ro/di unit with freshwater tanks ph gh kh question?

Question

i have ammonia in tap water tried everything under the sun possible to remove it and decided it would be better to do the ro/di unit. i have 3 tanks.
1 10 gallon african cichlid
1 20 gallon male betta 7 neons
1 55 gallon 2 angelfish algae eater.
now i know that i have to use something to get my ph to where it needs to be and to make it stable again. im not sure what i need to use. if anyone can just list a few things i can use would be nice and also do i need to do anything to gh and kh.
i also know i have to use something to put stuff back into the water thats where r/o right by kent will come in. im just confused on ph kh and gh.
please no long explations that are confusing just product names to stable ph and get it where it needs to be will do, and what ever i need to do for kh and gh.

Answer 1

I have used an R/O unit in my tank room for years for specific tanks and fishes with special water needs. It works, but it is work at the same time.

First, mix a little of your tap water back with the RO water or buy drinking water to mix with it. The minor amount of ammonia from a 10:1 mix wouldn't be a problem and the water really needs this starting "backbone".

The 10 gallon should of course be treated differently fom the other two so let's do it first.

I would suggest using a Rift Lake buffer from seaChem. Good product, good company. Also, I would suggest you keep some crushed coral in the filter to help maintain an even buffer.

For the other two tanks I would suggest using Blackwater extract or peatmoss extract t help stabilize the water as well as a tiny amount (1/8 teaspoon to 10 gallons) of baking soda just to give the water a little kh. Discus buffer from Seachem would also be a good choice to give the water some kh.

Keep tabs on the ammonia in your tap water, that can change seasonally depending on the source of your tap water. It may well be that you won't need to do all of this for much of the year.

MM

Answer 2

First off, if you are running fresh water RO water isn't needed not even in fresh water. I wish this bs would go away.

Most fish will survive well (ok it isn't IDEAL which is just a number) in a different ph it is better to live with the PH your water is. It doesn't NEED to be anywhere but where it is. Changing your PH or constantly fighting with the ph is more harmful to your fish than accepting it the way it is. You are going to take away from the water to put back into the water to keep your fish. Especially angles, anywhere from 6.5 - 8 is fine and they will breed. Changing your ph or trying to control it will be more harmfull than leaving it go. PH is not the issue with tanks it will be what it is, it is the ammonia and nitrates that need to be controlled.

here is why:
The property of water to resist changes in pH is known as buffering capacity. You can determine the capacity of your buffering system by measuring total hardness. A reading of 4-6 dH or higher is usually adequate to keep the buffering system in place and maintain a stable pH. A reading under 4 dH means there isn't enough of a buffering system and the pH is likely to drop. For higher pH levels, you will probably want to aim for 6-12 dH. Many hobbyists choose to measure only Carbonate Hardness (KH), which is a measure of the calcium carbonates in your water. This test is also effective in maintaining a proper buffer system. When testing for Carbonate Hardness, a reading of 75-100 mg/L is adequate for most aquariums, while a reading of 100-200 mg/L would be desired for higher pH levels. For the purpose of freshwater aquariums, measuring either total hardness or carbonate hardness is necessary, but measuring both independently would not be needed.

You need to know that anywhere in your aquarium where detritus (a fancy term for dirt) accumulates is a source of Phosphate production. As detritus accumulates in your gravel bed and on your filter pads, the Phosphate levels in your aquarium rise. Free Phosphate ions may bond with calcareous buffering material, precipitating calcium from your aquarium, and reducing your aquariums ability to keep pH stable. This is why it is so very important to clean your filter pads regularly and vacuum the aquarium gravel with each water change. In addition, your tap water contains buffering ions. Doing regular partial water changes will help to replenish the buffers which have been lost. This is important in all aquariums, because fish respiration and organic wastes alone will cause a gradual drop in the ability of your aquarium to buffer against pH swings.

Now the question becomes what to do if the fish you want to keep have very special pH requirements. If your fish prefer a pH level which is reasonably close to the pH your aquarium water is naturally buffered to, then I do not recommend you make any changes at all. Unless you are keeping an extremely specialized fish your fish will be fine. On the other hand, if your fish have pH requirements which are far from the values in your tank, then you have work to do.

Let us consider methods of raising the pH of your tap water. There are many additives on the market today which claim to raise your pH. Most of the liquid products on the market today are a 50/50 success at best when used alone only to find the ph will soon return to the normal level of 6. You also need to use a product to increase the buffering ability of your aquarium. To maintain a stable pH in the upper levels of the pH scale for fishkeeping, I would recommend using a buffering substrate such as crushed coral. You can add crushed coral to your existing aquarium. You can place larger amounts of shells or chrushed coral beneath the substraight in the tank. I personally place the crushed coral in a mesh bag and place the bag in my filter. You will want about 1 kg of crushed coral per 40 liters of water to buffer the water to hold a pH around 7.6. This method does not allow for the use of large quantities of crushed coral, but can be effective if you only need to make small adjustments to your aquariums buffering ability. This is why ocean items such as shells and ocean sand should not be used in a fresh water aquarium. It does raise the PH level.

Be assured that attempting to control pH is the most frustrating experience for a fish hobbyist. I would guess that 50% of the problems encountered in new aquariums are a result of the aquarist attempting to change the pH level. Few fish keepers actually need to adjust their pH. For the majority of aquarists your tap water pH will be adequate. The dangers of adjusting the pH incorrectly far outweigh any benefit you may receive by moving your pH a few points on the scale.

Remember, when it comes to adjusting your pH, less is more! Stability is most important. Routine maintenance is the key to keeping your pH stable and your fish healthy!

Also, do not use baking soda in your tank. Over doing the ph plus adding additional salt is not going to do your tank any good. It will also revert back to 6 when the carbon filters pull the Soda out.
Hope this helps

Answer 3

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