Salty Shrimp GH+ for Neos?

[Duff0712]

Starting up a Neo tank pretty soon. I already have Salty Shrimp GH+ and was wondering if I could use that with Neos? I figure I would just aim for around 200 TDS and either remineralize Tap (50TDS) or RODI water. If I have to buy another product I will, but hopefully I can use what I already have

 

Thanks

[DETAquarium]

When I used to keep and breed Neos regularly, I would use RODI water and remineralize it with Salty Shrimp GH+ or MK Breed Blue Diamond. I would aim for 200 TDS as well, and then let the tank drift towards 230-240 before water changes.

 

Probably not necessary but I did this and shrimp were thriving.

[Soothing Shrimp]

One reason I love neos so much is that they aren't as sensitive as some other shrimp.

 

For SS gh+ Rule of thumb is 6gh = ~100TDS

 

All I use is gh+ as well.

[Evo]

I'm keeping neos in crs params but with a higher gh, using RO and SS GH+. So far so good.

[adrand]

I use it as well in my neo tank. Although I add a little baking soda also to bring the PH up a bit. My RO water starts at 6.4 and i like it higher for the neos.

[JamesHe]

It's perfectly fine.

 

I add some crushed coral sand into substrate as well.

[Soothing Shrimp]

crushed coral will add gh too.

[JamesHe]

crushed coral will add gh too.

 

It's fine, weekly water change will keep it stable.

 

and save some Bee GH+. 

[Duff0712]

YAY thanks guys. At least one less thing to spend money on. I'll save it for more shrimp haha.

[Duff0712]

When I used to keep and breed Neos regularly, I would use RODI water and remineralize it with Salty Shrimp GH+ or MK Breed Blue Diamond. I would aim for 200 TDS as well, and then let the tank drift towards 230-240 before water changes.

 

Probably not necessary but I did this and shrimp were thriving.

 

 

One reason I love neos so much is that they aren't as sensitive as some other shrimp.

 

For SS gh+ Rule of thumb is 6gh = ~100TDS

 

All I use is gh+ as well.

 

 

Question for one or both of you really, anyone is welcome to answer of course. A little off topic, but when I am remineralizing water for my TB tank. What TDS should I be aiming for? I know they usually like a GH between 4-6, however I understood that around 120ish TDS was perfect for them. If 100 TDS remin water is around 6GH with SS GH+ would I shoot for like 70-80 TDS with remin? Should I aim even lower and let it eventually creep up?

 

My tank is around 135-140 TDS at the moment (I'm pretty sure GH is about 6) and I was planning on doing a water change today. What new water TDS should I aim towards for the change and what would should I normally remin at? I was remineralizing my water to about 120ish before doing changes, but maybe I need to start lowering it to better the TBs.

 

Heck should I just do a RODI only change to lower my TDS? I'm hesitant to only use RODI water for a change, would the shrimp be missing out on the minerals from the SS GH+?

 

Sheesh I thought I knew enough haha.

[DETAquarium]

Ok. First question, is there a problem with your TB tank? Why, many hobbyists succumb to the "your water parameters must be....." statements. Honestly there is a range of parameters we certainly want to stay close to or within, but there is no right or wrong if your shrimp are thriving, happy, molting, and breeding.

 

With that being said, I will tell you my opinion and what I aim for when keeping TBs. Currently my Taiwan Bee tanks are all roughly 135-140 TDS. Usually during initial setup I remineralize my water to around 120. Then slowly let the TDS creep up to the 135-140 mark, at this point I will perform a water change with no remineralizer to lower my TDS back down to the desired 120-125 mark. I continuously just repeat this process.

 

When I do perform water changes they are very minimal, 10-15% max for me. This process works well for me!

 

Hope this helps.

 

DETAquarium

[Duff0712]

Ok. First question, is there a problem with your TB tank? Why, many hobbyists succumb to the "your water parameters must be....." statements. Honestly there is a range of parameters we certainly want to stay close to or within, but there is no right or wrong if your shrimp are thriving, happy, molting, and breeding.

With that being said, I will tell you my opinion and what I aim for when keeping TBs. Currently my Taiwan Bee tanks are all roughly 135-140 TDS. Usually during initial setup I remineralize my water to around 120. Then slowly let the TDS creep up to the 135-140 mark, at this point I will perform a water change with no remineralizer to lower my TDS back down to the desired 120-125 mark. I continuously just repeat this process.

When I do perform water changes they are very minimal, 10-15% max for me. This process works well for me!

Hope this helps.

DETAquarium

I have just been struggling with TBs and getting them to breed. For awhile I was having a bunch of deaths. Little to no deaths now but still weary of if my Params are right. Most of my TBs are still too young to breed but it still doesn't freak me out if I have something wrong. Just wanna get all the info I can to make sure I'm doing it right.

-Duffy

[Duff0712]

One other question haha. If I am using SS GH+ for Neos. Wouldn't I need something to raise the PH, or would the remineralized RODI water be around neutral? I could use crushed coral like James suggested, but is there anything else I can use or do i even need to?

[DETAquarium]

Honestly the only item that decreased by PH was the substrate when keeping Neos. I am not sure what substrate your going with, but if you don't use an active substrate then you will be perfectly fine.

 

I used to keep all of my neos in more acidic water do to active substrate, and I bred them perfectly fine. It also allowed me to keep Caridina and Neos together.

[Soothing Shrimp]

My experience has been like Deta's.

[Duff0712]

Honestly the only item that decreased by PH was the substrate when keeping Neos. I am not sure what substrate your going with, but if you don't use an active substrate then you will be perfectly fine.

