I read earlier today that mixing RO DI water with tap water will lower ph dependant on what your tap's ph already is. Is there any truth to this and are there any long term downsides aside from having to buy RO DI water or a RO DI system?
Mixing RO DI With Tap Water
- Thread starter Gage Zamrzla
- Start date
Besides cost? If there's not a specific reason for using RO/DI (bad tap water, extreme wild caught blackwater species), I just wouldn't mess with it.
Mixing ro/di water with tap will make pure water [pH 7.000000] change somwhere in between pure water and the tap water. The real probllem with ro/di water is, by itself, it's unstable and can can change pH or hardness very rapidly. That's why you need to add stabilizers to it.
Thanks to all of you, and yes I'm setting up a tank for some Bolivian rams and would like a somewhat lower ph. Out of tap my Ph is 8.0-8.2, I would like to lower this to about 6.8-7.2 without having to use chemicals (only chemical I add to my tanks is water conditioner and I'd prefer it stay that way). Aside from driftwood, does anyone have a suggestion of how I can lower the ph before or after the water is in the tank naturally? Driftwood never seems to do much in all of my tanks and the amount of wood I would need to lower it this much would be ridiculous.
So alone RO DI causes fluctuations in ph, would the addition of tap stabilize hardness and ph dependent on the ratio of RO DI and tap?
Yes, it's still a little confusing but I'm starting to understand it better. Lower kh=lower ph right?
Correct...KH represents essentially what your PH "wants" to be... for example...with high KH, adding acid will lower PH...but then it will rise back up because the KH is a buffer...if you use only RO..there is NO KH and it will fluctuate like crazy.
So essentially what you are needing to do is to mix them at a rate that gives you the proper KH to buffer your water.
I believe you can get inefficient RO filters that send less water to waste and leave more PPM in the water. I'd check into that before I messed with trying to mix them back together.
Mike
So essentially what you are needing to do is to mix them at a rate that gives you the proper KH to buffer your water.
I believe you can get inefficient RO filters that send less water to waste and leave more PPM in the water. I'd check into that before I messed with trying to mix them back together.
Mike