Memphis118

Any of the BRS RODI units are great. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/4-stage-value-plus-ro-di-system-bulk-reef-supply.html This is the one I have... and I upgraded to the 150g water saver. Doing this upgrade wastes less water and creates water a lot faster. There is a cheaper option, that is 149.99, but it doesnt have the TDS meter and flush valve.

Got any pictures of the planaria? Are you positive its that, and not just a detritus worm or something?

You can always go: Canister filter Sponge Filter + air pump Hang on back filter Any option you pick will be fine. I went with over filtration, and have 2 sponge filters and a canister in my 17g

Updated tank as of 5/21

@Dluxeshrimps Any updates on some Red Ramshorn snails?

Food is working out pretty well. They were $10 a bag for 40g. TDS wise, havent noticed too much change. I hover about 150 to 160 each week. Once it hits 160, I normally do a 20% WC

I've actually been feeding a bigger veggie diet... 4x a week, 1 day of protein, and 1 day of Baby food. I got the food from a breeder on Facebook Plasmski. Also, I switched my reminerializer from SS GH+ to MK-Breed Blue Diamond, and started using their Blood Diamond minerals and such. Just gotta make sure: 1. You have good genes 2. They are being fed top grade food with good mineral content My new parameters: PH 6.5 to 6.7 GH 5 KH 0 TDS 140-155 Temp 73.5

I could be wrong... but I never heard of a substrate sucking up GH..... Substrate is suppose to buffer KH down to zero, not GH. I would def. look further into this.

in my honest opinion, 6.6 to 6.8 is fine for TBs. Worry more about stability and not chasing PH numbers. You will get a fluctuation because of the co2 in the air, aeration in the tank, etc etc. Use RODI water, mix with SS GH+ until you get a GH of 5-6 and you should be fine. I use SL aqua nature soil, and when I was not using ANY air stones, zero aeration (no ripples in the water) I was gettgin 6.2 PH. Once I added two sponge filters for extra water movement and aeration, my PH jumped to 6.5 to 6.7. If anything, my shrimp are doing better now, since it has much more oxygen in the tank, and everything has been much more stable. Feel free to look on my PRL CRS journal page. They look happy to me... and my PH is 6.7 ish

Update Saturday: The shrimpies all out and eating aggressively today I even noticed 2 new berried females

You can find her on Facebook. She is a proven PRL breeder and are extremely nice. She has some that ranges from $20 a piece up to $100+ I think. She has the Hafferman lineage, and had at least 3-4 generations.

Yeah... using Tap is bad. They are constantly adding chemicals into the water and you wouldnt know if something changed. Distilled water works, RODI water is better.

I am not entirely sure why SS always gave me lower TDS readings, but switching to liquid seemed to be more stable for me. Getting a TDS around 130 GH 5 eliminates the need for me to use TDS UP from mosura. Only time will tell how my shrimp react to the change, but at least from a chemistry point of view, its looking good. I also started to use MK Breed Blood diamond for minerals and vitamins during each water change to help shrimps out a bit more

So you think my SS bottle just isn't mixed enough? Imma give liquid a try for a bit and see how it is. So far, the mixing / TDS has been very stable for me.

So when I first started, I always used SS GH+ and always got around 80-90 TDS for GH 5... then I used TDS UP to fill up the difference to get around 130. I recently switched to Liquid, MK-Breed Blue Diamond and I can honestly say, so far, it's pretty good. 5 ML in 5 Gallons got me exactly GH 5 with TDS 130-135. Anyone else have issues with SS not giving consistent TDS readings ?