just wondering
- Thread starter biz50
- Start date
Angler02
Active member
Whenever I add fresh water or do a water change and add saltwater I ensure the ph and kh are buffed. I do this by keepng a brute can of RODI water with a power head and a heater to keep it at the same temp as well. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't RODI water have no PH. That is why I add a ph and kh buffer before going into my system. I have noticed by doing this the corals do not seem to be affected at all. As opposed to when I used to just dump water in, then add chemicals.
paulamrein
New member
RO/DI has ph and kh but both are relatively low, I too have started buffering the water after each water change. I assumed (there's my first mistake) that the salt water added would buff it up. But, alas, I was of course mistaken. I think at one point I had a kh of 5
!! luckily though, there was no fish in the tank.
Angler02
Active member
Ok so I correct myself RODI has a relatively low ph and kh but I do believe this would definitly shock your tank's levels somewhat. Of course if you really want to dive in and think, just look at it like Let Me Grow would. If you take into account the amount of fresh water dumped in by rain clouds, does this constitute as adding water as if you would with a reef tank. Or because it's on a much larger scale would it have no effect? Even if the fresh water added by rain clouds did have an effect, how in the world would you ever test that?
Letmegrow
New member
Rain would play into effect if it was compounded by run off from land and rivers.
Surface rain probly would not have too much effect, I suspect that not enough rain falls fast enough to not become instantly buffered.
+ I imagine with all the oxygen being enducted into the water by the droplets would raise the pH faster than a powerhead.
++ You don't know what pH and KH rain has VS. Ro/DI.
Moral of the story - Make like Kevin and Paul and buffer your top off and pre-buffer your water change water.
Surface rain probly would not have too much effect, I suspect that not enough rain falls fast enough to not become instantly buffered.
+ I imagine with all the oxygen being enducted into the water by the droplets would raise the pH faster than a powerhead.
++ You don't know what pH and KH rain has VS. Ro/DI.
Moral of the story - Make like Kevin and Paul and buffer your top off and pre-buffer your water change water.
paulamrein
New member
WWLMGD?
I think in the span of the world considering it's raining on half the planet at any given time, it's in the same vein as a RR and sump system, water is constantly being pulled out and the same amount of water is being put back in, considering there has been the same amount of water on this earth since it was created.
paulamrein
New member
Are you joking? They are actually finding the planet to be a degree and a half cooler on average. Not to turn this political.
Angler02
Active member
HAHA well from what I have seen and that is not too much. But if you ever watch history channel or discovery they have a piece on global warming and the melting of the icecaps, it seems to have a lot of evidence of global warming. There is an icecap I believe in antartica that had a 1500 square miles piece break off, this piece had been there for as long as we have kept records of it. Just seems odd to me that some of these occurances would happen without it being warmer.
paulamrein
New member
These ice caps break every day regardless of temperature by them going into the ocean it WILL add more fresh water into the ocean, but, it will actually cause a reverse effect in the fact that the oceans dictate a lot of the climate changes,it has warm and cold currents moving storms and fronts. It was what actually caused the ice-age. The ocean level went up and it didn't circulate properly causing some of the atlantic to have warmer waters which pushed some of the fronts to circulate more in the area causing a great freeze. So, truth be told IF there is that drastic of change in climate, I'd invest in thermal draws instead of sunscreen.
Are you joking? They are actually finding the planet to be a degree and a half cooler on average.
If by "they" you mean the oil/energy industry you might be correct. Among actual scientists that have been objectively studying the atmosphere, there is an overwhelming consensus that global warming is occurring and that man is partly to primarily responsible. It is an absolute fact that the percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been rising rapidly since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Carbon dioxide traps heat resulting in a "greenhouse effect". The only real argument is how fast is it happening and can we slow it down. Unfortunately, almost all recent data shows that global warming is increasing at a rate unimagined just a decade ago.
If by "they" you mean the oil/energy industry you might be correct. Among actual scientists that have been objectively studying the atmosphere, there is an overwhelming consensus that global warming is occurring and that man is partly to primarily responsible. It is an absolute fact that the percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been rising rapidly since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Carbon dioxide traps heat resulting in a "greenhouse effect". The only real argument is how fast is it happening and can we slow it down. Unfortunately, almost all recent data shows that global warming is increasing at a rate unimagined just a decade ago.
DrBDC
Active member
Back to the question on chemicals. 
You do not need to buffer your ro/di water. The salt mix has all the chemicals you need in it. Don't buy any hype about a certain salt mix "made for ro/di".
If the ca, alk, or magnesium is deficient in your choice of salt mix, then it may be a possiblilty that more will need to be added. But ask yourself why you choose that salt mix. Sometimes it's price related such as with IO salt. IO is lower in calcium that others.
If you make your own CaCl supplement, it may be the way to go by just adding more Ca. Same with some others if they are low in alk and you use baking soda. If you are buying the ca and alk supplements, I'm not sure it's economical and you probably would be better buying a salt that matches closer to your desired tank parameters.
You will find, eventually anyway, that you will need to supplement ca and alk to meet the tank demand. But that's another part of the story.
You do not need to buffer your ro/di water. The salt mix has all the chemicals you need in it. Don't buy any hype about a certain salt mix "made for ro/di".
If the ca, alk, or magnesium is deficient in your choice of salt mix, then it may be a possiblilty that more will need to be added. But ask yourself why you choose that salt mix. Sometimes it's price related such as with IO salt. IO is lower in calcium that others.
If you make your own CaCl supplement, it may be the way to go by just adding more Ca. Same with some others if they are low in alk and you use baking soda. If you are buying the ca and alk supplements, I'm not sure it's economical and you probably would be better buying a salt that matches closer to your desired tank parameters.
You will find, eventually anyway, that you will need to supplement ca and alk to meet the tank demand. But that's another part of the story.
paulamrein
New member
Dang man, you run tests on your top off? I wish I had that dedication. It comes from the sink, through the RO/DI filter into a trashcan into the bucket, into the tank. Some steps are skipped occasionally, and on occasion I spill on the floor and turn and walk in it and see my feet go over my head before my head slamming into the kitchen counter.
I just buffer once a week during my water change. Should I buffer more? Or is it tank by tank?
I just buffer once a week during my water change. Should I buffer more? Or is it tank by tank?
paulamrein
New member
I don't have any corals either, and I guess that has a factor as well, everything is still alive, and my kh isn't as low as it used to be so I'll just keep on keeping on.
