# pH with RO water and akadama



## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

i was cycling my 20gal with tap water and decided to change about 75% of it to remineralized RO water. i just checked ph and it is at 7.6. the ph of my RO water out of the tap is 6.3. how can i drop my ph some more so it is suitable for CBS?


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## camboy012406 (Jun 11, 2010)

probably there is something with your ph test kit


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## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

How long between the water change and you testing the water in the tank and how long between making the RO water and testing it? Also, are you testing the RO water as pure RO or remineralized RO? Pure water is hard to get a pH on. Try testing distilled which is ALWAYS 100% 0TDS and still purer than RO. My pH meter goes all over the place on pure distilled, there is nothing to conduct the probe to get a accurate reading. Once I remineralize, I get a accurate reading.

Back to the timing question though. If you're testing your RO right after it's made, it could high in CO2 which will give it a false reading. Try this. Take a handful of your substrate, put it in a tupperware container, fill with remineralized RO and another container with no substrate and the remineralized RO and test pH right away, then after 24 hours, then again after 48 hours. See how close they are.

Also, pH test kits suck. Get a pH meter off Ebay. Like $10, does temperature correction, comes with calibration solution.


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## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

getochkn said:


> How long between the water change and you testing the water in the tank and how long between making the RO water and testing it? Also, are you testing the RO water as pure RO or remineralized RO? Pure water is hard to get a pH on. Try testing distilled which is ALWAYS 100% 0TDS and still purer than RO. My pH meter goes all over the place on pure distilled, there is nothing to conduct the probe to get a accurate reading. Once I remineralize, I get a accurate reading.
> 
> Back to the timing question though. If you're testing your RO right after it's made, it could high in CO2 which will give it a false reading. Try this. Take a handful of your substrate, put it in a tupperware container, fill with remineralized RO and another container with no substrate and the remineralized RO and test pH right away, then after 24 hours, then again after 48 hours. See how close they are.
> 
> Also, pH test kits suck. Get a pH meter off Ebay. Like $10, does temperature correction, comes with calibration solution.


i remineralize the RO directly in the bucket prior to putting it in my tank. i tested the tank water approximately two hours after replacing the tank water.

i am not using the crappy liquid ph test kits. i have an Oakton EcoTester pH1 digital meter, not a cheapy ph meter either.

i will test the water in the tank again tomorrow and see if it changes.


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## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

i decided to not wait until tomorrow and checked the water just now. it is at 6.8pH.

i guess i just had to give it some time to settle or something.
also, i think this is why we shouldnt do such large water changes at one time because of the large pH fluctuation.


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## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

The pH changes isn't as big of a deal with buffering soil, yes it may raise it and then the soil lowers it, but the important thing is the gH/TDS not changing for the shrimp.


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## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

getochkn said:


> The pH changes isn't as big of a deal with buffering soil, yes it may raise it and then the soil lowers it, but the important thing is the gH/TDS not changing for the shrimp.


when remineralizing RO water, is the GH or TDS more important? (im guessing the GH)

my water is currently 150ppm with a GH of 6. should i lower my GH to 5?

when i was in hong kong at a shrimp store i noticed his water only had a tds of ~82 which surprised me.


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## camboy012406 (Jun 11, 2010)

chinamon said:


> when remineralizing RO water, is the GH or TDS more important? (im guessing the GH)
> 
> my water is currently 150ppm with a GH of 6. should i lower my GH to 5?
> 
> when i was in hong kong at a shrimp store i noticed his water only had a tds of ~82 which surprised me.


I think your gh is okey see here.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=355894007821267&set=a.355893584487976.82184.159095764167760&type=3&theater


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## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

camboy012406 said:


> I think your gh is okey see here.
> https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=355894007821267&set=a.355893584487976.82184.159095764167760&type=3&theater


ive seen that list of parameters before but 6 dGH is still on the high end of things. i like to keep things in the middle if possible (if they say between 4-6 then i like to be at 5. if they say between 1-1000 then i like to be at 500. etc)

also, that list says tds should be 80-100 when almost everyone else says 100-200.....


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## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

The most important numbers are the ones that work for your shrimp. You can play the numbers game and 10 different sites will give you 10 different numbers to keep them in. 

Ask 10 different members who have thriving populations and they will have 10 different sets of parameters. Use those as a guideline but don't obsess and try and get some magic number because you'll end up never keeping anything consistent and always tweaking, doing too many water changes, adding too many things to the water, etc, etc.

Get the numbers close, let your shrimp adjust and then keep it there.


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## camboy012406 (Jun 11, 2010)

agree with getockn I think the water parameters are not important as long it is stable. I bred crystal shrimp 2 years ago and had + shrimps without looking at the gh or tds. coz I had only ph test kit that time. also im just using HOB filter, no special additives like mosura bacter, mud and etc

here


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