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Yeah! That's because I can see beyond what the tank is now. Once those Buces start growing bigger, it's going to be a shrimps playground.

Hahaha lol. Staring at CO2 diffusers is the new thing. Hide the balls in a corner then, don't display them in the middle of the scape. Looking good otherwise.

Thanks Kingo. Lots more articles and posts for you to read on SKFA. Go check them out.

Please. Hide that hose and diffuser in the back. It's detracting from the scape. ? AND ... sorry I gotta say it. I've seen it too many times in other people's tanks. What's up with the balls??! When you have a scape like this ... on the more "nature" style ... why display those balls like that? It ain't natural. That's just my rant. You can choose to ignore it of course. ?

What Madmerv said. But I'd like to add a few words. pH pens need some time in the water to really get an accurate reading. If you can, get a some amount of tank water in a container, and leave it in there for at least 5 minutes for the reading to settle. As Madmerv mentioned, all non lab handheld grade testers have a small degree of inaccuracy. Having said that, I would trust the pH pen more than test strips, or API fluid tests. These last two have a much, much greater scope for error than a pH pen. Just make sure you leave the pH pen in the water long enough for it to get an accurate reading. Salty shrimp GH+ will not alter pH. Which is a good thing. If you are starting with RCS, don't get too hung up on it. pH will naturally fall when the tank continues to mature. Let it change naturally. Or add IAL (Indian Almond Leaves), more wood or peat moss. The substrate will also help going forward. Note: Salty Shrimp GH/KH+ (another SS product) will raise pH and KH as well as TDS, but that is not what you are trying to achieve, which is to bring pH down slightly. If you are just trying to bring TDS up, then just add straight into the tank since you have no shrimp in there. Once you have shrimp, add some to your water change to match the 150-180 TDS you are targetting. This is where the TDS meter comes in handy. The SS container will have instructions. But the product comes in powder form, which you need to dissolve. I recommend dissolving the powder in your water change container (or whatever container) with some tank water (or treated change water) BEFORE adding it into the tank. You don't want undissolved powder in the tank as much as possible. It's just so you know exactly what TDS value is being added to the tank. Since any undissolved powder will continue to raise TDS, you might overshoot your target if you just added undissolved powder straight into the tank.

There are way too many JC's on SKFA. :)

A TDS pen needs to have the filament end soaked for a little while for it to work correctly. The older ones were a nightmare to try and keep wet. Just remember the test equipment, strips, fluids, pens are not lab grade. What we are getting is just a guide really. PH of 6.8 or 7.1 is neither here nor there. 5.8 to 7.1 would be a worry because 1 number on the PH scale is 10x the difference.

That was @jayc's thread but yeah I'll take credit for it anyway. ?

Not too surprising, considering the KH and GH....although you do want it around 150-180 at least for Crystals and Cherries... remineralizing with a GH+ only mineral will at least fix part of that issue... and there are some "TDS Up" like products that can help raise the TDS, although I haven't looked into them, so I don't know what's *IN* them....

They were from a pure line male Panda x with a female mischling. :)

That tank grew out great, I ended up selling the tank, waiting now for a new 2ft for this light to go on, it's temporarily over my 5ft ATM- just on the lowest setting- great light plants love these.

Cheers mate, Keen to see it evolve over the coming weeks :) After seeing an Intense brand co2 diffuser called "Bazooka" for the first time in person running on a nice little high tech nano tank at Subscape Aquarium Melbourne, I absolutely fell In love with the unit, Beautiul shape and form, With actual pollen style Micro must emmited from the diffuser, but unfortunately as per usual the price had prevented me from getting one. So I started sprawling through the internet and eBay looking for the same model cheaper, or just cheaper models from Asia, but after much research and many questions to sellers and suppliers, I wasn't satisfied with the look of the seal on any of the cheaper units, and when asking what the diffuser plate material was made out of (some models were different colours ranging from black to brown, some of the up Aqua ones I think were white,) they replied "Plastic" (Should be ceramic) but still none of the seals looked trustworthy enough for my liking so I just got the proper intense brand. Bought from USA, nano model Intense Bazooka Co2 Emitter, for around $20 on eBay. It arrived in the mail today. Im in love. This model may be a bit small for this tank (though it would still probably work more efficient than any other style larger diffuser anyway lol) so I'll probably put it on my nano tank, And get a bigger Bazooka for this. The Ista diffuser I'm using works quite well and is more appropriately sized for this tank. Will do a quick rundown of the Co2 Equipment I'm using on this setup this morning, after a pressure test over night it showed a loss of a few bars on the dial so I may have to pull it apart and re threadlock all the seals just to be safe- A leaking co2 system is a really bad thing and needs constant refilling, Does my head in soooo bad. Great care should be taken to ensure all threads are sealed with either manufacturers recommended O rings, Or gas rated plumbers tape, but my personal favourite from my engineering days is the permanent thread locker (Red) You can still get these threads apart with tools if needed but the thread locker makes a very strong seal and can even be used to set a position or torque on a loose flange etc, I usually use a thin layer of tape on the co2 cylinder outlet thread Before putting on the regulator, Sometimes even if they havent specifically recommended it, Tape is usedul for any threads that may need to be taken apart often. Even the best make mistakes haha "Dervice"

If at all possible, just find shrimp that are being kept and raised in the parameters that you want to keep them in for a better chance of success! :)

I've been feeding them lots of good veges and stuff lately so it's hard to say but I think this light is really starting to bring out their color more. They are still on the mend after being sold sick cherries that infected my tanks. But I've lost none of my original red colony so that's a good sign.