new RO unit and KH

[donkey]

Hi all
i have just got a RO unit and i now have my first batch of water .anyway i did some test on the water and i found that my KH is 0 . so what im asking is this . is it ok to use the water with a 0 KH or do i need to lift the KH before i put it in my tank .if i do need to lift it what should i be looking to raise it to and what should i use to raise it

Thanks for any help i may get

[Cosmo]

Hi Donkey,

You'll find that 0 KH is highly unstable so you'll have a high likelihood of experience ph crashes using it that way.. If you're mixing the RO with tap water you may be ok.. If you're planning on using it alone you should be adding a buffering agent, such as PH Stable unless you're doing monster WC's everyday. Have you checked your GH? Same logic applies here.

Since you're just starting out on the RO, would suggest you start with mix of tap water.. much safer until you understand your water's chemistry.

If your budget allows, you might want to invest in an electronic TDS meter and Ph meter instead of relying on test strips or kits. Particularly if you're planning on using a high percentage of RO in your mix.

hth
Jim

[donkey]

Hi thanks for the help so far . i have put some ELECTRO RIGHT in to the RO water put the KH is still 0 . i think at this rate i would need to add the whole bottle to get the KH up and at £10 a shoot its not cheap

[Carol_Roberts]

What is the KH of your tap water? Let's say it is KH 6. Then add 50% tap and 50% RO to achieve a stable KH of 3.

[donkey]

The KH of my tap water is 3 . to be honest i am trying not to add any tap water to my RO water as my tap water is very high in phosphates

[Alight]

I reconsituted RO water to make proper GH and KH and pH several years ago when I lived in North Carolina and had phosphates in my water. It took a bunch of the solids for each batch of water. I used the Kent Marine products to accomplis it. (Even though it's called Kent Marine, it's for fresh water). I used the R/O right, the pH adjusted, and the Discus essential to make the stuff I wanted. It isn't all that expensive if you buy the bulk powders.

Alternatively, you can try to find all of the elements in the powders from other sources (the aquarium plant people have pretty much found cheap sources for all of them) and mix your own. It will take a pretty good scale and lots of research to do it.



Kent Marine Powdered R/O Right is what I started with.

It's pretty amazing how much dissolved solids really are needed to make 3 DH and 1 KH!! You'll get a pretty good idea of why your shower curtains and windows get spotted with hard water (imagine 5 to 10 times that much solids!).

[dishpanhands]

(electro right) will not raise your KH...i only use it if i run my RO water through a DI unit. just use the (RO Right), or put a little tap water like Carol does..age it a day and put air in it..

[raglanroad]

The KH of my tap water is 3 . to be honest i am trying not to add any tap water to my RO water as my tap water is very high in phosphates

Change is good, donkey ! Totally correct line of reasoning. You may also want to consider the long list of other pollutants that may be present in tap water, from organisms, to who knows what. (Just an extreme example, but an example of diverse problems- http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/walkerton)

For those with faith in the municipal water supply, consider this: you know how it is possible to hatch shrimp, or even discus eggs using chlorinated tap? It does not kill soft and delicate fish eggs. What effect do you suppose it has on tough parasitic spores that may be present in many water supplies?

One of the elements of concern is that what is in your tap during one season or time may be quite different at other times. When the water utility treats for any number of problems, it may be with chemicals you do not want, either in your drinking water or your tank. Compounds may be used by the utility to control seasonal turbidity.

Not only that, but what about the tap you add? Will you not have to treat it before addition? And let's say your utility treats with chlorine: what will happen the day they switch to chloramine? Just a sample problem. If you depend on prefiltered with carbon to remove the chlorine, and they switch to chloramine while you are not aware of this, you will have ammonia in your addition of tap. That's what they say, and that's what I found.

Once you find the right amounts of additives, it will only take the same amounts in each batch of additional water to make water even more similar to the last than tap will provide.

By monitoring your RO output( remember to change the filters), you are assured of a steady supply of the water you want.
There are many home-made recipes for making your own addiitives, depending on the environment you wish to create. Not expensive.
Dave

[donkey]

Thanks guys

[Cosmo]

I go pretty much the same route as Alight with one minor exception (or correction?).

RO Right to add GH
Ph Stable as the KH buffer
Discus Essentials for Trace Elements.

These products are all nitrate and phosphate free, and he's correct the expense is not so bad if you buy it in the larger sizes as they go a long way.

Dishpanhands has it nailed on the Electro Right too.. not designed to raise KH, only to increase GH and add trace elements

Also, I tend to agree raglanroad... I don't trust the local water supply even though many around here use it out of the tap. City can always increase chorine or chloramines at any time without warning to flush the system and you lose fish :( Know a couple people that had to deal with that.

Jim