wyzazz

Wow that is extremely high tds.  No way would I use something that would bring the tds up that high.  I have always used ThriveS and have always been happy with it.  I get maybe 10tds raised after using 2 pumps per 10 gallons and is extremely reasonable.  
 
I would be concerned with it raising the GH that high for sure.  Did you shake the bottle really well before using??  Have to ask.
 
Just read the dosing instructions and it says 1 pump per 10 gallons so the 180 tds raise seems reasonable.  Since you added 1 pump for one cup I am betting you get that down to about 5-10 tds per 10 gallons.  That is the way to test it for sure.  I think it is fine.

LOL so I just did a test with my ThriveS.  So I did the same thing and added one pump of thriveS into exactly 1 cup 0tds RO water and got 320 tds.  I then took that one pump in one cup water and added to my cycling shrimp tank and it raised the tds just 3.  You should be even lower than that since you get 180 tds in one cup of water.  You will probably get like 2 tds higher after one pump in 10 gallons.  

Actually what I find is the tds stays relatively the same or even lower as the plants consume the fertilizer.  I typically get roughly 10-15 tds raised in about a week but thats from everything like food and stuff that gets added during the week not just fertilizer.  
 
I have found its MUCH better to try and keep the plants happy than starving them of food.  They are just like shrimp in the fact they also need food and unhappy plants starts to turn the ecosystem into a downward spiral.  My tanks are much happier when they are fertilized.  
 
The relatively small tds raise from fertilizer has never caused a problem in all of my shrimp tanks and a healthy ecosystem keeps all happy.  
 
I would not account for it in your water changes just add your typical 4GH water like you always do(or whatever GH you go for).  This is what I do and never have issued.  I typically do a 25% water change in all my shrimp tank every 2 weeks.  All happy and thriving

Hi Jamison, I tried your food today, I have a small 6 gallon with too much moss and algae ! The first time I checked I didn't see much movement on the Shrimp Pimp food, but an hour later WOW my fire red shrimp were all over it I think it was gone with a lot of RCS all around it.. Thank so much, are you going to make other supplemental foods in the future ? My shrimp have just gotten PIMPED  ! 

First group of babies born.  Everything should be in order, ton of leaf litter, nitrates measured at mayyybe 5 ppm last night, and I'm doing a tiny pinch of glasgarten baby every other day, and magic powder 3 times a week.
 
This guy looks like he has good color, any insight on how that will play out as he gets older?  Will the color fade or should he maintain the good blue in the attached photo?  Probably born in the past 24 hours.  

thanks alot.

Looks good!  You may want to put a quantity/weight on the website so folks know how much food they are receiving when they purchase.  

How I see all this based on my experience.  My tap comes out at 460TDS on average after a sediment filter, before the sediment filter I get over 550TDS, I also have a water softener but this doesn't drop the TDS.  A water softener simply provides ion exchange, it swaps all of the minerals suspended in your water for NaCl (salt).  Here is the RODI unit I use, I purchased it in January of 2017 and just swapped out filters (not the RO Membrane).  When I purchased the unit it was $72.00 on sale.  It takes up about a 16"x8"x8" space if I'm overestimating.  
 
I'm a handy person, a DIYer for sure, and I enjoy putting things together.  So as you say, this may not be the route for you, but it was the route I took.  I plumbed in a garden hose spigot in the house for this unit and asked that they send me a garden hose adapter instead of their standard adapter, they did this without question or upcharge.  In your instance, I would certainly plumb in a whole house sediment filter, it will overall make your water more tolerable and certainly make your RO filters last longer.  For a few months all I did was turn on the garden hose spigot and make water when I needed it, eventually I put in a pressure bladder (so we could use the RO for drinking and cooking) and a Brute Trash Can with float valve so I could have large amounts of the RO water ready for water changes and brewing beer.  
 
I'm not sure where the $30-$50 per month is coming in for RO maintenance.  My filter replacements were $50.00, and with my usage (Drinking, Cooking, Brewing, Water changes on 15 tanks) it looks like I'll be replacing them every year.  My RO water TDS crept up over a year from 0 TDS to 15 TDS as the filters began to wear out.  If you're not doing all that with the RO I think you can safely assume $25/year for filters at that point.  200G of SS GH or GH\KH+ lasts me around a year and costs around $30.00.  
 
