RE: Reconstituting RO/DI Water

["Michael Kahlow" <michael.a.kahlow@uwrf.edu>]

RO/DI water will not give accurate pH readings, either with dyes (test kits)
or electrodes.  (It's one of the first things that intro chem students learn
in the lab I teach ;-)  It ends up "taking on" whatever pH given to it by
the buffering capacity/acidity/alkalinity of the water/substrate you add it
to.

I would also avoid the "Instant Ocean".  If I remember my brief foray into
saltwater correctly, the saltwater salts should give a pH of about 8.3.  I
don't know what they would be at the lower concentration you would be using,
but it's not what you're shooting for.  Use the instant ocean for raising
your BBS.

I've been playing around lately with the boiling peat thing as an addition
to my RO water, along with R/O Right.  I boil about 2 cups of sphagnum peat,
add about 1 tsp of baking soda, which helps to extract the desirable humic
acids :) but also adds Na+ :( then add muriatic acid (HCl) if needed to
bring the pH into the 5.5 - 6.5 range.   I get a couple of gallons of really
dark coffee-tinted water which I add to my 55 gallon about 1/3 gallon per
water change.  May just be coincidence, but my tank has cleared from its
perpetual green water/nasty algae cycle, my pH is more stable in the acid
range, my plants are exploding, and my tetras (red minors and neons) are
spawning darned near every morning.  (The rams _love_ to follow the red
minors around and pick up the eggs!)

michael kahlow
michael.a.kahlow@uwrf.edu


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