Mastering pH & KH: The Science Of Stable Shrimp Tanks

Understanding key water parameters is critical for a healthy shrimp tank. Learn everything you need to know about how pH and carbonate hardness (KH) affect your shrimp tank.
Want to learn more about shrimp keeping? Check out our website to up your shrimp keeping game! www.shrimplyexplained.com/
Video Description Links
How To Control pH and KHwww.shrimplyexplained.com/the...
Recommended KH (and GH) Test Kit: amzn.to/3P5zLrn (Affiliate Link)
Master Shrimp Breeder Kelvin Wong keeps his shrimp at low pH • Singaporean Galaxy Boa...
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction00:30 - What Causes Instability01:10 - How pH Impacts Your Shrimp Tank03:00 - The Bicarbonate Buffering System03:46 - Carbonate Hardness (KH) Chemistry04:42 - How KH Affects Your Shrimp Tank06:41 - Why KH Levels Change08:18 - How To Measure KH and pH08:44 - How To Change KH and pH09:12 - Key Information Summary09:41 - Myth #1 About KH10:47 - Myth #2 About KH
Music Attribution
Acid Jazz by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
I Am Running Down the Long Hallway of Viewmont Elementary by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
#neocaridina #CherryShrimp #shrimptank #freshwatershrimp #freshwateraquarium #fishtank #caridina

[@anodyne.7024]

Thanks!

[@Bradley-sl2uv]

Your videos are hands down, some of the most informative and interesting on the YT. Love the scientific approach and delivery of your content. Keep it shrimpy!

[@andresgil1449]

Man! This was scholarly well done best explanation I’ve seen on this! You sir are a gentleman and a scholar!

[@shrimplyexplained]

@andresgil1449 haha thank you for watching and for the kind words! I'm glad you found it interesting and hopefully useful :D Happy shrimpin'!

[@privateportall]

Very helpful! Subbed

[@windyrotorblast]

What I got from this one video is a much better understanding of what these water condition numbers actually mean. That makes for better decisions on how to fit my tap water into something more compatible for all the fish I keep. Thank you for showing the "why" things work as they do.

[@shrimplyexplained]

@windyrotorblast Awesome, we're really glad you found the information useful! It's a lot to think about at first but it gets easier and gives you a great grasp on how to modify your tank/water without running into problems :) Happy shrimpin'!

[@ellaaqua]

This is interesting. I have had issues with ph swings in the past due to a very low kh in my water. Which would cause my ph to crash a ridiculous amount 3 or 4 days after a water change. I thought it was the drift wood. So I removed that. Waited a month and tested weekly. It was still happening. I have an overstocked tank with goldfish, so nitrate does fluctuate naturally for me. I added a large airstone to my aquarium and did a water change. A week after I tested my water. My ph stayed stable at about 7.0 and my KH stayed stable as well. I was even more shocked to see that my Nitrate was only at 25 ppm after a week! It's usually at 50 ppm I thought this was just a coincidence but now after watching this video, I think not.... 🤔 I love these types of videos. Informational and entertaining.

[@shrimplyexplained]

@ellaaqua Oxygen can certainly help prevent your pH from dropping by reacting with CO2 that your fish are breathing out, which would prevent KH from dropping as well. Would you be open to explaining your theory about why nitrates stayed lower? Maybe I'm forgetting something but I don't remember the video discussing a relationship between nitrates and pH/KH.

[@ellaaqua]

@shrimplyexplained I think they stayed lower because there was more flow in my tank after adding the airstone. Which allowed the filters to do their jobs more efficiently. I also change or rinse out the filter floss from my hang on back filter every 3 to 4 days. So my thoughts are that in my case, not only did increasing water circulation increase the efficiency of my filters. It also helped to stabilize my ph and kh. It could have been that there was too much waste accumulation in my tank that was causing the crashes in ph and kh. Or it could have been low oxygenation. I should add that I use a buffer to try and control my kh and ph but did not have much luck with until I added the airstone. I believe the oxygenation may have been what helped because I have a fairly deep tank at about roughly 24 inches.

[@andyantony6638]

On the contrary, this explanation is exactly what i needed! I have a good understanding of basic biology and chemistry but lacked the bridge to connect it to my knowledge of shrimp husbandry! This is perfrct, thank you

[@shrimplyexplained]

@andyantony6638 Awesome, I'm glad you found it helpful! Shrimp keeping is such a fun way to actually apply that knowledge of biology and chemistry we are taught in schools. Have fun and happy shrimpin'!

