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There's your problem. And that IS weird. I haven't measured it like that, so I wouldn't know. I add my 106gm mix into a bottle and add 500ml water. So I turn the mix into a liquid. Then I use that concentrated liquid in my water changes. I use about 15ml per 10L to raise TDS up to about 160.

Anything is possible. I would recommend getting Shrimp Minerals GH+ (not GH/KH+). It will give you more flexibility. If you need KH, use your existing bottle. Mix 50:50 of GH+ and GH/KH+ and you should get closer to the desired levels. That way the current bottle isn't a complete waste. That's because your test equipment is not accurate. API GH test 6 is not exactly 6, it's a range. Reading a GH value by counting the number of drops is never an accurate measurement. GH as a measurement isn't any better than TDS. They are both valuable tools. Relying on one and ignoring the other is not a good idea. GH test kits primarily test for Calcium & Magnesium. It does get influenced by other minerals like iron, potassium. But it's largely a tool to test Ca and Mg. TDS test for a larger set of minerals, chemicals, and "stuff" that is dissolved in water. TDS can never equal GH. Or if you are converting GH to ppm = GH x 17.9. Why? because TDS is testing for a whole lot of other things in the water. It will test the presence of Calcium, Magnesium, as well as phosphates, potassium, iron, carbonates, chlorides, sulphates. It even picks up ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. It also picks up metals like copper, mercury, iron that is dissolved in the water. Heck it evens pick up readings if you mix ketchup into the water. It reads anything that will dissolve in water. So when you say your GH is a perfect 6, yet TDS is 300 ! Well it's time to do a water change, because you might have Nitrates building up. If you went by just a GH reading only, you would think everything is fine in the tank not knowing Nitrates is building up. Likewise with just relying on pH. If pH is an ideal 7, but TDS is 400. Is that water fine for shrimp? Most on SKFA will say no. Your pH is fine. but the water is filled with other none desirable dissolved solids that will harm the shrimp or fish. The question is - what is in that 400 TDS of water that some suppliers send you? Some calcium, and magnesium in the water maybe - harmless. But more likely a huge amount of Ammonia, or Nitrates - harmful. The shortfall of TDS is that we don't know exactly what the TDS meter has detected. But you miss knowing the water could be harmful and full of dissolved solids if you didn't test TDS. It could be beneficial Calcium. Or it could have been harmful Nitrates or Copper, or a list of other undesirable chemicals in the water. That's why we use TDS as a guide, much like we use GH, KH, pH as a guide. These only measure ONE aspect of the water in your tank. Use TDS as another guide to let you know that dissolved solids are building up. If you haven't added any calcium or magnesium recently, then it must be nitrates building up. If you add fertiliser for the plants, than measure how much before and after adding ferts. You'll know the next time the water needs more ferts added if it falls below your base TDS figure. You can use TDS to acclimate new fish and shrimp - take a reading of your tank, take a reading of the water the new fish/shrimp arrived in. Drip water into the bag until bag water TDS = your tank TDS - acclimation done! It's a lot quicker than measuring pH. Hopefully you see my point, and I have convinced you that relying on one test is never enough. Use all the tools at your disposal, or you face missing the big picture. Saying GH is more important than TDS is just foolish. TDS offers you another aspect of your tank that GH does not. Likewise, GH offers you insight specifically to Calcium and Magnesium levels that TDS doesn't. If you want to read more about TDS, I have a great article on TDS and why it's important somewhere on this forum.

I'm a new member and a new shrimp keeper. I didn't find anything that addresses my concerns. I'm using both RO and distilled water (in different tanks) and adding SaltyShrimp Shrimp Minerals GH/KH+ for neocaridina. I add the additive until I reach a TDS of 180-200 but my pH is way out of range (7.8-7.9 versus the 7.2 that the breeders recommend). If I add the mineral per instructions (1 level one level spoon to 10 liters of water) my pH is over 8.0! Is this "normal"?

Are you sure PH8 on RO water, NEVER come across that before? Try and test middle of the day always! Simon

JayC has this more than covered but just a few things to add, The commercial products I get do have a date on them but mine are so old they have worn off. They may have been manufacture dates (?) but whatever they were I don't take any notice! Assuming (correctly) that each GH = 17.9 ppm/TDS you can see that it is much easier to get a more accurate figure using TDS, especially if you are using a pre-mix/balanced commercial product. Using TDS is much simpler to test as well, so that is why most (if not all) people go byTDS. PH is quite complex, way beyond my complete understanding, but from A LOT of reading, it varies throughout the day/night, and some people will leave water in a bucket for a day or 2 as the PH settles, this is usually TAP water though I think?. The tank is the one to test the PH in (not newly mixed water) and do it sometime in the middle of the day, and always add the new water to the tank slowly! Years ago I tested my Caridina tank and the PH was 8.5 first thing in the morning, but back to 6 by lunchtime! If the tank has been running for a year(ish) then it may need a large water change to help keep everything in sync. TDS for instance will build over time due to evaporation and this can cause parameters/balance to go adrift! Neocairidna shrimp want PH of about 7.5 so using the shrimp specific products will give you as near the ideal balance of everything, I wouldn't worry unduly if it goes a little over (or under). Are the shrimp behaving 'normally'? Have you seen any sick or dead shrimp? Neocaridina shrimp are more adaptable and tougher than Caridina. These commercial products have been around for years and worked well so I don't think you need to worry? TRY not to look for exact figures of each/every parameter, you will almost certainly fail in my experience! Simon

