Need RODI - LFS sold me pure ammonia water

[Darsh]

I posted this earlier in this thread, but the simple answer is that you can’t effectively measure the pH of purified water.

Leaving the water out exposed it to CO2 and as noted above, with purified water small changes can make a big difference.

Okay thanks for clearing that up. My tank is still dry but when I start to fill it up, when I mix the salt with this water should I expect to see normal pH levels? Same with topping up?

 

[Brett S]

Okay thanks for clearing that up. My tank is still dry but when I start to fill it up, when I mix the salt with this water should I expect to see normal pH levels? Same with topping up?

Once you mix in salt then you’ll definitely be able to measure the pH. With top off water you’ll see the same thing, since that’s just purified freshwater, but it’s not a problem to add it to the tank even if it’s registering a weird pH value.

That said, you really should be using RODI water with a TDS of 0 to mix salt and for top off water, rather than demineralized water with a TDS of 8.

 

[Darsh]

Once you mix in salt then you’ll definitely be able to measure the pH. With top off water you’ll see the same thing, since that’s just purified freshwater, but it’s not a problem to add it to the tank even if it’s registering a weird pH value.

That said, you really should be using RODI water with a TDS of 0 to mix salt and for top off water, rather than demineralized water with a TDS of 8.

My tds meter is a cheap one and I don't know how accurate it is. It could be zero, I'm sure it's close anyway.
At the moment, demineralised water in 5L bottles is my best option, but I'll look into getting my own RO unit again in the future.
Thanks

 

[Brett S]

My tds meter is a cheap one and I don't know how accurate it is. It could be zero, I'm sure it's close anyway.
At the moment, demineralised water in 5L bottles is my best option, but I'll look into getting my own RO unit again in the future.
Thanks

Obviously it’s your choice, but the demineralized water could still contain things like phosphates and silicates which could cause algae blooms and potentially even heavy metals which could cause invert deaths... or it could be fine. The problem is that you just don’t know what’s in that water. I think 9 times out of 10 people who start a tank with something other than RODI water end up regretting it later down the road.

 

[Darsh]

Obviously it’s your choice, but the demineralized water could still contain things like phosphates and silicates which could cause algae blooms and potentially even heavy metals which could cause invert deaths... or it could be fine. The problem is that you just don’t know what’s in that water. I think 9 times out of 10 people who start a tank with something other than RODI water end up regretting it later down the road.

I know thanks. I've had saltwater tanks in the past and used only rodi water. I know it's not ideal, but it's the best fit for my situation at the moment