Don_Jorge
Active Member
I currently have water shut off so no access to my RO system, my tanks in need of top off so i was wondering if i use melted snow will it affect my tanks PH or does the salt in the tank change it to the usual 8 im at?
Need some help
- Thread starter Don_Jorge
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Snow is fine
Pack it down so you get more water
Stay away from road side snow
It will not change the Ph of your tank very much unless you are near a chemical plant like down there in Corpus or Houston and get acid rain
Pack it down so you get more water
Stay away from road side snow
It will not change the Ph of your tank very much unless you are near a chemical plant like down there in Corpus or Houston and get acid rain
Hal4001
New Member
So, I'm an analytical chemist by training and mountaineer by choice and I would be very hesitant to use snow... Moisture absorbs crap out of the atmosphere as it falls and as it hits the ground it absorbs more crap. If you are desperate it would probably work better than doing nothing, but have you tried hitting up the grocery store and using one of their jug fillers (normally are RO/DI and UV treated)?
If you are dead set on using snow, get the biggest pot you can find, fill it up with snow, and start melting it. After you have a small layer of liquid try to maintain it and keep adding snow. After you melt it, boil it, cool it down, and then filter it through whatever you can find (a fish net would be an example) because your water will probably be dirtier than you expect.
If you are dead set on using snow, get the biggest pot you can find, fill it up with snow, and start melting it. After you have a small layer of liquid try to maintain it and keep adding snow. After you melt it, boil it, cool it down, and then filter it through whatever you can find (a fish net would be an example) because your water will probably be dirtier than you expect.
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Don_Jorge
Active Member
Bro I have never experienced snow like this in my home town, I can only imagine what its like in Chicago.
Rmckoy
7500 Club Member
Never thought of using snow .
Collected rain apparently wasn’t a good idea a few years ago .
I guess it depends where it’s raining
essentially snow is the same .
can it dissolve anything as it hits the ground ?
Collected rain apparently wasn’t a good idea a few years ago .
I guess it depends where it’s raining
essentially snow is the same .
can it dissolve anything as it hits the ground ?
Hal4001
New Member
Bruh, acid rain isn't from chemical plants.... it is from absorbing gases from the atmosphere (primarily sulfur dioxide) and falling to the ground. Living in Houston has acid rain because there are lots of atmospheric emissions. It has nothing to do with the chemical plant besides the additional energy draw that the plant has....
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Don_Jorge
Active Member
I made sure and only collect snow from my cars windshield for this exact reason. i know the windows are clean from recent rain, the rest of my car is dirty.
czoolander
Well-Known Member
I want to say no to using snow as RODI water substitute because it will for sure not be zero TDS . That being said if you do not have access to zero TDS water and you want to roll the dice then it should work.
If you are going to use snow as RODI I would also maybe put some carbon in the tank to pull any contaminets out of the water.
Does the local fish store sell water?
Do you have a local reefer with running water you can get RODI off of?
Is the ATO necessary to your tank to run or just a nice convience to have ?
GOOD luck hope it works out for you !
If you are going to use snow as RODI I would also maybe put some carbon in the tank to pull any contaminets out of the water.
Does the local fish store sell water?
Do you have a local reefer with running water you can get RODI off of?
Is the ATO necessary to your tank to run or just a nice convience to have ?
GOOD luck hope it works out for you !
Shnicnick
Community Member
If you have absolutely no other alternatives I would say that snow should be ok. Odds are it wont be 0 TDS but it should be pretty close, I agree with Zoolander on the carbon.
My only worry would be if you were without power as well, then I would try to avoid adding snow as it could cool down the tank quickly, but by you posting here I would assume you're ok on that front.
My ideal scenario would be seeing if any LFS near you had some left, next would be either snow or distilled water from a grocery store, neither of the second two would be perfect, but with the distilled water you wouldn't need to worry about carbon, but there may be some extra stuff in there.
Hope you figure it out and best of luck!
My only worry would be if you were without power as well, then I would try to avoid adding snow as it could cool down the tank quickly, but by you posting here I would assume you're ok on that front.
My ideal scenario would be seeing if any LFS near you had some left, next would be either snow or distilled water from a grocery store, neither of the second two would be perfect, but with the distilled water you wouldn't need to worry about carbon, but there may be some extra stuff in there.
Hope you figure it out and best of luck!
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Don_Jorge
Active Member
all LFS are closed due to the weather, distilled water is sold out everywhere and i have no friends in the hobby
Thing is it never snows here and im kind of afraid to drive and crash my car. i went out to the corner store the other day and skidded like crazy, im not used to it at all. im gonna wait til the water is melted and check with my tds meter def appreciate the heads up
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Don_Jorge
Active Member
Do you know if the jug filler will affect trace element levels in the water? i think its only spring water
Hal4001
New Member
So it should come out to roughly 10-30 ppm (mg/l) Sodium. As for trace elements, I'm going to assume you are looking for metals such as Gold, Nickle, aluminum and stuff like that. To which the answer would be no, it should have very little of those type of elements because that is what RO is designed to remove.
Hahahahaa I guess this is pure water vapor.
Chemical Plant with Smoke Stacks Stock Image - Image of coal, business: 120243699
Photo about Chemical plant with machinery and smoke stacks. Image of coal, business, distillery - 120243699
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Let me add one more ipinion
The tds in that rain water in such a small amount should be ok for a top off. I would not use it for the tank as water change water. The sun will come out tomorrow and you can get distilled water from somewhere. A neightbor maybe? The roads were not bad yesterday. I had to drive a neighbor to the vet. Just dont drive faster than conditions allow.
The tds in that rain water in such a small amount should be ok for a top off. I would not use it for the tank as water change water. The sun will come out tomorrow and you can get distilled water from somewhere. A neightbor maybe? The roads were not bad yesterday. I had to drive a neighbor to the vet. Just dont drive faster than conditions allow.
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Don_Jorge
Active Member
oh man i just saw youre in austin. yesterday i had to work then had to take the family to my parents to eat and shower, i knew i should have gone looking for water. As of now its snowing but the streets are not frozen, gonna take my chances now
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Don_Jorge
Active Member
I meant like added calcium and mag
Hal4001
New Member
Those should be zero. It should be a total dissolved solid of somewhere between 10-30 mg/l and all of that (for all practical purposes) will be Sodium. Yes you technically have some other elements in there but they will be measured in parts per trillion (ng/L)
