Prepping water for a water change

[Happy-pitbull]

So I have only done one small water change on my 5g shrimp tank since I added shrimp almost 2 months ago.

Things seem fine, the Bloody Marys are reproducing and seem active. Yet Im used to keeping fish and doing weekly water changes, and I really want to do regular water changes on this tank. 

The parameters of the tank are currently - pH 7.1 , TDS 170, gh 5.6 and kh 1.1.  I have been trying to learn how to prep. new water so its similar to this so I can do water changes without stressing the shrimp but I been having issues. I currently have Salty Shrimp gh/kh and have been trying to use this with RO water to create similar water....I can get it close but the pH is always too high. 

Is it safe to use this water for water changes when the pH is 7.6 - 7.9 ?  Will this hurt the shrimp?  How do people make their water change water and keep the pH low?  I was under the assumption that this Salty Shrimp gh/kh would keep the pH at neutral as it says on the jar that its good for shrimp that prefer neutral water. .... it does not state that it would raise the pH. 

Im finding this a tad frustrating....

And to add a tid-bit of info I do have Almond leaves and driftwood, along with live plants, in the tank. The substrate is a mix of flourite and fluval stratum. 

 

 

[jayc]

Salty Shrimp GH/KH will raise pH, hence the "KH" part in the name of the product.

Salty Shrimp GH+ on the other hand does not raise pH.

 

GH/KH is only good to raise pH up to neutral 7.0 if you are using RO or rain water, which usually have low pH.

But once your pH is at 7.0 and you want to keep it there ... you need something else like Salty shrimp GH+, which does not raise pH.

 

You could continue using GH/KH, and allow the pH to rise slowly. Cherries can adapt to a slow change, but it's not ideal in the long term. The constant changing pH is not a good idea even if cherries can adapt.

[Happy-pitbull]

Hrmmm thats what I was scared of. This is RO water I purchased from Sobeys and the pH on this was 7.1. I guess its not low enough to work with. 

I had asked the shop owner what product to buy and he said the Salty Shrimp..... but he wasn't aware of all the details. I should have gotten the salty bee shrimp product.... 

Its too late now, as I have to order this stuff online and funds are tight right now. Guess I will have to try and make due with what I have.

Thank you for your help :)

[zn30]

When I use rainwater I let it stand inside firstly to warm it up to lessen the shock when adding to tank and secondly to complete tests prior to use. In doing this I have noticed that although the ph may be higher than required it doesn't have much impact in changing the tanks ph.

If concerned you could mix the shrimp products in the water you are about to use for the water change whilst it is standing getting warm checking for the desired parameters.

Also when I add water, mainly my CRS tank, I add it to the filter unit inside the aqua mode 900 tank so water is added with filtered water.

The above is advice that works for me, it may not be suitable for yourself and your conditions.

[Happy-pitbull]

Thank you zn30. I do let the water sit and heat up overnight. Thing is the tank is only 5 gallons so I guess any water changes I do will have to be small to avoid changing the overall pH too drastically....one reason bigger tanks are better I know ;)