I used to keep all of my neos in more acidic water do to active substrate, and I bred them perfectly fine. It also allowed me to keep Caridina and Neos together.

Using an inert coarse sand. I have quite a few pieces of bog log but I don't think it should be enough to lower the oh by that much.

How low of ph have you had neos successfully in? I have some (what's left) in with my TBs. I feel like my ph is way too low or my acclimation wasn't long enough.

-Duffy

[JamesHe]

The way to keep my tank GH TDS stable is two things.

 

1. Weekly 25% water change.

2. Adjust new water to your target GH every time.

 

I follow the rules as:

5 gallon RO water, add 1 gram of SS GH+ to get GH2.

 

I don't really care about TDS.

 

to precise measure the amount, I use digital scale with 1mg resolution.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012TDNAM?keywords=digital%20scale&qid=1444417411&ref_=sr_1_33&sr=8-33

 

add the SS GH+ to my RO storage container, aerated for few hours, it's ready to use.

[DETAquarium]

I used to keep my neos anywhere from 6.4-7.0.

[Duff0712]

I used to keep my neos anywhere from 6.4-7.0.

 

Hmm, I'll have to keep an eye on my neo tank then. I just scaped it yesterday and I have my TDS at 177 (slowly adding in since i dont have anything in there yet), but my PH is aparently at 6 or below according to a quick test lol.

[Duff0712]

The way to keep my tank GH TDS stable is two things.

 

1. Weekly 25% water change.

2. Adjust new water to your target GH every time.

 

I follow the rules as:

5 gallon RO water, add 1 gram of SS GH+ to get GH2.

 

I don't really care about TDS.

 

to precise measure the amount, I use digital scale with 1mg resolution.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012TDNAM?keywords=digital%20scale&qid=1444417411&ref_=sr_1_33&sr=8-33

 

add the SS GH+ to my RO storage container, aerated for few hours, it's ready to use.

 

Curious, why do you remineralize to GH2? Nevermind I misunderstood lol. I know you said you don't usually care about TDS when you're mixing your SS GH+, but what GH do you usually go for and do you by chance know what TDS it comes out to being? I might get that measure, but having multiple things to cross reference for can help me sometimes.

[JamesHe]

Most of my bee tank, I shoot for GH3. few blood line is higher.

 

But for Tigers, I shoot for GH6 and neos for GH8.

 

TDS is not accurate, you would get different reading when you just mix it or wait a day.

 

So dose certain amount, will make it consistent.

[Duff0712]

Most of my bee tank, I shoot for GH3. few blood line is higher.

 

But for Tigers, I shoot for GH6 and neos for GH8.

 

TDS is not accurate, you would get different reading when you just mix it or wait a day.

 

So dose certain amount, will make it consistent.

 

Ok, I will have to do some testing with the scoop and see what GH I get with a 5g bucket. how long should I mix it before I do my tests?

 

Also thank you and everyone who has been answering my questions. It has been helping me a lot! Thank you!

 

edit: After testing it out on a fresh 5gal (about an inch and a half from the top). I put a full, level top scoop (that comes in the SS GH+) in and mixed it for a few minutes. TDS read at the time was 117 and I also tested GH (the more important one) and it came out to 7. I emptied just over 1/2 of the bucket and refilled with RODI water. The readout then was TDS 55: GH 3.  My tank is sitting at a GH of 6 atm. I saved the water and will do a wc tomorrow with it. I will try to slowly lower GH to around 4 over time  Just need to get a precise amount to only have to dose once (without dump/refill), but I will keep testing GH for now to be on the safe side. If I can't do it with what I have I might indulge on the weight machine. I need to buy another light and air pump anyways haha, Amazon is going to bankrupt me. 

 

Thanks again everyone! 

[Duff0712]

So now I get to figure out what is going wrong with my Neo tank haha.

 

Current Params (Redid just a couple days ago); Using SS GH+ and RODI:

Amm:0

Nitrite:0

Nitrate:Trace-5 (I used the same filter/sponge from the tank prior)

KH:0

GH:9

TDS:203

Temp: Flucuates between 73-76 throughout the day

PH:6 or below...

 

I am not sure why my PH for that tank is at 6 or below... Sure it has a few pieces of bog log, but my other tank has a piece of spiderwood that takes up half the tank and uses an acidic substrate and is at a ph of 6.4. What? The Neo tank previously had ADA in it. Could it be possible that the sponge/rocks/wood that are being used from the previous tank set up could still be retaining some of the acidity from the previoius setup? It is just weird to me that the PH is so low with inert substrate.

 

Luckily I still have time to play with it before I am even ready for shrimp. 

[chibikaie]

Well, if you are using RO/distilled and GH+, and nothing you've listed contains any kind of buffering agent - then your pH is going to be whatever it darn well feels like. Inert substrate just means that it's not going to directly affect water chemistry, not that it's going to make your water neutral or alkaline or anything.

How about using baking soda? Do a few experiments, see what you get.

[Duff0712]

Well, if you are using RO/distilled and GH+, and nothing you've listed contains any kind of buffering agent - then your pH is going to be whatever it darn well feels like. Inert substrate just means that it's not going to directly affect water chemistry, not that it's going to make your water neutral or alkaline or anything.

How about using baking soda? Do a few experiments, see what you get.

Makes sense. I just figured there wast really enough to swing the ph that much. Especially since the tank next to it has a higher ph and acidic substrate lol.

I just picked up some seachem alk and acid buffer. I'm going to experiment with it a bit and see what I get.

It's also a good experiment for me to see If seachem a calculations on their app are correct or not haha

-Duffy