I have been using saltyshrimp GH/KH+ to remineralize RO water for my shrimp tank. I bought a large container of it, but I put some into a smaller container for weekly use so that most of it is protected from constant air exposure. I am now down to my last 2-3 gallons worth of the powder in the small container, but I have run into issues.
First, when I opened the small container I noticed the remaining powder was wet. It was very damp too, some of it was like puddles of goo. I added it anyways and left it for about 10 minutes to dissolve. I use 1 gallon milk jugs to change water so I even shook it up to help it dissolve. Once the TDS was right and had stopped changing I started to pour the water into the tank but there was a lot of dust still floating around in the water. I freaked out and stopped pouring but there was a lot of this dust all over the tank. I have not noticed any ill effects and it seems to have gone away. In the milk jug, however, there is still a lot of undissolved material. There has been no change in TDS in the tank or in the jug since this happened.
you use it weekly?? you must be doing some serious water changes every week.
I've heard from people that sometimes the container of SS absorbs moisture and sometimes forms chunks in the SS container. I'm guessing this happens in super humid areas or fish rooms that have a lot of moisture in the air.
I have had this happen when I used it a year or so ago. And yes, it's way cheaper and if I had a ton of tanks I would probably just deal with it, but I don't and that's why I stick with strictly liquid remineralizers as I don't have that problem of undissolved solids. To each their own And also, when I used it, same thing happened and it turned into a liquidy mush and I had to throw a lot out.
Did it ever full dissolve when it was new? I have never used this product before, but the GH I use for my EI dosing is very very hard to get it to dissolve, I add it dry directly to the aquarium and let is dissolve over time. Usually within a day or two it is all dissolved.
I am not sure how you have a lot of dust. When I use saltyshrimp I need like 3-4 tiny pinches of it to get the kh I need for the water change. How much are you using? Also, I dont know how its wet. I would just buy a new one and thrwo that one out.
Ya when i had the big container. I must of not tighten the caps tight enough and after a week or so I opened and noticed it clumped up. And was wet.
I still used it but seem like you needed a lot more to get desired level then when it was dry.
It usually dissolves completely, which is why it is concerning. Luckily there is only enough left for 2-3 gallons so it is not too much of a waste to throw out.
I was mostly concerned that since it was already wet before mixing it with the ro water that it might have reacted with something and formed a precipitate. Most who have experienced it not dissolving simply throw it out. Did anyone just add it to the tank anyway? I can't imagine what this could be since all it would really have to react with would be the water out of the air, which would not make sense since we end up adding it to water anyway.
It is interesting that when it clumped I did not notice anything like this, but as soon as it became moist it became a problem.
I use the SS GH&KH, I dump it in a five gallon bucket with about three gallons of RO water and aggressively swirl it around with a net to form a vortex, never had a problem with it dissolving. I let this water sit over night before the water change.
What liquid remineralizers are out there that you all like to use in the USA? I only have 6 tanks to deal with (2 - 10 gal, 2 - 2.5 gal, 1 - 5 gal and a 29 gal) and it might be worth the convenience?
I use GH booster from NilocG and its definitely clumping since the bag won't re-seal anymore (it used to). Also having a hard time dissolving the stuff. Tried shaking in a 1 gal jug, but wishing I had a circulation pump to just add the amount I need to a 5 gal bucket and let it mix overnight. Kinda doing that with an airstone (not nearly as much flow, but its gotta work better than nothing). We will see how it goes. I was kind of hoping to hear that salty shrimp wouldn't have that problem... Sounds like it does not until it clumps up.
I went with GH booster because my tap water has 13 dKH and 0 dGH (I have no idea how that happens...) so I cut ro/di with some tap water for the KH and ordered the GH powder prior to having an RO unit. Got very excited about plants and ordered the RO system so I could succeed with plants cause the tap water was killing them. RIP anacharis.
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