2 questions on water

[JAC-]

In the future ill definitely be upgrading equipment so ill look into a redsea test kit, so I tested it and got 12 is that good or bad?

It depends on what you are after, but it's on the high side.

I like to run it 11-12 for my corals.
The ocean is about 9 I believe, and what I would target for a fish only tank.

9-10 would be my blind recommendation and I'd be curious to hear others thoughts.

The big thing is keeping it as stable as you can. It'd be good for you to test daily for a few weeks and get an idea of how it changes.

I'm not sure about the salt you use, but it will set a KH when mixed and if you're trying to target something far off from that water changes will throw you off instead of helping you.

That's not a recommendation to not do water changes, but rather to target a KH that matches your salt mix.

 

[cmoore806]

What is the difference between RO and RODI?

RODI is an acronym for: Reverse Osmosis De Ionization

The deionization stages in the RODI system that creates pure water removes ionized elements from the water after it passes through the membrane. These are Cations--positively charged ((aluminum, copper, zinc, lead) or anions--negatively charged (like chloride, phosphate).

My tap water has TDS in the 120's, after a sediment filter and two carbon blocks it has 2 TDS. I measure free chlorine at this point through a sampling port. If I find chlorine then I know it's time to replace the carbon stages.

From there it goes through three DI stages (one anion, one cation, and one mixed bed. while you could go with just a single "mixed-bed" DI resin I found that It can save trouble to separate the different ions/resin so I can replace just one at a time as they are exhausted at different rates.

A simple TDS reading, while helpful to a point, won't identify what the TDS is from.

 

[Dominic M]

It depends on what you are after, but it's on the high side.

I like to run it 11-12 for my corals.
The ocean is about 9 I believe, and what I would target for a fish only tank.

9-10 would be my blind recommendation and I'd be curious to hear others thoughts.

The big thing is keeping it as stable as you can. It'd be good for you to test daily for a few weeks and get an idea of how it changes.

I'm not sure about the salt you use, but it will set a KH when mixed and if you're trying to target something far off from that water changes will throw you off instead of helping you.

That's not a recommendation to not do water changes, but rather to target a KH that matches your salt mix.

Im using instant ocean reef salt.

 

[JAC-]

Im using instant ocean reef salt.

It's been a while, but I believe that should put you close to a 9 DKH.

Are you adding anything else to raise the KH?

Basically anything with .......carbonate listed in the ingredients, or kalkwasser.

I'd be curious if you're kit is reading wrong. Even if it is, as long as it's repeatable it doesn't really matter until you go to get a new one. Just test it against a new one when you get it so you know what level you want to maintain.

 

[Dominic M]

It's been a while, but I believe that should put you close to a 9 DKH.

Are you adding anything else to raise the KH?

Basically anything with .......carbonate listed in the ingredients, or kalkwasser.

I'd be curious if you're kit is reading wrong. Even if it is, as long as it's repeatable it doesn't really matter until you go to get a new one. Just test it against a new one when you get it so you know what level you want to maintain.

Not adding anything just water and salt, could it be 9 and my test kit is reading 12 if so could I say if it read 11 it would be 8 and if it read 13 it would be 10?

 

[JAC-]

Not adding anything just water and salt, could it be 9 and my test kit is reading 12 if so could I say if it read 11 it would be 8 and if it read 13 it would be 10?

It certainly could be, I experienced a similar issue.

I wouldn't assume the error was linear, but that would be very interesting. A bit difficult to test though.

I'd be happy to test a sample for you if you wanted to go through the trouble and expense of shipping one to me. I imagine you could find someone local that could do the same though. Do you know anyone who has a different brand of KH test?

I honestly wouldn't stress the specific level it's at, just that its repeatable and maintained close to the same level.

Next time you mix up a bucket of salt, give it a while to settle out, check the level it's at and see if it matches your tank. If so your level should be fine.

Just a thought, are you checking your salinity? I put that one on the mega important list.

Highly recommend a refractometer, and to calibrate it every couple of months.

Edit,
Just saw your original post for the k5.
Good to go on the refractometer.
Would recommend getting some calibration fluid from BRS for it in the near future.

 

[Dominic M]

It certainly could be, I experienced a similar issue.

I wouldn't assume the error was linear, but that would be very interesting. A bit difficult to test though.

I'd be happy to test a sample for you if you wanted to go through the trouble and expense of shipping one to me. I imagine you could find someone local that could do the same though. Do you know anyone who has a different brand of KH test?

I honestly wouldn't stress the specific level it's at, just that its repeatable and maintained close to the same level.

Next time you mix up a bucket of salt, give it a while to settle out, check the level it's at and see if it matches your tank. If so your level should be fine.

Just a thought, are you checking your salinity? I put that one on the mega important list.

Highly recommend a refractometer, and to calibrate it every couple of months.

Edit,
Just saw your original post for the k5.
Good to go on the refractometer.
Would recommend getting some calibration fluid from BRS for it in the near future.

Yep salinity 1.025 will look at calibration fluid. I appreciate the offer but I think ill bring it to my LFS and see if they can take a look at it, thanks a bunch for the help.

 

[JAC-]

Yep salinity 1.025, I appreciate the offer but I think ill bring it to my LFS and see if they can take a look at it, thanks a bunch for the help.

No worries friend.

Hope to see some pictures of your tank around as you build it up.

Best of luck.

 

[Dominic M]

No worries friend.

Hope to see some pictures of your tank around as you build it up.

Best of luck.

Planning to post it in the nano reef forum when done