Re: keeping PH low

[Samala <samalaud@yahoo.com>]

>what about DI?

Well I was wondering when someone was going to mention
this oft hated though very usable device.  I don't
know how many tanks you have, but if the total
gallonage is low DI could work for you.  I'm only
keeping 40 total gallons at the moment.  I think if I
added another tank I would be forced into RO, DI can
be time consuming.  

I use a DI unit to take tap water from pH 7.3 KH 4 and
dgH 4 to ... pH 6.1 kH 1 dgH 1.   Sounds crazy, some
might say impossible, but research grade equipment
doesn't lie (well, usually).  Further use of peat and
pin oak leaves on this water yields a rather stable pH
5.0 kH/dgH negligible.  

[How do I use peat?  Rinse furiously.  Soak it for two
or three days in a 16 oz. cup at which time it sinks
and then either add it directly to the tank or put
into a 5gal bucket to soak and cure more water.  The
oak leaves are for decor/hiding and I'm not sure that
they actually change the water chemistry.  I'm
finagling with that as we speak with a few buckets of
leaves "curing".]  

By the way, CO2 injection to bring the PH down is not
as crazy as it seems.  Even on large scale aquaria. 
The NAIB in Baltimore uses CO2 canisters to stabilize
the PH on their immense Amazon Riverforest Exhibit,
easily 3000+ gallons.  I was never able to corner the
Aquarist who is in charge of the exhibit long enough
to ask how he got around the nutrients and plant life
issue though.  For those who haven't been to the NAIB
this exhibit does not have any aquatic plant life and
is populated with angels, pacu, a full grown red tail
catfish, Uaru, a few caymans and on and on and on. 
There is a shelf of plant life above the "river".  I
suspect that there is either a nutrient sump (almost
like the saltwater folks) or the water is very
precisely looked after.  

Last, Coby, most here will say that RO is the most
cost effective water softening arrangement and that's
true if you a) have a high total gallonage or b) have
pretty hard water.  Both will cause you to use DI
resins at a fast rate.  But for me and my small
operation, it works very well indeed.  

>Sarah

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