Linwood
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Our PH here is very high in tap water (8.6+) so I got a RODI filter.
I just filled a new large tank. I then very carefully weighed out Seachem Alkaline Buffer and Acid Buffer in a 2:1 ratio - two Alkaline to one Acid.
That's supposed to yield 7.0.
An hour or so after mixing (I have two canisters running, I put one in each in the bottom between two pads), it was 6.4, but I figured it wasn't mixed.
The next morning it was 7.6.
Today (day 2) it is 8.0.
It's a new tank. It has blasting sand for substrate, which I assume is no effect.
It has Quartzite for rocks -- yes, I'm in Florida, no I am not using the ubiquitous limestone. The Quartite was heavily pressure washed so no coating of other dust.
And the tank has one large driftwood root, bought 2nd hand from a freshwater tank. Even if it's not inert now, I presume it would drive ph down not up.
The RODI water was close to pure -- I measured it repeatedly at zero TDS while filling.
The tank is circulating but nothing active in it - no plants, fish, etc. Haven't yet started feeding it ammonia to cycle. The tank itself was new, so no old calcium deposits, etc.
I also added Equilibrium, but I HOPE that doesn't affect PH, it's not documented to by Seachem.
To get 8.0 per Seachem I needed to be off by a factor of 2 on the weights -- and I wasn't. I have a decently accurate scale, and actually did it by weight, not volume, which is what they recommend.
What am I missing here?
PS. Details on initial does: 220 Gallons fresh RODI water, 293 grams Equilibrium, 264 Grams Alkaline Buffer, 132 grams Acid buffer. Alkaline and Equilibrium added to filter #1, run for about 30 minutes while I added Acid to filter #2, and it started. Total run time now about 36 hours. No CO2 injection or such, just filtration agitation.
I just filled a new large tank. I then very carefully weighed out Seachem Alkaline Buffer and Acid Buffer in a 2:1 ratio - two Alkaline to one Acid.
That's supposed to yield 7.0.
An hour or so after mixing (I have two canisters running, I put one in each in the bottom between two pads), it was 6.4, but I figured it wasn't mixed.
The next morning it was 7.6.
Today (day 2) it is 8.0.
It's a new tank. It has blasting sand for substrate, which I assume is no effect.
It has Quartzite for rocks -- yes, I'm in Florida, no I am not using the ubiquitous limestone. The Quartite was heavily pressure washed so no coating of other dust.
And the tank has one large driftwood root, bought 2nd hand from a freshwater tank. Even if it's not inert now, I presume it would drive ph down not up.
The RODI water was close to pure -- I measured it repeatedly at zero TDS while filling.
The tank is circulating but nothing active in it - no plants, fish, etc. Haven't yet started feeding it ammonia to cycle. The tank itself was new, so no old calcium deposits, etc.
I also added Equilibrium, but I HOPE that doesn't affect PH, it's not documented to by Seachem.
To get 8.0 per Seachem I needed to be off by a factor of 2 on the weights -- and I wasn't. I have a decently accurate scale, and actually did it by weight, not volume, which is what they recommend.
What am I missing here?
PS. Details on initial does: 220 Gallons fresh RODI water, 293 grams Equilibrium, 264 Grams Alkaline Buffer, 132 grams Acid buffer. Alkaline and Equilibrium added to filter #1, run for about 30 minutes while I added Acid to filter #2, and it started. Total run time now about 36 hours. No CO2 injection or such, just filtration agitation.