Help using Seachem alkaline buffer

[Karen B.]

Greetings!

I have neocaridina shrimps in 2 different aquariums and in both cases, they keep dying when molting when they reach teenager/adult size. It appears to be the white ring of death.

They have cuttlebone and I feed them a variety of food, including hikari crab cuisine, hikari shrimp cuisine and glasgarten mineral junkie bites. I am getting a bit frustrated as everyone keep saying shrimps are easy to keep…

 

Both are planted and cycled tanks, with 2 type of filtration (sponge filter + the buildin fluval flex filter). I am careful not to do big water change and the temp is between 75 and 77.

 

So my conclusion is that the problem has to be in the water. 

 

My tap water :

0/0/0

Gh 4/75

Kh 2/40

Ph 7

Chlorine : .8

 

My 15 gallons tanks (12 clown killifish and 3 nerita)

0/0/10

Ph 7.2

Kh 2(API) /0 (Coop strip)

Gh 15(API) / 300 (coop strip)

 

My 5 gallons tanks (only blue shrimps 2nd generation. Mum had her fry then passed away)

0/0/10

Kh 2 / 0

Gh 8 / 300

Ph 7.2

 

I figured I need to lower the gh in the 15 gallons (have yet to find out how) and raise my kh a little bit (by 2-3 I’d say?)

 

I bought Seachem Alkaline buffer but I am so afraid to make a mistake. Anyone has ever used it? It’s confusing because they say to use it with the acid buffer… but I don’t want to raise my gh.

 

Do I put the powder directly in the aquarium after each WC? And I base the quantity on the volume of the tank or of the water changed?

 

Thank you!

[Biotope Biologist]

I'm confused as to why you want to lower gh? Shrimp and other invertebrates need calcium to build their shell. Which gh measures in part. I don't know if that is degrees of gh or ppm. I am going to assume it's the former, so 8dgh is around where you want to be. The kh is low though which is where alkaline buffer comes in. It is just carbonate salts so it will only effect your kh. Which again I assume is in degrees. You want your dkh to be about 5 or 6 to allow for proper buffering capacity. Calcium dissolves off chitin at around the 6.8ph mark and makes shrimp more susceptible to disease. 

 

Let me know if you have more questions

 

Also to lower gh I believe people use peat moss, but I'm from Seattle so we don't have a hardness problem. I think 15dgh is fine it's in the hard range.

Edited August 11, 2021 by Biotope Biologist

[Guppysnail]

On 8/11/2021 at 2:40 PM, Karen B. said:

Greetings!

I have neocaridina shrimps in 2 different aquariums and in both cases, they keep dying when molting when they reach teenager/adult size. It appears to be the white ring of death.

They have cuttlebone and I feed them a variety of food, including hikari crab cuisine, hikari shrimp cuisine and glasgarten mineral junkie bites. I am getting a bit frustrated as everyone keep saying shrimps are easy to keep…

 

Both are planted and cycled tanks, with 2 type of filtration (sponge filter + the buildin fluval flex filter). I am careful not to do big water change and the temp is between 75 and 77.

 

So my conclusion is that the problem has to be in the water. 

 

My tap water :

0/0/0

Gh 4/75

Kh 2/40

Ph 7

Chlorine : .8

 

My 15 gallons tanks (12 clown killifish and 3 nerita)

0/0/10

Ph 7.2

Kh 2(API) /0 (Coop strip)

Gh 15(API) / 300 (coop strip)

 

My 5 gallons tanks (only blue shrimps 2nd generation. Mum had her fry then passed away)

0/0/10

Kh 2 / 0

Gh 8 / 300

Ph 7.2

 

I figured I need to lower the gh in the 15 gallons (have yet to find out how) and raise my kh a little bit (by 2-3 I’d say?)

 

I bought Seachem Alkaline buffer but I am so afraid to make a mistake. Anyone has ever used it? It’s confusing because they say to use it with the acid buffer… but I don’t want to raise my gh.

 

Do I put the powder directly in the aquarium after each WC? And I base the quantity on the volume of the tank or of the water changed?

 

Thank you!

Call seachem directly. when using buffer the said you need neutral regulator in conjunction because most people overshoot. I had to do it once and was terrified.  They walked me through exact dosing and steps etc for my exact tank parameter adjustments. 

[Karen B.]

On 8/11/2021 at 3:20 PM, Biotope Biologist said:

I'm confused as to why you want to lower gh? Shrimp and other invertebrates need calcium to build their shell. Which gh measures in part. I don't know if that is degrees of gh or ppm. I am going to assume it's the former, so 8dgh is around where you want to be. The kh is low though which is where alkaline buffer comes in. It is just carbonate salts so it will only effect your kh. Which again I assume is in degrees. You want your dkh to be about 5 or 6 to allow for proper buffering capacity. Calcium dissolves off chitin at around the 6.8ph mark and makes shrimp more susceptible to disease. 

 

Let me know if you have more questions

 

Also to lower gh I believe people use peat moss, but I'm from Seattle so we don't have a hardness problem. I think 15dgh is fine it's in the hard range.

Thank you very much for your answer. I was told 15 gh (15 drops from the test kit) was a bit too high.

@Guppysnail I emailed Seachem (I am french, too shy to speak english) and they directed me toward a product called Aquavitro Shrimp exo. 
« aquavitro® shrimp exo™ is a stabilized potassium iodide source intended to aid in replicating the ideal environment for freshwater shrimp »

Another description says it promotes shrimps to molt. As my shrimps die WHILE molting, I am not sure I want to promote it. So waiting on their answer on that part.

[Guppysnail]

They die during molt because they are unable to shed the exoskeleton that’s why it promotes molt. I have not used it though

[CT_]

May not be your kh/gh.  Mine are fine in 2/8 kh/gh.  I've heard too much calcium can make molting hard too because the shell gets to tough.  But that could just be an ad hoc argument.