Water questions

[SoulFish]

Ok I am using a Tap water purifier

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/18834094-1.jpg

1. It droped the tap's PH down to 6.0 and supposed to be taking all the chemicals, inpurities out of the water.

2. I added Agramax reef sand (size: Sugar Grain Size) - Rinsed till water was cloudy, not milky per instructions.

3. Added Coralife Sea Salt.

4. Mixed in tank, and put a power head in there for 24hrs to mix.

All the salt is mixed in but the water reads 7.4 ph and the water is still cloudy. Shouldnt the PH be determined by the salt? Will the cloudyness go away? Whatever is making is cloudy is actually so small I can't even see any particals floating in it.

[D to the P]

probably small particles of your sugar grain sized sand. It should settle eventually but it takes a while for that stuff. Oh, and those tap water filters are garbage. If you made 100 gallons of water with that stuff I'm sure you have to replace the media already. IMO they aren't worth the trouble.

[bertoni]

Putting the water in before the salt is a good idea. The other order can cause precipitation. The pH might be a testing issue. What is the SG in the system? How much circulation does the tank have, and how long has the water been circulating? Many salts mix up to a strange pH, but it's usually high, not low.

[WinnipegDragon]

I'm sorry if you've already heard this, but if you are planning a reef, get an RO/DI and ditch the tap water.

[Michael]

im amazed that reefers still use tap water, i would guess 99% of us use ro or ro-di, i understand some guys have access to well water etc, and because ive never used it i cant comment on it but the general opinions in this hobby is a ro-di filter is the way to go, i recommend this is what newbies do because in the long run it will benifit them, i saw a post from 1 guy cant remember who it was who said he had always used tap water with no problems, i dont doubt hes telling the truth but i would say he is lucky with the water in his area, most of us are not that lucky:)

[D to the P]

Hell even well water can have nitrates and phosphates out the wahzoo (I finally got to use that word!). Especially here in Pennsylvania where there is so much farm land and the run off from those farms puts nitrogen and phosphorus in our ground water. Problem is there really aren't too many cities that want to spend the money to add Tertiary level filtration to their poor quality systems. I forget the number, but the water only ever gets like significantly less than 90% filtered before it comes through our taps.

[Billybeau1]

I suspect you have a pH measurement problem. How are you testing pH ?

[SoulFish]

I measured with a kit that said it was for salt and freshwater.

FYI I'm setting up a FO SW tank. The reef stuff is beyond my skill and $$ means at the moment :) So I'm wanting good conditions for whatever fish I get, but prolly don't need the ultra clean conditions required for growing corals.

[Billybeau1]

Whats the brand name ?

[SoulFish]

Red Sea test kit.

[otrlynn]

If you have a cheap hang-on-back filter it will help a lot with filtering out the fine sand that may be still in the water. Worked for me in less than 24 hours. When you take the filter out you will find it clogged with sand. Actually the HOB filter is a good cheap purchase because you can later use it on a quarantine tank, which is also a worthwhile investment. Buying a 10 gallon Walmart tank for a QT (or a cheap rubbermaid tub) and QTing all new fish can save you much more in dead fish and headaches than you will ever spend to set up the QT.

[frank2926]

what specific gravity did you mix it to? When a salt manufacturer says the salt will mix to.....a ph of say 8.2 they usually mean at a gravity of 1.025 . So if you mxed it lower all of your levels will be lower than what the salt manufacturer says. if this is for a fish only system you dont want your gravity that high anyway. More importantly check your Alk . Adjust it to 8-9 DKH and the PH will fall in line.

[Billybeau1]

I've tested the Red Sea pH kit and like most color comparator kits for pH, they are notoriously inaccurate.

The best way to check your pH is with a monitor like a Pinpoint. They are under 100 bucks and you'll never buy a titration type kit again.

I would not make any changes in your tank based on the numbers you see from that Red Sea kit.

[Billybeau1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12461863#post12461863 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by frank2926
what specific gravity did you mix it to? When a salt manufacturer says the salt will mix to.....a ph of say 8.2 they usually mean at a gravity of 1.025 . So if you mxed it lower all of your levels will be lower than what the salt manufacturer says. if this is for a fish only system you dont want your gravity that high anyway. More importantly check your Alk . Adjust it to 8-9 DKH and the PH will fall in line.

Any salt manufacturer that says their salt will mix to a specific pH does not know what they are talking about.

And adjusting alk to 8-9 dkh does not guarantee a good pH.

[frank2926]

In a brand new tank it should, unless there are c02 problems. Most new people spend more time worrying about ph then Alk when the opposite should be true.
A low ph is fine as long as the alk is good and constant. Maybe not to 8.2 but to an acceptable level. again as long as alk is good .

And every salt I have seen the manufacturer says that their salt will mix to a stated ph.