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Hey SKF peoples, I'm just mixing up my RO water with a combination of GH+ and GH/KH+ to keep tiger shrimps in. And I thought I'd share my experience, I gradually added the minerals and measured pH along the way and I thought I'd share the results. I note that the pH may change overnight after letting stand but I have been running a pump in the water to mix it well and aerate it so I doubt there will actually be any measurable shift. As you can see by the results, the GH/KH+ pushed up the pH a LOT! Does anyone else have this experience? I have achieved my desired water parameters in terms of ppm and GH/KH however the pH is unreal.. and this is not the first time this has happened to me either. However t is the first time I have taken the effort to document the fact. I'm planning on experimenting with adding a very shallow layer of the cal aqua labs black earth premium and monitoring the pH over the course of days.. expecting it to slowly drop... Any input is 100% welcome! love n peace will PS the initial drop in pH after adding the first lot of GH+ I understand can be explained (as I have read elsewhere) that when attempting to measure the pH of RO water using a pH meter the device can not accurately produce any result due to the lack of ions/conductivity in the water. 27/05/2016 EC meter HM TDS-3 pH meter pH APIkit KH GH At time of water mixing EC0 ppm0 fresh RO 6.6 after adding 50ppm GH+ 6.3 after adding 30ppm GH/KH 7 after adding 25ppm GH/KH 7.5 after adding 45ppm GH/KH EC300 8.3 after adding 17ppm GH/KH EC333 ppm175 8.3 7.8 3 8

Hi all, Just sharing a little "wisdom" I've acquired. I'm sure many if not most of the experienced keepers here will already be doing something simliar but hopefully some newer shrimpists can benefit :-) Since keeping more sensitive shrimp i thought i would follow others' advice and avoid putting my hands into the aquarium - i realised that i was doing this often by dipping my test tubes into the tank. So anyway it occurred to me to use a small syringe to withdraw the water.. usually the kit states 5ml is required but some may need other amounts anyway it's easy enough to figure out :-) Another tip I can give is that after knocking over many many test tubes and spilling delicious nutritious testkit agents across tables perhaps I could make holes in something to hold the test tubes in and avoid spilling them! I since discovered this is a common thing to do after seeing pictures of people who had drilled holes in wood etc. Anyway here is a little pic of how I do it and i'm sure there are better ways again but it's enuogh to give an idea :-) love n peace will

G'Day all, I have an Eheim 2213 Canister filter, API Bio Chem Zorb, API Nitra Zorb, just wondering what goes where as this will be the first time using Nitra Zorb. From bottom up, it goes Blue Course Sponge (3 or 4 depending on room), then White Filter Pad (1), then Carbon Pad (1), do I then place the Bio Chem Zorb on or the Nitra Zorb? Or do they go in different sections in the filter? Cheers.