[@PeteGA]

I like your cellular and molecular biology approach.

[@shrimplyexplained]

@PeteGA Thanks for the words of encouragement! It's great to know there are others who enjoy thinking about our tanks from a detailed biological approach. There's so much we can learn from our tanks :D

[@canadashrimps]

Love your channel! Learned a lot of things which I thought I knew! Any chance you can do a video on dwarf blue crayfish and how to keep their coloration blue? I read low PH but ... even with buffering soil and low ph mine stay brown / 1 or 2 are a deep blue. Having a hard time finding information on this!

[@shrimplyexplained]

@canadashrimps Thanks for the kind words! We've mostly dealt with neocaridina and caridina so don't have enough experience with dwarf blue crayfish to provide good information on them right now. This has been added to a list of video ideas for the future though, because we'd love to learn about them! Thanks for the suggestion and happy shrimpin' :D

[@DZ7IC22]

Great video. Have you ever considered adding more aeration to offset the kh/ph effects from nitrification? Aeration will cause CO2 to outgas and raise pH naturally as a result without affecting kH. A lower kH coupled with an adjustable amount of aeration might be a viable option to stabilize the pH more, but at the same time more air will also equate to more nitrification, so it may take some experimentation to find the right balance.

[@shrimplyexplained]

@DZ7IC22 Thanks for the comment! That's a really interesting idea that's worth experimenting with. I'd love to test out different filters/methods and see what keeps pH the most stable, like a standard sponge filter vs asian-style UGF vs canister filter or something. From my understanding, the main pH swing that happens throughout the day is from plant photosynthesis. I'm not sure how much is from nitrification but it would be interesting to try to figure out. I'd also kind of think that a sponge filter would provide plenty of aeration but it's possible an additional air stone could help a lot. Keep those thoughts coming so we can push the hobby forward!

[@DZ7IC22]

@@shrimplyexplained For every mg/L of ammonia being nitrified it will consume 7.14 mg/L of kH. I don't know the exact effect on pH though.

[@shrimplyexplained]

@@DZ7IC22 Thank you for the information!

[@kygoniba]

This is superb. Thank you!

[@shrimplyexplained]

@kygoniba I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the kind words.

[@Wintersdark]

Great video, thanks!

[@shrimplyexplained]

@Wintersdark Glad you liked it! Did you feel the explanations all made sense or were there any parts that could have been more clear?

[@franciscoestrada2093]

This is the information I've been looking for! Actual biochemistry being explained and why/how to keep your tank in balance. Thank you for such a good video

[@shrimplyexplained]

@franciscoestrada2093 Aw, thanks a lot! I was worried the video would be way too technical so it's nice to know you appreciate the details. If you have any questions or just interesting topics you wanna discuss, feel free to reach out anytime via email! Good luck and happy shrimpin' :D

[@MickeyMikeMd]

Great video! Super informative and clear. Thanks!

[@shrimplyexplained]

@MickeyMikeMd Thanks for watching and for the kind words! Glad you enjoyed it :) Feel free to reach out if you ever have any questions. Otherwise, happy shrimpin'!

[@MickeyMikeMd]

@@shrimplyexplained Will do, much appreciated! I guess my only question is about GH. Mine always shows up as basically 0 on the API liquid test (yellow the whole time). Other parameters seem fine. I have a small 4 gallon planted tank, but my shrimp seem to be very slowly dying off. One gave birth and another died while berried. Just seems like I cant get the colony to grow. Its my first tank, about 9 months old.

[@attiliodariva5417]

Great educatiional video. Little constructive feedback: the chalk sound effect is very distracting.

[@shrimplyexplained]

@attiliodariva5417 Thanks for the feedback! It's really appreciated and something I'm happy to take out considering how much time it would save during editing :D

[@user-ef6cm7vu4m]

I’m changing my water to salty shrimp now and I tested the gh and kh the gh is the same as my tank but the kh is a bit lower with the salty shrimp I was a bit worried about it until I watched this video

[@shrimplyexplained]

@user-ef6cm7vu4m yep, no reason to worry! The KH should be right around half the GH, unless you have an active substrate bringing down the pH/KH. If your substrate is inert, then a KH of at least 3-4 is a good idea, though you could probably get away with 2.

