# raising gh without changing tds?



## y2kong (May 31, 2012)

Hi all,
I've been searching how to raise the Gh without raising tds but haven't had any success finding my answer. As of now, my Gh is at 3, tds at 209, and kh 0. I'm kinda nervous with the low Gh of 3. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance. Btw, I'm usng mosura mineral plus to supplement my ro water.


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## d3snoopy (Apr 1, 2011)

I think GH and TDS are tied to each other. If you raise GH, I'm pretty sure it will change your TDS. So.... I'd say you need to start with the RO/DI water and them buffer it up differently. I don't know exactly what supplement to suggest that will get you more GH.


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## Caleb19 (Sep 27, 2010)

What's the TDS of your RO water before re-mineralization? I know that MMP is notorious for having inconsistent concentration bottle to bottle. But that TDS seems a bit high for the level of GH you are at IMO. What are you using to measure TDS? Has it been properly calibrated?


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## Kunsthure (Aug 2, 2010)

What shrimp are you trying to keep?

-Lis


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## randyl (Feb 1, 2012)

Did you mean raising TDS without raising GH? That is doable and there are products for that application. (i.e. adding supposedly beneficial elements to the water without touching GH)

Raising GH without raising TDS in the same bucket of water is not easily done, unless you remove some TDS from the water first (such as KH or temporary hardness), then add the GH so the TDS goes back to the original reading. Wouldn't think that's what you want/need to do though.


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## y2kong (May 31, 2012)

Ro water from my local Cub foods has a tds of 23, kh 0, and Gh0. I am using an HM-3 tds meter which is factory calibrated. The shrimps I am keeping are crs and they're doing fine right now (2 berried females atm), but I'm afraid that they may have molting issues down the road. Should I just up the tds too to get a higher Gh?


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## randyl (Feb 1, 2012)

You don't keep the shrimp in TDS 23, do you? BTW, RO with TDS 23 only means the membrane is going and needs replaced.

Aim for GH5, KH0, TDS 150 if you can. This is not the perfect parameters (none exists) but a good middle ground. Also what's your PH? 

We shrimp keepers tend to think water parameters are PH/GH/KH/TDS, but there are a million other things in water that have to work together to achieve a good water quality. We only talk about those 4 because they are easily tested but it's really very limited.


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## y2kong (May 31, 2012)

Hmm, how do I go about changing all of those numbers at a slow rate? My ph is usually 6.0-6.6


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

MMP should raise your GH to about 5 if you start reading 150tds on the meter. That's where you want to be at, as Randy's already stated. I'm not sure why you're getting GH 3 at 209 tds. Maybe you can try another water source and go from there. Or maybe your GH test kit is not accurate. Get a second test kit and try it out as well.


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## y2kong (May 31, 2012)

K, thanks all for your inputs! I shall try to switch my source of water and get a new Gh test kit.


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## Caleb19 (Sep 27, 2010)

Adding to Randy and Speedie's advice, I would consider purchasing some calibration solution as well for your TDS Meter. Just another control to have in place when taking these measurements. Good luck!


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## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

If you are not sure what makes those 23 TDS you should be adding "prime" water conditioner. You don't want 15 of those to be ammonia or chlorine right?

I'm surprised they sell RO water with such a high TDS reading, that is just a bit less than my tap water here in Oakland CA which is 30-35 TDS. 
Try getting DI (deionized) water, that should be ZERO TDS, which is perfect for top offs.

However, all this effort depends on what species you are keeping, what do you have or want to have?


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## y2kong (May 31, 2012)

All right guys, so I went ahead and purchased a new Gh/kh kit and also some distilled water that tested at 4 ppm. What i did was changed 12% of the water of the 20 gallon long, added a full scope of the borneo wild product Gh up to the 2.5 gallon of distilled water before adding into the tank, which resulted in a Gh of 6 and a tds of 85. Shook the container and added directly into the 20g (not housing any shrimps YET, except an oto and do plan on ordering from Mr. Nick), so now my tds is at 197ppm (209 before) and a Gh of 4 (3 before), is it good enough for crs or should I adjust the numbers? I'm thinking it was the mosura mineral plus that gave me a low Gh and a high tds. Also, do I need to remineralize the water if I'm using Gh Up and no longer the mosura mineral plus? Im thinking of ditching the mmp.


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## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

I would measure to find out what else is in your tank making up that TDS. 
However, neos like it a bit hard, ph7+ and 7dGh... Right guys?


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## jasonpatterson (Apr 15, 2011)

pejerrey said:


> I'm surprised they sell RO water with such a high TDS reading, that is just a bit less than my tap water here in Oakland CA which is 30-35 TDS.


That's pretty darned clean water to come from a tap. My well has 17 times more stuff in it, and after I run it through my RO, it's got a TDS of about 20. Maybe they're starting with high TDS water.



y2kong said:


> Hi all,
> I've been searching how to raise the Gh without raising tds but haven't had any success finding my answer.


You can't raise GH without raising TDS unless you simultaneously precipitate out another ion (aside from calcium/magnesium, that is.) It wouldn't be worth the trouble to do, honestly.

Are your shrimp doing well for you in their current water? Molting normally/breeding/being active without going insane?


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Neos will be fine in ph of 7+. I have some in 8ph and breeding fine.

I try for gh of 6 or more.


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