Hello all! 

I recently started a new shrimp tank and need help with some of the parameters. I originally had ~5 cherry shrimp that multiplied into ~15, and now all have died except 1. I have a 3 gallon tank and was changing ~2-3 cups of water every 1-2 weeks. I have gravel for substrate, a natural slate stone I got from amazon (pH neutral), cholla wood, moss balls, anubias nana plant, and a subwassertang plant. I have been using distilled water since the beginning (mixed with tap water) and just recently started using distilled water + remineralizer. Here are my parameters: 

Most recent: pH 8.0, nitrite 0, nitrate 10, ammonia 0, GH 14-15, KH 7, TDS 162

a month ago: pH 8.2, nitrite 0, nitrate 20, ammonia 0, GH 12, KH 7, TDS 159

What am I doing wrong? Thanks for all your help!

Easy one here mate! Over-mineralising! With cherries, you want a pH of about 7. GH aim for like 5-8, and KH for 3-4. I would also check those parameters in your distilled water, to ensure it is properly distilled and your problem isn't just remineralising way too much.

As you aree in USA (I think) and have a reasonably small tank the answer to your prayers is this

https://www.zerowater.com/

You can get it at Walmart or online, it is cheap in the US and there is no easier way of getting RO water from tap water. Your parameters are way overboard and I don't know if that is because you are using too much remineraliser or the bottled water has a lot of GH and KH? If your tap water is the main culprit then you may have to change filters more often than most, but again they are easy to get in US and cheap enough!

I would empty all the existing water out and use all new water, which you filter with the jug (that gives you TDS 000, GH0, KH0) and then remineralise to TDS 180-200. If it is a specific shrimp GH/KH+ it will produce the correct PH, GH, KH ratio so you only need check TDS, unless you want to check for your peace of mind!

The parameters you want are PH 7-7.5, GH 6 - 8, KH 3 - 4, TDS 150 - 250 roughly.

If only everyones problem were as easy to solve as yours.

Simon

ps I use the zerowater Jug here in the UK.

I think they mentioned they were already using distilled water though. I think in that case it's just too much remineralisation.

Edited August 14, 20205 yr by Crabby

Thanks everyone for the replies! Yes I just started using remineralization about a week ago since I thought maybe the shrimp weren't getting the minerals they need and thus were dying. For the first month or so, I was using half deionized water half tap water. I checked my DI water and it's pH 7 kh 0 gh maybe 1. Perhaps I was shocking my shrimp with water changes. I'm going to try replacing my current water with pure DI water ~20% at a time and recheck. Is it possible something in my tank is causing high gh and pH? 

I do have a zero water filter, but the filters are so expensive ? 

Each degree of GH is worth 18 ppm, so it's not possible to have GH 14 TDS 162

3 minutes ago, beanbag said:

Each degree of GH is worth 18 ppm, so it's not possible to have GH 14 TDS 162

Interesting, i didn't think about that. Either my tds meter is off or I messed up in my api gh test kit. My tds meter does read zero for my zero water filter so I think it's just me reading the color change incorrectly. I did some water changes and added more distilled water and my gh is now 9, kh 6 so it's getting there. 

Can too much gravel or my slate also cause high gh? 

2 hours ago, beanbag said:

Each degree of GH is worth 18 ppm, so it's not possible to have GH 14 TDS 162

I fell into that trap before I had my second try at bee shrimp. Beanbag you are correct WHEN using shrimp mineral products with RO water but tap water can be ANYTHING! GH only measures 2 things (can't remember what they are of top of my head, may be magnesium and calcium but not 100% sure) whereas TDS measures eveything! That is why some people can use tap water and others can't, even with neocaridina.

Last time I tested my tap water it was TDS 154, GH 4-5 which makes it about 30 TDS per GH?

The thing to do in this case would be to test the tap water so you know where you are starting from the source.I would bet a lot of money it isn't 18 per GH or even close!

Anyway, thats my understanding which seems to have been the case for several cases on the forum, Usually UK based, or limeys as some know us?

Where are you based chopstxnrice? I assumed Texas?

Simon

1 hour ago, sdlTBfanUK said:

(can't remember what they are of top of my head, may be magnesium and calcium but not 100% sure)

Correct.

 

1 hour ago, sdlTBfanUK said:

t time I tested my tap water it was TDS 154, GH 4-5 which makes it about 30 TDS per GH?

You cannot equate GH to TDS like that. 

GH test kits measure Calcium and Magnesium primarily. But it's reading can be influenced by other minerals.

TDS measures a lot more than dissolved Calcium and Magnesium. 

6 hours ago, sdlTBfanUK said:

Where are you based chopstxnrice? I assumed Texas?

Yeah, Texas! I stopped using tap water and I'm now using distilled water and remineralizing with shrimp king gh/kh when necessary (not now since my parameters are high) 

20 hours ago, beanbag said:

Each degree of GH is worth 18 ppm, so it's not possible to have GH 14 TDS 162

 

17 hours ago, sdlTBfanUK said:

I fell into that trap before I had my second try at bee shrimp. Beanbag you are correct WHEN using shrimp mineral products with RO water but tap water can be ANYTHING! GH only measures 2 things (can't remember what they are of top of my head, may be magnesium and calcium but not 100% sure) whereas TDS measures eveything!

I think Simon that beanbag meant the GH reading is too high for what the TDS is reading. If you have 14 degrees of GH, and every degree is worth 18ppm, you have 252ppm of GH. TDS includes your GH in addition to a bunch of things, as you pointed out. So it is not possible (if you are getting the correct readings) to have readings like that - where you have more parts per million of GH than you have TDS - as the GH should be less than the value of the TDS. If that makes sense.

Had to read your post crabby a few times, but I got it in  the end. My tap water is 30TDS per GH so there must be 12 TDS of other stuff for  every GH in the water. That makes sense!

Also get what you are saying JayC, it is just how I wanted to show there is other UNKNOWN stuff in tap water so the GH1 and TDS17.9 is NEVER going to happen with tap water, as it won't only have magnessium and calcium in it? It works in my head but maybe I  have confused the issue putting it that way?

Simon