[@user-ef6cm7vu4m]

Thanks. I use sand I was a bit worried at first because my tap water kh was slightly higher than the salty shrimp when mixed to 250 tds I drained about 10% and got the new water dripping in very slowly

[@BlakeDonowitz-mk7iu]

Wonderful video! Incredibly informative as I prepare my Dutch style tank for amanos! My CO2 injection swings my pH by about .8 pts on the pH scale. I've been dosing to achieve 2-3KH (to trim the pH swing) as well as 5-6GH.

[@shrimplyexplained]

@BlakeDonowitz-mk7iu That all sounds good! Amanos are very hardy so I wouldn't worry about them too much unless the pH drops super low. Hope the scape turns out like you want it!

[@BlakeDonowitz-mk7iu]

@@shrimplyexplainedFollowing up. I am getting a 6.6pH at CO2 off, and a 6.0pH at full CO2 after 6 hours or so. My guess is that the 6.0pH figure is actually around 5.5-5.7pH, because the API kit indicator doesn't go below 6, it seems. My guess is this is not a healthy environment for my Yellow Neos and Amanos. I am slowly adding KH. At the moment, I am at exactly where I said I was going to dose, 2-3KH and 5-6GH. I am now aiming for 5-6KH/GH. Do you think this will help me approach 7pH as a baseline? Will that trim up the swing and keep the high-dose CO2 pH above 6ish?

[@shrimplyexplained]

@@BlakeDonowitz-mk7iu Adding KH will certainly help you get closer to 7 pH and reduce swings but it may not be necessary. How long have you had the neos and amanos in this tank? Are the yellow neos breeding or are you noticing deaths?

[@BlakeDonowitz-mk7iu]

Fresh dutch style tank that I cycled, 100% plant cover. Ran with CO2 and Controsoil. I was easily achieving 5.5pH without knowing it, as the API test only goes so yellow as to indicate a 6.0pH. First batch of Amanos leaked during transit and I was forced to put them in my tank immediately. They are more shy and were dealing with those low pHs. Raised my pH with KH, but I don't see them often. Second batch of shrimp included a few more amanos and yellow neos. These I had time to acclimate and they are much more confident and have a great appetite. Don't have current figures, but I believe my CO2 photoperiod levels off around 6.2pH now at the lowest. Pre CO2 period, I see 6.6ish. Quite a small dip for CO2, but I'll be able to get a more accurate before and after this weekend. So no breeding and berrying yet after a few days. The new amanos behave completely different than the ones I introduced a week ago. The amanos came from the same breeder in the same batch. Other than that, my otocinclus were transferred from my older tank. Their behavior in the low pH tank was complete panic. They had red gills and were gasping for air. Oxygen was fine. I think they were looking for an exit. I did water changes and added KH slowly this week and their behavior took a complete 180. They are eating and much more confident.

[@shrimplyexplained]

@@BlakeDonowitz-mk7iu Good to hear the otos seem to be acclimating okay after the inital issues. I've heard they can be really sensitive to change so I wonder if acclimation is always rough? I don't have experience with them to say. I was gonna say that if you've had the shrimp in your tank for a while with the pH where it is and aren't seeing deaths then I wouldn't worry about messing with the pH/KH just yet. But since the shrimp have only been in the tank for a short time and we may not really know whether they adapt well until there are multiple deaths (bad), molts (good), or berried shrimp (good). I hope it goes well. Please reach out if you have any questions!

[@shrimpkeepermatt1989]

Hello sir, is it possible ammonification more than nitrification in an old tank, and make the pH go up? If it is, should I put nitrifying bacteria or EM into the tank regularly?

[@shrimplyexplained]

@yql7597 That's an interesting question! To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. According to this article in Nature (see below), ammonification releases hydrogen ions so that process should lower pH instead of raise it. Assuming your tank is cycled and the bioload doesn't change drastically, there should be enough nitrifying bacteria to handle any waste. It probably won't hurt to add more but shouldn't be necessary. Does that help? www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/the-nitrogen-cycle-processes-players-and-human-15644632/#:~:text=%2C%20algal%20blooms).-,Ammonification,the%20process%20known%20as%20ammonification.

[@shrimpkeepermatt1989]

Hello sir, is it possible to buffer a water between KH1-3 and PH 6.5-7 ? I have my ro water(PH6.3) reminenraled to KH 1, but it also made PH up to 7. Should I put some acid in it?

