# To all shrimp addicts please: share your ph reading using RO water.



## camboy012406 (Jun 11, 2010)

Hi guys just want to ask if what are your ph readings using your ro water and what brand are you using. thanks


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## Symplicity (Oct 14, 2011)

ph reading of the RO water itself or the ph reading of the RO water once in the tank....


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## camboy012406 (Jun 11, 2010)

Symplicity said:


> ph reading of the RO water itself or the ph reading of the RO water once in the tank....


ph of RO itself not in the tank. coz some people has like 6.9 and some 7.2 ph of RO alone thats why I think It depends upon the brand of RO system.


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## Symplicity (Oct 14, 2011)

Ah  Ill test my RO directly tomorrow, i never tested it ... lol never thought to test it  i am now curious myself


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## RONY11 (Jan 6, 2011)

My RO system give me PH 6.2 TDS 1-4 ppm. I have a booster.

I add shirakura liquid mineral to raise the TDS, PH, KH and GH.


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## camboy012406 (Jun 11, 2010)

RONY11 said:


> My RO system give me PH 6.2 TDS 1-4 ppm. I have a booster.
> 
> I add shirakura liquid mineral to raise the TDS, PH, KH and GH.


wow, just RO alone? what do you mean by booster


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## matti2uude (Jan 10, 2009)

My RO/DI water has a Ph around 8 usually.


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## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

You can't really test pure RO as there is nothing to buffer the water to get a decent pH reading. After remineralizing and allowing the water to sit for a few days with an airstone to allow the water to exchange CO2 with the air around it, will give you a better reading.

there is no magic number that all RO water ends up at though, pH depends on many things that are present in a water and are usually based on the source water going into the RO unit itself. I got a buddy in the states that gets 8.6 pH RO because his source water is even higher than that. The advantage of using RO with a buffering substrate is normally after we remineralize, we are only adding gH back to the water and a few trace minerals but the kH is normally 0 still and makes it easier for the soil to bring the water down lower in pH by releasing tannins/humic acids, etc. When using tap water, especially hard tap water with a gh/kh like 9-10, the substrate has to work a lot harder and thus burn out faster trying to drop that gh to 4-5 range and the kh to 0 to be able to then buffer the pH down.

pH is a very complicated thing with water and not just the result of 1 or 2 things. Adding CO2 to water to decrease the pH isn't the same as a true pH because as soon as the CO2 off gases, the water pH will increase, thus it's not a true, stable pH.


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## RCode (Dec 12, 2010)

I've always believed the ph only plays a role on the bacteria that grows in your tank. The TDS (gh/kh) is what keeps the shrimp molting and getting berried.

In the end, they always relate back to one another. I want to learn more about the conductivity of the water, as you see it mentioned every now and then, but no one addresses it regarding shrimp. Hmm


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## AquaticPulse (Jun 19, 2011)

getochkn said:


> [Adding CO2 to water to decrease the pH isn't the same as a true pH because as soon as the CO2 off gases, the water pH will increase, thus it's not a true, stable pH.


do you mean adding co2 will increase pH and it will decrease when the co2 is off? increase in pH means an increase in acidity, unless you mean adding co2 will decrease the acidity and turning it off increases the acidity.


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## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

thinkshane said:


> do you mean adding co2 will increase pH and it will decrease when the co2 is off? increase in pH means an increase in acidity, unless you mean adding co2 will decrease the acidity and turning it off increases the acidity.


Adding CO2 decreases the pH (makes it lower and more acidic), but it's not a true pH because it doesn't stay that low.


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## matti2uude (Jan 10, 2009)

getochkn said:


> Adding CO2 decreases the pH (makes it lower and more acidic), but it's not a true pH because it doesn't stay that low.


The Ph will stay low using CO2 if you have it connected to a Ph controller.


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## AquaticPulse (Jun 19, 2011)

pH measures acidity. so you mean increase in pH. increase in pH means making more acidity. decrease in pH makes it more basic.


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## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

matti2uude said:


> The Ph will stay low using CO2 if you have it connected to a Ph controller.


Ya, but the second the pH controller is off, it will rise, it's not a true pH lowering method. Treating water with peat/humic acid, will permanently lower pH and keep it there.


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## splur (May 11, 2011)

thinkshane said:


> pH measures acidity. so you mean increase in pH. increase in pH means making more acidity. decrease in pH makes it more basic.


You got it backwards, lower pH means more acidic, higher pH is more basic.

When you add CO2 into water, the reaction goes CO2 + H2O <-> HCO3- <-> H2CO3 which is an acid, making the water more acidic temporarily. The reaction is reversible and the system will always try to reach equilibrium. Because you add CO2 into the water, and pCO2 in the the room air will never be as high as what you add in the water, the reaction will always push towards the left and CO2 will off-gas out of the water. This is why when you turn your CO2 off, the water will increase in pH and become more basic.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Think of PH by thinking of the scale used to measure it. It goes to 14, with 7 being considered neutral, neither acid or basic. 

If the number is higher than 7, it considered basic, also called alkaline. If the number is lower than 7, it is considered acidic. Each whole number value is ten times higher or lower than the one next to it. So a Ph of 4 is ten times stronger than a pH of 5, and 100 times stronger than a PH of 6. A ph of 10 is ten times stronger than one of 9, and 100 times higher than Ph 8.

Water with an acidic reading of 2 is acidic enough that virtually nothing can survive in it, and water of this acidity is being used to clean and disinfect in place of chemicals in some places now, quite successfully.

Typical bottled water usually has a Ph reading between 6 and 7, not often much less than 6.7 or so. Some tap water, like mine, is alkaline, mine's between 7.5 and 8 from the tap. Common household materials can be either acid or alkaline. Vinegar is acidic, though not a very strong one. Baking soda is basic, again, not a very strong one. Bleach is a much stronger alkaline and mixing it with anything acidic causes a severely caustic gas to be produced that can kill if it's breathed. Hence the warning on every bleach label, and on many other cleaning products as well. 

Even though it may seem counterintuitive, the lower the PH number is, the more acidic the water is. 7 is neutral, and anything over it is alkaline, or basic if you prefer.


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## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

First read this
http://www.chelonia.org/articles/waterchemistry.htm

If you still have appetite for more (you should), read this,
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/gh_kh_ph.php

And whenever you think you're not sure, read the second one again. Once you understand it all, you will get more confused in a more educated way.

PS: 
For reference, ph right out of my RO storage tank (bypassing the final stage) is 6.2-6.4, depending on how long they have stayed in the storage tank.
A day or two after, PH goes to like 6.8. (mineralized or not)
I did some experiment with RO going through my peat filter, PH is about 4 ;-)

When I do WC, I don't adjust PH of remineralized RO, no matter the tank PH (5.2-6.8). Neo tanks gets aged tap water only, sometimes with some % of peat treated tap.


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## MananaP (Jul 6, 2012)

My RO water is 6.2-6.3 PH TDS of 0.


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## camboy012406 (Jun 11, 2010)

MananaP said:


> My RO water is 6.2-6.3 PH TDS of 0.


whats the brand of RO are you using?thanks


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## MananaP (Jul 6, 2012)

camboy012406 said:


> whats the brand of RO are you using?thanks


WaterGeneral Mfg. Co.
Model: RD - 102
RO + DI system

PS: Some people say after a few days in holding buckets the PH of the water will raise but i don't see this case on mine as it always stays 6.3 ALL the time even with air stone running 24/7 for months at a time.


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