first time using RO water

[shrimpAquatics]

so I recently got myself some RO water, and need some help with the remineralisation process

I usually do my WC with treated tap water (left in a bucket with air stone + heater)

This is my first time using RO water and using it in my tanks. I am planning to add in RO water slowly as i am thinking its not ideal to put in 100% RO as they have been in tap water, however please advise. 

What would you guys recommend; or the best way to start adding RO water?

I do have a TDS pen and a KH and GH kit coming in the mail soon, and currently can measure ammonia, Ph, Nitrite and nitrate, if needed for more clarification. 

My tanks are a 100L with crs and cherries, a 20L with pinto mischlings, and another 100L with chocolates and CBS. 

[OzShrimp]

@shrimpAquatics good work on buying an RO unit, your shrimp keeping is about to become alot easier. 

When i swapped over to RO water i pretty much drained 75% of my tank water and added the RO water back in over time. I personally am not one for the drip method so i pretty much slowly poured in a bucket then would what an hour or so and do another one until the tank was full again, i do have a 4ft tank though so my method does not provide a giant fluctuation.

If you want to be really safe then do the drip method but you will just have to wait longer, how big is the tank?. You wont be able to do anything until you get your tds meter. If you have only brought your RO water you will want to test the TDS prior to remineralisation as you dont know what the person is using in there unit so may not have a 0 tds to begin with. As the insides of the unit get older their affect wears off so always good to check.

Identify what tds is best for  the shrimp you have. I keep only CRS and aim to keep my tank at around 150 tds. This allows me longer time before the next water change as it allows it to slowly climb up before i can be bothered or have time.

Once you know what tds you want its pretty much a case of slowly adding your remineralisation product such as salty shrimp gh + http://www.saltyshrimp.de/english/beesalt_bee_shrimp_mineral_gh_plus.html . You will find that nearly all of the forum sponsors sell this product hence no direct link to remain impartial. 

Some people do use a DIY mix but most use salty shrimp. Depending on the volume of water you are adding it to will depend on how much you want to add at a time. Its a case of adding the product and retesting the water, adding the product and retest again until you reach your desired target. Over time using the same volume u will learn pretty quick how much to add at a time. Smaller amounts are better until you are at this stage as if you go over your desired tds and want to bring it back down you have to add straight RO water to do so.

Best of luck with it!

[jayc]

What are you using to remineralise the RO water?

Are you using Salty Shrimp GH+?

You will also need the TDS pen. Ideally you would want to match the existing water parameters as closely as possible with the RO water.

Then you have two methods. The big bang change over, or only add the demineralized RO water at every water change time. Both have their pros. The choice is yours.

But with both methods, it would be wise to add the RO water by dripping it in to minimize the stress to the shrimp.

[ineke]

When this was discussed several years ago it was decided the best thing was to take the shrimp out, change the water and then drip acclimatise the shrimp to the tank like when you introduce new shrimp.. I used this method when I changed over all of my tanks (13 tanks) . I dripped them for about 3 hours and had no casualties at all. This method works well and appears to be less stressful than lots of small adjustments. Catching out the shrimp can be a pain especially when there are babies but it's the best way .

[OzShrimp]

12 minutes ago, ineke said:

When this was discussed several years ago it was decided the best thing was to take the shrimp out, change the water and then drip acclimatise the shrimp to the tank like when you introduce new shrimp.. I used this method when I changed over all of my tanks (13 tanks) . I dripped them for about 3 hours and had no casualties at all. This method works well and appears to be less stressful than lots of small adjustments. Catching out the shrimp can be a pain especially when there are babies but it's the best way .

You know what @ineke, that seems to be probably the best way to do it and i had never thought of doing that! 

I spose its exactly like putting new shrimp into your tank. I use a sudo breeder box to reacclimate though slowly increasing the flow to replace the old water in the box with the tank water :)

I will use this method in future. 

[ineke]

That's how I change my tanks whenever it's necessary . My tanks are mostly 70 litre plus 2 larger ones. Even the more touchy TB do well with this method.

[jayc]

There you have it.

I use the Big Bang change over method as well. Partially because I am too impatient to wait for results. 

 

[OzShrimp]

2 hours ago, jayc said:

There you have it.

I use the Big Bang change over method as well. Partially because I am too impatient to wait for results. 

 

Plus u must have hardy shrimp like mine!

[shrimpAquatics]

Hi all,

apologies for the late reply, 

Many thanks for all the info and knowledge! Once again the advice from you guys have made life much simpler

I have recently purchased a brand new tank, so i think it would be possible to add my RO water after remineralisation to the preferred parameters right into the tank.. right? and then introduce my shrimps afterwards. Would I need to wait for the tank to cycle or settle or would it be possible to add them right after i finish topping up with RO water. Would the drip method still be needed if i am setting up a brand new tank?

With the drip method, I understand it would be ideal although being an impatient person with little time on my hands, i think i would go with the Big Bang, Would love to hear your thoughts. 

I will purchase some salty shrimp GH+ in the new year and most likely need more advise as to how it is used if possible

Also could you guys please provide me a essentials list for RO so i wont have to make many trips to my local LFS, the closest one to home is a far drive away. Any other products you guys would think is beneficial would be a great help! This goes for use with RO or anything you guys would consider make life much easier for our beloved hobby.

Thanks again and in advance to everyone for all your help!!

 

[jayc]

On 26/12/2015 at 1:32 AM, shrimpAquatics said:

 

I have recently purchased a brand new tank, so i think it would be possible to add my RO water after remineralisation to the preferred parameters right into the tank.. right? and then introduce my shrimps afterwards. 

 

Yes you can add SS GH+ directly in to the tank. Do you have a TDS pen?

You will need it.

Yes, you will also need for your new tank to cycle completely before adding any shrimp.

When the tank is cycled, add your shrimp in slowly using the drip method. Only go big bang if you can match the water parameters exactly.

RO water is simple, you only need to demineralized it to the correct TDS. And a TDS pen will help. So you need Salty Shrimp GH + and a TDS pen.

Edited December 29, 2015 by jayc

[revolutionhope]

hello i'd like to add something helpful. You mentioned you might need to make lots of trips to your LFS,could I recommend you check out some of the forum sponsors based online? They are priced very well and have great selections of shrimp-specific products I can't imagine many LFS at all would match the range :-) Postage isn't very expensive. I believe you can get a TDS pen from more than one of the sponsors by the way and they should be less than $20. And of course you can get salty shrimp from them as well.

love n peace

 

will