Hi Josh. If your tap water is a low 60 TDS, then our advice is to raise it slightly to 100-150 TDS using RO water remineralisers like Salty Shrimp GH+. If you cannot find Salty Shrimp brand in your country, than DIY Calcium and Magnesium sulphate will do the same. The ratio is as per my DIY mix thread. 58gm Calcium sulphate to 37gm Magnesium sulphate. The other ingredients are not critical, and is an added bonus only. If you use Sulphates, it will only increase GH, not KH. But if you use Chlorides or Carbonates, as in Calcium Chloride or Calcium Carbonates, it will increase both GH and KH. Get the GH plus for Caridina shrimp. Or get the GH/KH plus for Neocaridina. No it doesn't have an expiry date. It doesn't go off as long as you can keep it dry. yes. Technically, adding anything to water that dissolves will increase TDS. Even something as solid as rocks can slowly dissolve in water. When the pH drops, the water becomes acidic. Acid eats into the rocks which releases carbonates, that increase TDS and also pH. As mentioned above GH/KH+ will increase GH and KH as well as pH and TDS. GH+ only will increase GH, and TDS only. Hope that helps.

I hope I am the second person ?. I just might get the gh plus, thinking of getting the biggest one, it doesn't have an expiry date does it? Would the Gh and kh increase after I raise my tds to 100-120? Thanks for your input and the links! Appreciate it.

piste, do you test pH when you have your GH factored in? And if you are keeping neos, what are your parameters? I have the neos and fancy guppies and so I'm trying to balance so both are stress-free.

Interesting... I use distilled water and same Salty product and I try to manage to GH not TDS....to keep my GH in the 6 range I struggle to keep TDS under 300!! Based on my experience...and not an expert....feel correct/good GH is more important that TDS. Have tested water from shrimp suppliers and often get 400 or higher...for what that is worth. And from what I know...pH anywhere in the 7s is probably fine...would be concerned about 8 and above though. Curious to learn what others know.

I'm now wondering if I might have a bad bottle of the Shrimp Minerals GH/KH+? I mean, it's not uncommon to get a "lemon" in anything you buy. I did shake it and I'll try remineralizing some distilled water this weekend, but in the mean time, I think I'll order another bottle...

Oh, sorry, forgot to mention - this is a fish only tank. I’m not sure how I’d feel about putting them in with my shrimp (especially now the one I kept is getting pretty big). I’d say it’s possible if the tank is decent sized (10G+) but you should be wary and attentive, and you might lose a couple baby shrimp. SAE are omnivores, not purely algae eaters, but they’re one of the only fish who will eat BBA. Unfortunately, the best way to get them to eat it is by giving them very little food, and that may provoke them to eat shrimp.

@Spidey, I don't have any certainty of your issue. Not without knowing exactly what ingredient you have purchased. Are you sure you mixed 40g of Calcium sulphate? and not Calcium carbonate? The end result of high pH you are getting would suggest it is 40gm of Calcium Carbonate not Calcium sulphate. There is a possibility that the seller mislabel the product. If you can, test the pH of the ingredients individually. Calcium sulphate should have a low pH and Calcium carbonate will have a high pH. My mix is cloudy until added to the change water. It doesn't stay cloudy in the tank. The original post recipe for the DIY mix is for Caridina. Hence the target of 140-160 TDS. I mix in calcium carbonate or calcium chloride separately for my neocaridina tanks until I get the desired pH/KH and TDS. Not sure how you would salvage the remaining mix, if it could potentially be 40gm of Calcium carbonate instead of Calcium sulphate.

The instructions are just a recommendation. Unfortunately, that is the disadvantages of a commercial premixed product. They make it to a certain formula that might not be what you are after. Give your container of SaltyShrimp Shrimp Minerals GH/KH+ a good shake to mix up the powder. Could just be too much calcium chloride in the area you are scooping out.

Hi there! I dealt with BBA a while ago, and came at it from a bunch of different angles - I did full doses (but not doubles) of excel (directly on the algae), manually removed what I could, did vinegar dips, experimented with some week-long blackouts, decreased hours of lighting, and added in a couple Siamese Algae Eaters to eat the remainder (they did a great job)! In the end, I pretty much eliminated the BBA from that tank (actually, besides a teeny bit of green spot on the glass, my tank is algae free!!!) In the end, I think the problem was my light. Using a timer, I’ve cut my lighting hours down to about 6 hrs per day, and the tank gets maybe an hour of nice full sunlight in the morning too. I suggest trying whichever of the above options you can, especially the lighting.