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Water 101

spitfire

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
18
Location
AUSTIN TEXAS USA
Interested in what people are doing with water. I have heard about peat and ro/di, etc. I am currently using RO/DI water and then adding acid/buffers/hardness back in to make specific types of water with certain parameters.
What are others doing and what chemicals / products are being used.
 

Randall

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
1,164
Location
New Jersey, USA
Water conditioning

Hello spitfire,

If you search the forum using the key words, "conditioning" or "peat moss," a slew of information will come up.

Adding buffers and/or acidifyers to RO/DI water is not recommended because it increases the conductivity of the end product tremendously, resulting in unnatural water. To lower pH of RO/DI water, simply condition with peat moss; and conversely, to raise the pH add back some tap water.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn
 

Randall

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
1,164
Location
New Jersey, USA
Conductivity

Hello spitfire,

Water contains a slew of trace elements and mineral salts that enable it to conduct electricity. The ability of water to conduct electricity--or its conductivity--is measured on the MicroSiemens scale expressed as MicroSiemens per liter at x degrees. My tap water, for example, is moderately hard and slightly alkaline (GH: 150 ppm, KH: 70-80 ppm, & pH: 7.2). The conductivity of my tap water is about 300 microSiemens/l @ 76 degrees F, which is about what one would expect given its hardness and pH. In the past when I've added buffers, acidifyers, salts, and/or other chemicals to my tap water, its conductivity jumped to about 600 microSiemens/l, which is way out of whack given my tap water's other parameters. By adding all this stuff to my tap water, I'm in essence creating unnatural water that does not exist in nature. For many tropical fish, this is not an issue. Most of the fish that I keep, however, are rain forest fish that do best in soft, acidic water with a low conductivity. Actually, some of my fish will not even think about spawning in water with a high conductivity at all!

By filtering my water through an RO unit and adding back some tap water at a 3:1 ratio, the following water parameters are achieved:

GH: 50-70 ppm, KH: 20-30 ppm, pH 6.0-6.2, & conductivity: 100-200 MicroSiemens/l at 76 degrees F

I've found that this formula is optimal for most of the fish that I keep. If I achieved these water parameters through adding chemicals, only with the conductivity measuring at, say, 600 MicroSeimens/l at 76 degrees F, some of the fish that I keep would not do nearly as well as they do.

One of the primary reasons of using RO water is to knock down its conductivity. Raising conductivity through adding chemicals defeats this purpose.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn
 

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