New test kit

Joe Fish

Joe Fish

Superstar Fish
#1
Apr 21, 2006
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Penn State
josy.isa-geek.com
#1
I just got a new salifert dKH and alk test kit. I followed the instructions, but the water never changed meaning my dkh is kind of high.

The other day was I was doing my normal superbuffer adding I decided to mix it with about 1/2 to 3/4 of a gallon and just use that to top off my tank. Normally, I will just use a couple ounces of water. The tank got quite cloudy and stayed that way for a bit. Could my alk really be 20 something?

Here is what I did with the test for those of you that have the same one. I used 4ml of tank water and put 2 drops of the reagent stuff in. I then took the skinny syringe and filled it up to the 1.0 mark and started put it in the test tube drop by drop shaking after each drop. I went through the whole syringe and the water never changed. The last 3 or 4 drops it started to.
 

Joe Fish

Joe Fish

Superstar Fish
#3
Apr 21, 2006
2,126
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Penn State
josy.isa-geek.com
#3
I'm in the process of making RO with my new unit, but since I have low house pressure the 75 GPD is more like 25 GPD. I will get some water mixed up and test it soon. Until then I'm not going to buffer my tank. I have been watching my corals and my hairy mushroom didn't like the change for a day or two and today my bubble is showing since of being upset.
 

T

TheFool

Large Fish
#4
Apr 19, 2006
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#4
Dilute your tank water with 1 part RO or 3 prts RO and then retest and multiply the numbers by 2 or 4.... sounds like you caused CaCO3 snowstorm
 

T

TheFool

Large Fish
#6
Apr 19, 2006
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0
#6
Dump in either enough Ca , or CO3-, and it will start to precipitate out, usually crashing the values of the other ion. There are max solubilities for both, and they are somewhat independant
 

Lorna

Lorna

Elite Fish
#10
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
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NE Indiana
#10
do a largish partial w/c and keep testing until your ca comes down you should only add buffer in the amount that your tank is using it, just as you should only supplement the amount of ca you use. You can tell this by testing......wait 4 days, then test again.....divide by 4 and that is approximately your daily usage. You shouldn't supplement any more than is needed to maintain your current optimal level....otherwise it will build up and you end up overdosing the ca and getting a snowstorm effect. I hope this helps.....
 

dbacksrat

dbacksrat

Superstar Fish
#12
Jun 3, 2003
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#12
Your low water output could also be because of low water temperatures. RO units are given their GPD ratings at a certain water temperature (something like 79 degrees). The lower the water temperature the less output you get.
 

dbacksrat

dbacksrat

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#14
Jun 3, 2003
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#14
"If you live in a very cold area, here’s a nice solution to keep your flow rate up even when your water supply is very cold:

Replace the tubing that leads from your cold water pipe to the unit with a 25' long piece. Coil as much of that tubing inside a 5 gallon bucket and fill the bucket up with water so the coils are submerged. Put an aquarium heater in the bucket and set it to 78° F. The heater will keep the bucket water at that temperature, and the water will warm up the water traveling through the tubing to your RO/DI unit. Production rates will jump back to normal."
Melevsreef.com - 100gpd RO/DI Installation
 

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