To be fair, if you want to replace your shrimp instead of giving them the proper care that's your prerogative.  But if you want to keep them you really should be providing them with the ideal environment to thrive.  To me, that means RO water remineralized with a proper balance of salts.  
 
How RO works (very simplified version).  Water is forced through a series of filters via the water pressure in your house.  The more pressure you have the better/more efficiently the system works.  The RO Membrane is where the magic happens, there are really little tiny holes in it, tiny enough that only water molecules can get through.  The pure water is forced through the membrane to be collected, the unpure is forced out the discharge.  A DI resin enhances this purity even further, pulling out things that the other filters and RO membrane won't.  
 
If you're looking at getting into more expensive/harder to keep shrimp I'd urge you to start planning and utilizing RO water now.  You could also look at selling shrimp to help offset the cost of keeping them.  At this point keeping shrimp costs me nothing but my time.  

I use HMF's almost exclusively.  ;0)  

Here is the best 2 pics I could get of the other one.. the light/cellphone combo  killed the pic but it is just as dark as the other one with orange eyes but this one has 4 bright white stripes and 4 tail dots and is absolutely stunning. Its the darker one ofc

I had problems non stop using tap water for my shrimp. I live in NH and the well water comes out with a super high GH. The struggle to keep the shrimp alive was really a bummer. Found someone selling a RO unit on craigslist, replaced the membrane and filters and fixed every issue i have had. 
 
Lately I have been trying to mix RO/Tap for one of my tanks with only fish, have struggled with problems which were fixed when i went to only remineralized RO water. 
 
35g Brute setup with a Float and i fill 5g buckets for whichever shrimp i'm remineralizing for. Honestly not having to use the tap is a good feeling, you never have to question your water. Also you can pick up a TDS meter for like $14.
 
You can get Salty Shrimp on amazon for $28. Will last you for quite some time. Plus overall your tanks will thrive even more.
 
 

I use HMF's almost exclusively.  ;0)  

One of a kind, he had it welded up to his specifications and coated the front with some sheet stainless.  He listed it on Craigslist and I just happened to be in the market.  

I use HMF's almost exclusively.  ;0)  

Agreed and well said!

my thoughts are also pointing towards the water parameters.  gh/kh/tds all are roughly double the "typical" range.  another thing to consider with molting issues is if you have too much in the way of minerals/nutrients/other then their shells grow too thick making it hard for them to bread free of their molts. 
 
I too recommend an RO water unit.  I tried keeping shrimp in a tap water invironment, but my municipality changed up what they use to flush the system during a season change and everything died.  You mentioned you are doing 50% water changes.  In my opinion that is too much.  switch to RO water and remineralize it with a shrimp remineralizer.  Then only change ~10% a week.

Here is a great resource on shrimp diseases and possible causes/solutions that may help.  
 
https://skfaquatics.com/forum/topic/5052-shrimp-diseases-and-diagnosis/

Here is a great resource on shrimp diseases and possible causes/solutions that may help.  
 
https://skfaquatics.com/forum/topic/5052-shrimp-diseases-and-diagnosis/

I doubt the plants would change your pH.  What is the TDS reading of the RO water you are using?  

Just got a shoutout from my favorite youtuber, if you haven't watched mark's aquatics I highly recommend you give him a watch. 
 

Thx guys for encouraging words. Been busy recently, but yesterday I saw this little TangTai Fellow. Hope u like it :).

 
 

Just thought I'd say that my tigers go nuts over this food and the seller is very professional to deal with.  Will be a future customer for sure 

Great advice @ClownPlanted !  I use a Tom's Aqualifter and more recently a 4 head dosing pump (Jebao DP-4) to do my water changes and that seems to work well for me.  

Good Stuff, I'd guess then!

This was about two minutes after I'd dropped in a piece.  And of course the Amano immediately tried to steal it...
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