avonsurfernc Posted April 28, 2016 Report Share Posted April 28, 2016 Ok shrimpers, I have RO water unit my water comes out at 0ppm which tells my unit is working . My ph is neutral 7.0. When I add ph down to my RO water , my TDS goes up substantially. It shoots up very quickly as I make small movements in getting ph down to 6.0 any suggestions ? It seems that when I do water changes in my 10 gallon tank with SL-Aqua soil my TDS seems to always be around 200 PPM when I try and get ph in the 6.0 range . As time goes on ph rises and top off with water and ph rises more. Than I go to lower ph and than TDS shoots way up. Is this battle normal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricM Posted April 28, 2016 Report Share Posted April 28, 2016 you shouldnt have to use "ph down" product with RO water. soil can drop the ph really fast because of the lack of kh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avonsurfernc Posted April 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2016 2 hours ago, bostoneric said: you shouldnt have to use "ph down" product with RO water. soil can drop the ph really fast because of the lack of kh. Exactly ,thats what I don't understand. If my RO water is 7.0 how do I get it down to 6.0 without using ph down? I am using SL-Aqua soil I bought from you which Im very happy with. my blue bolts seem to love it. Throughout the day my ph does rise from 6.0 to maybe 6.5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimple minded Posted April 28, 2016 Report Share Posted April 28, 2016 47 minutes ago, avonsurfernc said: how do I get it down to 6.0 without using ph down? Your substrate should do this for you. That is one purpose of active, buffering substrate for shrimpkeeping. Active Substrates will purposely change the value of some parameters in your water, mainly pH. They are used for this reason, to buffer your water’s pH to stay at a certain level http://www.shrimpfever.com/2015/10/09/so-you-want-to-start-a-shrimp-tank-4-substrate/ You should be remineralizing to a target GH level, not a target pH. Once added to your tank, the remineralized water and your substrate will find some sort of pH balance that the soil will help maintain. I believe that everyone is reporting that SL substrate buffers to pH levels suited for Caridina shrimp. Messing with pH beyond that is a difficult proposition, as you have encountered. EricM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricM Posted April 28, 2016 Report Share Posted April 28, 2016 avon... do you have any rocks in your tank or something else that could be raising the PH? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avonsurfernc Posted April 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2016 No I do not have any rocks. I put the SL-Aqua soli over top of black flourite. I thought SL-Aqua soil lowers your ph? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMG Aquatics Posted April 29, 2016 Report Share Posted April 29, 2016 Do not add pH down into your RO water. Simply drip your new ro water into your tank using airline tubing so shrimps won't notice a thing. If you just pour it in, there will be a pH spike for a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avonsurfernc Posted April 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2016 3 hours ago, bostoneric said: avon... do you have any rocks in your tank or something else that could be raising the PH? Does SL-Aqua lower ph and keep it stable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimple minded Posted April 29, 2016 Report Share Posted April 29, 2016 1 hour ago, avonsurfernc said: Does SL-Aqua lower ph and keep it stable? If you are referring to the SL-Aqua soil (substrate), then yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avonsurfernc Posted April 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2016 5 hours ago, Shrimple minded said: If you are referring to the SL-Aqua soil (substrate), then yes. Yes I am shrimple Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricM Posted April 29, 2016 Report Share Posted April 29, 2016 21 hours ago, avonsurfernc said: No I do not have any rocks. I put the SL-Aqua soli over top of black flourite. I thought SL-Aqua soil lowers your ph? over the top of flourite? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctaylor3737 Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Get some ADA does it for you everytime!!! Haven't tested my PH in a year or so still breeding -Chris Taylor www.taylorsaquatics.com Mr. F 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Densha Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 On 4/29/2016 at 3:57 PM, bostoneric said: over the top of flourite? Well Flourite is inert, so it shouldn't matter that he put SL-Aqua over it. However, how much SL-Aqua do you have in the tank? How I understand it, you need 1.5-2 inches of buffering substrate for it to be effective. With using two different substrates, do you have half as much buffering substrate as you should have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plamski Posted May 17, 2016 Report Share Posted May 17, 2016 If you let RO water stay in buckets for a week it will go to PH 5,at least my does. best way to lower PH is to use Eheim peat. http://www.kensfish.com/aquarium-supplies/filter-media/eheim-ehfitorf-1-liter.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.