Shrimpy Daddy

It depending on on the thickness of the substrate, the size of your filter and how much humus has been accumulated. For my > 6 months old 120 litre cube tank that has 8cm substrate, I flushed the water 5 times over 2 weeks before the pH stops buffering.

The peat filter media is just to lower the pH during the initial setup phase. Once your substrate accumulate enough waste material that broke down into humus substances, then the humus substances will buffer the pH virtually forever (if you are not adding all those minerals rocks/ powder that claims to be dead sea mud or volcanic ash). A properly design RO remineraliser should gives you pH 6.2 to 6.4 but with only a little buffering capability. I think you are referring to this thread? http://tlc.shrimpydaddy.com/discussion/12/fans-eco-complete-inert-substrate-trial

Most of the time, I am using black lava sand that is used for gardening. It usually mixed into soil and composed for increasing aeration and drainage. Either you can buy from horticulture shop or you can buy the Caribsea Eco-complete Floramax (dry)/ Planted (wet with added bacteria). ShrimpFan started a journal here and you are able to get more information from this journal: http://tlc.shrimpydaddy.com/discussion/12/fans-eco-complete-inert-substrate-trial

This is a thread started for people to learn and troubleshoot issue. Are you able to provide more information than just telling people how it works and what to watch out for? I keep my shrimp using substrate used for home gardening. It does work too.

Leeching ammonium? You are the second person I heard about this. Just a little science info: All humus substances will contain trace to a lot of ammonium compound. As such, any products that contains humus substance, such as active substrate, claims that it is zero ammonium, then it is not true. If anyone don't detect ammonium with your aquarium test kit, it does not mean zero ammonium. It is may due to the test kit is not sensitive enough.

Year-end is approaching and I am very closing the quarter. In addition and just like Poopian mentioned, I have my own forum. Hence, I don't browse other forum anymore.

This is an old article. Nowadays, the best DIY/ cheap substrate will be using lava sand.

After you soak with Prime, you need to soak with clean water for another day. Soak and rinse it till it does not have any rotten egg smell.

Whoever prefers to keep lower GH and would like to bump up TDS safely and cheaply, you can use Potassium Sulphate or Seachem Flourish Potassium. Bump up 10 to 15ppm of potassium should give you TDS 15 to 30. Approximately 1ml of Seachem Flourish Potassium for every 5L (1.32G) of water will give you additional 10ppm of Potassium. If you are using Shrimpy Daddy products, do not add more than 15ppm of Potassium in your new water. For other brand of products, you will have to check with the reseller/ manufacturer.

Yeah, the balancing act is too much for most people. Which is why I will not recommend people to do it, unless they really know how and they have a lot of time to observe the tank everyday.

Just for plants. LOL!!! Don't attempt. You will need to control lighting, CO2, feeding and ferts. If you are not experience in planted tank, having a high-tech planted shrimp tank can be a tricky act. You just reminded me something. Having a lot of floating plants can be tricky on ferts/ nutrients control too. Floating plant has unlimited supply of CO2, which is similar to injecting CO2.

For the substrate, the key factor to the design is to be able to trap waste material and decompose properly. I put the thickness there is for easy reference and follow. No doubt thinner substrate may work, but it will have to be designed and maintained properly. Good feedback. Maybe I will modify the verbiage. Regarding CO2, that is very tricky. I know both you and I are injecting CO2 into our shrimp tank. But due to bubble counter is not a standard, it is very hard to say how many BPS will kill shrimp baby. Hmm... Maybe I can put something like over-dosing CO2. I don't wish people have a false impression of CO2 is 100% shrimp-safe. End up their shrimp dies, and I will be flamed again. ^_^"

This is why I designed my products to have consistent dosing and don't need to measure the water parameters. Given said that, pico tank will have a challenge. Any small deviation will have great effect. This problem will happen with any product and any practice.

I'm looking at the increasing rate to find out anything leeching.

What's the current TDS?