Jayc - haven't ordered the SL-Aqua yet, wanted to run all this info by you shrimp pros first. I currently use tap water treated with Prime the end result being the water parameters in my original post. I'm hoping I can use the same procedure and simply add the mineralizer to increase the GH/KH/TDS. Zoidburg - thanks for that explanation. I'll shoot for raising the GH to 7 and focus on that parameter for now. I like to keep things simple. I bought some organic spinach from TJ's today but read a couple of incidents about people buying grocery store organics and then losing shrimp. Think I'll go with some specialty shrimp food instead when I order the Red Wizard. These shrimp are a pricier hobby than tropical fish but I think they're worth it. travellife