It would be good for them. I imagine they'd eat the shells.

Dan Hiteshew Thanks for the quick response, i love your videos much love from Finland🇫🇮

I do it with my neocaridina shrimp tanks, I leave the membrane on because it has a lot of nutritional value that they will eat as well. I also grind it up a lot more.

Only to about neutral. It won't raise it if it's already neutral or higher.

I want it to dissolve slowly.

Why buy cuttlebone when eggshells are free?

I rinsed them, but didn't boil or sterilize it.