How much equilibrium??

i had overdose shrimp mineral salt in my tank a couple of months ago. my ph went from 7.2 to 8.6
it was scary. i messed up. ive been lowering the ph ever since i tried almond cattapa leave and alder cones.. but wasnt really working. as soon as i started doing my water changes with JUST RO water! i started seeing results!!

i just tested my water parameters.
these are the results:
•TDS METER: 612

API LIQUID TEST:
•ph *(i used both oh and high range ph)*
looks like a ph of somewhere between 7.4 and 7.6

•kh it turned from blue to yellow with 3 drops! so three degrees=53.7ppm

•gh it went from orange to green rite after the 33rd drop >.< so would the gh degree be 33?? and to find the ppm # i multiply by 17.9=590.7 ??

i also used test strips!!

API test strip results:
•ph 7.0-7.5
•kh 0-40 [[this was the zero color with the 40 color in the middle]]
•gh 180 [[solid color]]

Tetra strip results:
•ph 7.5
•gh 300
•kh 0-40

im about to do a water change.
for about 3 months ive been doing water changes with just RO. i REALLY want and need my KH to be higher tho /.- im going to do a 10-15% water change with dechlorinated tap water!

could seachem stress guard and seachems prime *when used for emergencies* be the reason for my high tds? possible. but my ph went down like i needed to. but why is my GH still high?? i was thinking i needed to dose equilibrium. but im not going to . i had seachems alkaline buffer to help with my kh. but after reading the bottle lable acouple of times.. i was like oh no now i need the acid buffer to.. and then i was like No. i dont really have a planted tank. i think. i have like 4 plants glued on to suction cups. all barebottom tanks! i dont think its considered "planted"? but. anyways i try to avoid chemical things. so i was thinking crushed sonething to help my KH. should i be worried about the GH being that hard??

 

What is your current stocking, and how have they reacted? Shrimp are at risk of osmotic shock if the Gh shoots that high out of nowhere but you also need to consider how long it's already been and how they responded

 

so i just red on my marine and reef paper that freshwater gh should be 6-8
. so yea im worried.

*i am NOT going to do a water change actually.
i decided to mix sum RO water with aquarium salt. i just added like 20 or 30mL of that concoction^!

just to help me thru the night.

 

are all these readings from the tank water or your tap water? If tank water, what are the numbers from straight tap water?

BTW: No, your high TDS reading isn't caused by using seachem stress guard and seachems prime.

 

What is your current stocking, and how have they reacted? Shrimp are at risk of osmotic shock if the Gh shoots that high out of nowhere but you also need to consider how long it's already been and how they responded

my current stocking is a 2.5 inchgardenri killifish, a 2 inch peacock gudgeon, a 2.5inch albino bristle nose pleco, a 2.7 inch glass catfish, a 2.7 inch multipunctacaious catfish, 3inch yoyo loach, 2.6 inch skunk loach, and a 2.7 sand peppered loach! in a 40breeder. they are all champs. warriors to the bone❤. when i wanted to switch from tap water to ro water. 1 of the workers at my local pet store recommend sera's shrimp mineral salt. PS I DONT really keep shrimp tho. i told her this. i said once in a while ill buy a couple 30 ghost shrimp when available at my local pet store and distribute them amongst my 3 tanks. the bigger shrimp stay for a good while but eventually get eaten. WHERE [] really messed up on. is the fact that i was dosed for the volume of the whole tank. the whole 40gallons. instead of just the 2 gallons of ro water that i was going to add. it was super scary. all the fish are ok. but its been like 6 or 7 maybe even 8 water changes where ive just been pouring in ro water. and idk why my gh is like it is rn. **its been almost 3 weeks i need to do a water change but.. idk what to do.. ive been using stress guard, prime and salt.*" to get me thru the night"*. my ph is pretty much where it needs to be but my kh and gh are not. i have wecos wondershells and i added a half of a pinky nail size to the tank just to make sure they have the minerals or purification that they need. uknow. because its been a while since ive added any minerals or anything.

rite now. im debating..
PS and thank you for ur help!!
if i do a water change rn.. i could add tap water! i red on a "fishlab.com" article that my kh could be helped by adding tap water. and recently my tap waters ph was around 7.3!! a couple of months ago when i messed up with the salt . and started using ro water.. about 3months agoi tested my tap water and it was ph of 8.2 8.4
and i was like omg.


three months later. my tap water its at 7.2 7.4

ph is good.

i didnt test my taps gh or kh. i probably should.

but what if the gh is a good amount. and then it just adds to my current gh then would my ph go up??

so i just red on my marine and reef paper that freshwater gh should be 6-8
. so yea im worried.

*i am NOT going to do a water change actually.
i decided to mix sum RO water with aquarium salt. i just added like 20 or 30mL of that concoction^!

just to help me thru the night.

are all these readings from the tank water or your tap water? If tank water, what are the numbers from straight tap water?

BTW: No, your high TDS reading isn't caused by using seachem stress guard and seachems prime.

im about to test my tap water with a api and tetra test strip. would this be ok or should i do the liquid test also?!?!

if i do a water change with just ro. wouldnt that maybe bring my ph down? ._.
dudes thanks for all ur help and patience.

should i test my tap water before and after adding prime to it?!

 

im about to test my tap water with a api and tetra test strip. would this be ok or should i do the liquid test also?!?!

I would use the liquid tests. I think you will get a more accurate reading by doing so. Depending on the readings it may be much easier on you to just use it instead of RO water and having to remineralize it.

if i do a water change with just ro. wouldnt that maybe bring my ph down? ._.

It probably will but it's possible using your tap water might too. We will know more once we get the tap water readings.

dudes thanks for all ur help and patience.

should i test my tap water before and after adding prime to it?!

Test the tap water straight from the tap.

 

evaporation could be affected my gh?!?!?!

 

If I found myself in your situation I would be using my tap water. I know the pH is on the high side but unless you are going to have fish that absolutely have to have a lower pH you shouldn't have any trouble using it. Lots of folks here on the forum are having no problems with their pH this high. As most of us will tell you a stable pH is much more important that a specific number.

I actually think you are making this too hard on yourself. Just use your tap water and you won't have to worry about how much of this or that you need to add to get where you want to be.

Yes, evaporation can cause the higher numbers in the tank. The minerals that make up gh/kh don't evaporate so as the water evaporates the minerals are more concentrated. Water changes with lower mineral content are the only way to lower them.

 

If I found myself in your situation I would be using my tap water. I know the pH is on the high side but unless you are going to have fish that absolutely have to have a lower pH you shouldn't have any trouble using it. Lots of folks here on the forum are having no problems with their pH this high. As most of us will tell you a stable pH is much more important that a specific number.

I actually think you are making this too hard on yourself. Just use your tap water and you won't have to worry about how much of this or that you need to add to get where you want to be.

Yes, evaporation can cause the higher numbers in the tank. The minerals that make up gh/kh don't evaporate so as the water evaporates the minerals are more concentrated. Water changes with lower mineral content are the only way to lower them.

thanks