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Remineralizing RO Water

NathanB

NathanB

Member
Joined
14 Apr 2023
Messages
49
Location
Kent, England
So, i've kept CRS in my planted tank for a year or two now but have just set up a few small tanks with aquasoil and sponge filters as i'd like to try and breed these guys. Previously they were constantly getting buried in the planted tank but I had too many fish in there for any babies to survive, that tank was also set up with just dechlorinated tap water so I guess I've been lucky so far with the tiny amount of breeding success that i've had so far with them.

The new shrimp tanks are ready to go and have been cycling for about a month, one tank already has all of my best grade shrimp in and have started seeing babies once again! No fish to munch on them this time. The sides are also completely bright green which is perfect.

However I'd love to breed them more successfully and keep them in their preferred conditions of course, and I'd also love to look into other caridina shrimp in the future, so I just ordered my first RO unit and just need to establish a basic understanding of preparing water for these guys. Am i correct in thinking that I measure the TDS of the water, then add only GH+ remineraliser to get it to the correct GH level? then it's ready?
 
Any of the above suggestions would work. You can buy pre-mix like the salty shrimp. Your RO TDS should be close to 0. Just follow the instructions on the pack for mixing. When you've done it the first time, you can check the TDS and then use that to mix to next time so it stays consistent.
 
hypnogogia said:
Expensive
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Its not enormously expensive if you buy the larger 850g tub, where the price per gram is less than half it is for the smaller 110g tub.

I have used both the salty shrimp and shrimp King GH+ remineralisers fairly extensive - for breeding and selling CRS in fact - and have found that both are excellent and reliable. I like the simplicity of not having to mix my own minerals.
With a GH+ remineraliser its a piece of cake to get your desired GH as, in RO, all the TDS should be comprised of GH. 17.9 ppm per degree of course.
My RO unit puts out water of around 10 ppm and I simply add GH+ to get a TDS of around 100ppm - job done. With a wavemaker in the bucket, it all seems fully dissolved within a minute or so. I know that 100 ppm is equivalent to a GH of around 5-6 degrees. That has always worked a treat for me. I've tried 90 up to 120 ppm and the CRS seem to breed at pretty much the same rates whichever I use, so I have settled on 100 ppm as I find it a very memorable and satisfying number to aim for !
 
hypnogogia said:
Expensive
Click to expand...

Agree - its a pointless waste of money. A 850g tub is what, £30? . . buying the raw salts (which is all Salty Shrimp is - the same raw salts mixed together in a tub) should get you around 5-10Kg (depending on where you buy them) in total - so around 10 times the amount.
 
In defence of the premixed GH+ remineralisers they are not just purely a mix of Ca and Mg salts. I've just had a look at my Salty Shrimp GH+ tub and although it doesn't give exact chemical composition it does state that it also includes trace elements as well as Ca and Mg.
I absolutely trust the makers of the product to make a better mineral mix than I could make myself, and I know it works. Well. Unless you buy the smallest tubs it really isn't that expensive (per g.). I can buy a years worth of remineraliser for the cost of 10 x shrimp. It depends on your priorities, and for many of us these premixes will be the perfect option. So "pointless" ?, "waste of money" ? Maybe ? but certainly not for me.
 
hamfist said:
they are not just purely a mix of Ca and Mg salts
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It's fairly well acknowledged that is exactly what they are. In fact I believe it has been noted that given how easily they dissolve, they are the most likely the slightly less desirable Chloride based variants (MgCl2 and/or CaCl2). They may add a little KCl too, but the 'trace elements' will largely be impurities in the main salts.

hamfist said:
I absolutely trust the makers of the product to make a better mineral mix than I could make myself
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You should have more faith in yourself, it really is easy - this isn't rocket science, they are simply mixing a couple of dry salts together.

hamfist said:
but certainly not for me.
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And that's more than fair enough - it's entirely the choice of the individual to choose how they spend their hard earned cash, I'm a firm believer in that. That was the purpose of my post to ensure the OP is aware that there are simultaneously both better and cheaper options available - if a little less convenient - than off the shelf products.
 
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Hi all,
hamfist said:
I've just had a look at my Salty Shrimp GH+ tub and although it doesn't give exact chemical composition it does state that it also includes trace elements as well as Ca and Mg.
Click to expand...
Wookii said:
Alleged to be:
17.88% Calcium
6.76% Magnesium
2, 11% Potassium
0.69% Hydrogen Carbonate
41.50% Chloride
16.91% Sulfate
0.35492% Trace Elements
Click to expand...
It does, either as a <"minimal addition"> or possibly even as <"an impurity"> in the main salts.
dw1305 said:
You can replicate that with magnesium sulphate (MgSO4.7H2O), calcium chloride (CaCl2.2H2O) and potassium chloride (KCl). If you wanted the added bicarbonate? A smidgen of potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3) would do.
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hamfist said:
I absolutely trust the makers of the product to make a better mineral mix than I could make myself, and I know it works.
Click to expand...
It is entirely up to you, but there <"aren't any minerals unique"> to <"Salty Shrimp">, they are really <"relying on brand loyalty">. I understand why people buy proprietary salts, but I'm not going to be one of them.

cheers Darrel
 
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I love a good discussion, I definitely see the benefits of mixing my own minerals, especially when i’d get more for my money, definitely a way i’d like to go in the future. I feel that maybe my best option right now however is the pre mixed minerals, It’ll last me a longgg long time if I get the 850g and during that time I’ll definitely learn a lot about these minerals and tds and everything. I read about different options and it seems to be that for pre mixed minerals, the Salty shrimp seems to be the least “dirty” and best quality. Is there any tds meters that you guys can recommend? Any particular brands? I read good things about the HM tds 3
 
Hi all,
NathanB said:
Is there any tds meters that you guys can recommend? Any particular brands? I read good things about the HM tds 3
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Hanna is a good brand for meters, but one of the advantages of conductivity measurement is that even cheap meters are relatively accurate and <"conductivity is a linear scale">- <"Guide to TDS">.

You ideally want a low range meter (0 - 1990 microS) <"Pocket Pro Low Range Conductivity Tester">, because aquarium water is a very dilute solution of salts when compared to marine, hydroponic or swimming pool water.

You can make up your <"own calibration solutions"> from KCl (or NaCl).

cheers Darrel
 
All the above is entirely true but im lazy. For absolute ease and pretty minimal cost , the pre mixes are the bomb.
It fits behind the tank with ferts and tds pen and I buy 2 or maybe 3 a year, Job done. That said I don't water change much, equally lazy at that 🤪
 

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dw1305 said:
Hi all,


It does, either as a <"minimal addition"> or possibly even as <"an impurity"> in the main salts.


It is entirely up to you, but there <"aren't any minerals unique"> to <"Salty Shrimp">, they are really <"relying on brand loyalty">. I understand why people buy proprietary salts, but I'm not going to be one of them.

cheers Darrel
Click to expand...
Interesting info and very valid indeed. I would love to know the genuine, and not just the alleged, composition of course. I would also love to know the composition of the almost (alleged) 0.5% trace elements in SS GH+. And do the company actually even know what those trace elements are or are they simply mainly contaminants ? Its such a shame that companies such as Salty Shrimp (with Seachem being probably the worst offender) use secrecy as a deliberate marketing tool. I'll still be using their Bee Salt though, because its simply convenient, not too expensive, and I know I get success with it. Thanks for your thoughts anyway Darrell. Despite being a keen aquarist for over half a century, in most ways I am actually a relative beginner with planted tanks so I am trying to simplify where possible. Premixes hit the spot ! I use the same philosophy for fertilisers too (for the moment !).
 
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