[@shrimplyexplained]

@yql7597 You definitely can have water with the ranges you stated. A couple of questions: 1. What are you using to remineralize your RO water? 2. What substrate do you have? 3. What shrimp are in or expected to be in the tank?

[@shrimpkeepermatt1989]

​@@shrimplyexplained I am keeping caridina mariae in my tank, using active soil and some little rocks. I remineralized my ro water using MgSO4, Calcium acetate, NaHCo3 and KHCo3. I tried to keep the KH 0-0.5, but I found the PH goes up and down in 1 day. I want the PH stable, so I am trying to make KH up to 1, but I don't want PH go up to 7+

[@shrimplyexplained]

@@shrimpkeepermatt1989 How much of a pH swing are you seeing throughout the day at the current KH? Also, what active substrate are you using?

[@shrimpkeepermatt1989]

@@shrimplyexplained I noticed pH swing 0.5 in one day. Recently I put more NaHCo3 and KHCo3 in the water, make the KH up to 1 and it doesn't swing so much, now the pH is around 6.8-7.2. But I was been told by some research caridina mariea like pH below 7.0. I am using Netlea active soil in my tank, and some little rocks

[@shrimplyexplained]

@@shrimpkeepermatt1989 Caridina marinae (tiger shrimp) are generally pretty hardy so it's possible 1 pH swing may not be a serious problem for them. If you have had them for a while and haven't seen them breed or haven't seen the babies survive though, then that could be a good indicator the pH swing is a problem. An active substrate is intended to keep the pH lower, but it depends on the quality and the batch and the age of the substrate. After consistent water changes for 8+ months the substrate could be depleted and no longer have the ability to lower pH as effectively. Another factor is plant density. A higher number of plants causes a larger pH swing throughout the day. It's generally very slow so is not particularly stressful, but removing some plants may be another option to mitigate pH swings. Lastly, it sounds like you're covering most of your bases with your custom remineralizer recipe, although there are some other minerals that may not be accounted for. Are you adding anything into the water to dose micronutrients like manganese?

[@paulm0573]

Way too technical explanation for my liking and understanding

[@shrimplyexplained]

@paulm0573 Thanks for the feedback! That's really useful to know. At what point did the video lose you?

[@paulm0573]

After the first few minutes when you went all scientific on us 😂

[@shrimplyexplained]

@@paulm0573 Haha gotcha! To be clear, did you feel lost because: A. The explanation wasn't clear enough. B. The information didn't seem useful enough to watch further C. You aren't interested in the hobby at such a microscopic level I'm curious to understand if there's something I might be able to do to either clarify things more or if I needed to do a better job to explain WHY this information is important/useful. Appreciate any additional feedback :D

[@BlakeDonowitz-mk7iu]

@@shrimplyexplained I wouldn't take that comment to heart. I imagine most of your viewers are literate enough to be fully captivated by the video, like me. This video was incredibly necessary, as most folks who keep shrimps are either doing it right, or killing shrimp and come here. If they are unable to digest this info, they shouldn't be keeping shrimp. The title of the video is "The Science of Stable Shrimp Tanks".

[@shrimplyexplained]

@@BlakeDonowitz-mk7iu Hey, thanks for the kind words, Blake! I appreciate you coming to our defense. Our videos are lucky enough to receive mostly supportive comments like yours. Negative comments may not feel great but it's also important to hear from those who don't like the videos if the feedback is constructive. If we get multiple of these comments saying the explanation was too confusing then that's a good indicator we need to improve our explanations. This initial comment probably could have been phrased differently but we still appreciate the commenter for taking the time to provide feedback. You're totally right that a lot of shrimp keepers would benefit from understanding the science of their tank better. Some people don't want to get into the nitty gritty details though, and we're not sure that's a sign of irresponsibility. Many hobbyists can likely get away with just understanding that KH limits pH swings so having some KH is good, and if you don't have much KH then you need another buffering source. We have to be careful about intellectually gatekeeping a hobby. For example, there are probably much more successful shrimp breeders out there who have much less knowledge of the science than even what the video goes over. They may understand the key information about KH in a different way and that's great, as long as they are focused on the health of their animals. We all enjoy our hobby in a different way and it's great that you like the science behind it! Happy shrimpin' :D