ph in s/w

[psychadelicdrea]

whats the ideal ph range for a fowlr tank....i checked it and its about 8.2....its a new tank so ...im not really sure what levels i should be shooting for
and what kinda water can i buy from stores to keep the tank topped off....till i can afford a r/o unit.....i used tap to fill it up cause of the cost but hope to top it off with filtered water in attempt to keep the algae down

[dolfans1]

8.2 - 8.4 is ideal, although I have also seen 7.8 - 8.5 as being acceptable. Natural seawater is about 8.2.

As far as topping the water off, your LFS probalby has RO water that they will sell. Avoid tap water as it can contain phosphates and other minerals, including copper. The phosphates will fuel algae growth, and copper is toxic to invertebrates.

You can usually get a good quality RO system on e-bay for ~ $100.