worry about ph?

cartoonbear

cartoonbear

New member
I am using amquel and tap water for my 125 gallon reef (I also used it on my 40 gallon reef that went into the 125). The 40g started in october of last year and was moved to the 125 in january.

I have now started to become intersted in RO/DI units b/c I would like to get a little more clarity.

right now my tap comes out at 8.2 ph and it stays at this while in the tank. If I start to use a RO/DI unit will I have to worry about the ph? Will the salt buffer it to the right ph. I am using Instant Ocean.

thanks
 
Don't worry too much about the pH. If you keep up on your alkalinity and calcium levels and keep the tank oxygenated you won't have any issues. My pH stays right around 8.2-8.3 using RO/DI water. :)
 
now that you mention it

my alk is 9, and my Ca is above 500

how can I fix this?

I am changing salts because of this problem. Before I was using Oceanic and noticed that my Ca was like 600 and my alk was like 8.

I have done numerous water changes and there has been little change.

should I just not worry about it and keep doing WCs?
 
Are you dosing anything? If so I'd stop and let the calcium come down on its own. Target 400 for calcium. The alk is fine. 7-11dkh is good.

What test kit are you using?
 
In the chemistry forum they have a post up at the top that tells you what you need to do. They have it broken down if you are to high in one and not the other. I would take a look at that.
 
Most tanks require regular alkalinity (buffer) and calcium supplementation. If the alkalinity in your tank stays in the 7-11 dKH range without supplementation, it's fine as is. The tapwater might have enough alkalinity and calcium in it to raise your numbers, so testing some freshly-mixed saltwater might be interesting.

I'd go for RO-DI, but you might then have to start supplementing calcium and alkalinity, if the tapwater is proving some now.
 
I would not use tap water. The levels from the water are never the same and 1 bad batch could be deadly for your tank. Always use good RO/DI water to eliminate this from your problem solving and giving this sensitive eco system the best change for long life.
 
what RO/Di system then? I have heard that spectrapure is good, but what else is there? they are just really expensive, what are you guys using? How do you use them?
 
I use a a place called water mill. A tech showed me the system and i was impressed. I will be getting a RO/DI soon tho. I cant recommend any but im guessing any system is alot better then tap.
 
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