ro/di buffer

[DevilBoy]

i was wondering if anyone uses a ro/di buffer, for their ro/di water changes and daily top off water?

[davidsreef]

Tim, what do you use for your buffer, if you use any at all?

[Tim224DT]

I use nothing.........I make the water for my top offs and water changes and dont add anything to it well salt when its a water change. Personaly i didnt know they had buffer or you should be using buffer or what? From my understanding you can just use the water without adding anything to it.


Tim

[DevilBoy]

Originally Posted by davidsreef

Tim, what do you use for your buffer, if you use any at all?

David,
i dont use anything for a buffer in my ro/di water. i was reading and read that Kent Marine makes marine osmo prep, it is a buffer for ro/di water that will is a base for your ro water that will give you better readings when you mix your salt.

i was talking to Greg today, and i was thinking this maybe my pH problem is using the pure ro water for my water changes and daily top offs. since the pure ro/di water i use only has a pH of 6.0 - 6.5, and i can not get mine above 8.0. Then Greg's bright intellectual mind told me that ammonia and pH are related that if your tank has an ammonia reading it will lower you pH. hmm... i never heard it before, but i have a 0 ammonia reading. i just dont know what the heck it could be....

1. i have good water movement.... 2 MJ 900s, 1 MJ 400, and a Rio 800 on my skimmer
2. good surface agitation

im clueless, my CA is low, and my dKH is low. but i can raise them and it wont affect my pH reading....

so i did a test, took 1 gal of water out of my tank, put it the gallon of water with a powerhead aerating the water for an hour test the pH and still got 8.0, so i came to the conclusion that it is not a water movement issue...

any ideas?

[davidsreef]

I don't have much time to type tonight, so I will be brief. I will try to give you info and web address so you can read more cause I don't think you should trust everything I say
Here is a great link about low PH.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.php
It says low PH is a PH below 7.8. What is your reading? It sounded like it was no higher than 8, if its 8.0, then it should be fine, IMO. THe article also says that low Alk can cause low PH, baking soda is a buffer than will raise your PH, and help out your Alk a bit. THis article says how much baking soda to use:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

Baking Soda
To raise 50 gallons of tank water by 1 meq/L will require about 16 grams of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate; sodium hydrogencarbonate). Since a level teaspoon of baking soda weighs just under 6 grams, then 1 teaspoon will raise the alkalinity in that 50 gallons by ~0.4 meq/L (~1 dKH).
You also mentioned that your calc is low, so I would suggest to try to kill three stones with one bird and use kalkwasser, or calcium water. I use this once in awhile, and should use it more often. I think it may help out your calc, alk, and PH. You can use pickling lime found at grocery stores. I use one teaspoon of pickling lime per gallon of RODI water and SLOWLY drip it in the aquarium. Since it has a really high PH, you can cause too much of a spike in your aquarium if your not careful. If you have proper PH, and don't want to raise it, add a bit of vinegar to the pickling lime, and mix for a few seconds before adding to the RODI water, then drip it in. Since vinegar has low PH, it will help lower the PH of the kalkwasser. Here is an excellent article on Kalkwasser:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php
And this is what it states "limewater is arguably the best way to raise pHlimewater is arguably the best way to raise pH."

Another great article about aquarium water in general is:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php
And another on calcium and Alk:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...ture/index.php

Tim, if you need a little lime, let me know I have enough to last me a couple years.
Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.
David

[schneijt]

I don't use any buffers when I mix or top off. I don't even aerate the water for 24 hours like you're supposed to ... I'm so bad ... But, my tank's stable without problems. With my new 75 reef, I'll be doing regular readings and buffering as necessary to maintain a good ph, alk and calcium levels.

[Loverotties]

I add to my top off!

[pogodzib]

The articles posted by Davidsreef are all excellent articles. One thing to add is that people usually have more problems with pH as the tank gets older. It even has a name.

Old Tank Syndrome – Condition in which organic acids, excess nitrates, and other products accumulate in the aquarium, causing gradual decline in pH or a sudden pH crash. Caused by lack of proper maintenance of the aquarium including regular partial Water Changes.

I have always read that adding buffers for saltwater topoffs and water changes are a waste of money, unless your tank is having problems with its alkalinity. Since the RO/DI water has no buffering capacity, the pH will take on the tank's pH level without adjusting the tank's pH. It can however, lower the tank's buffering capacty (alk). I usually topoff with kalk added through a float device.

For freshwater aquariums, they say that the ro/di water is too pure and trace elements need to be added back into the water. I don't add anything for small FW water changes and topoffs as I figure that adding fish food help to add most of the more critical elements into the water.