The pH on my cycling soon-to-be FOWLR tank is usually around 7.9, sometimes 7.8. Sometimes I hear that's too low, and sometimes I hear that it's OK as long as it's consistent.
I just mixed up a batch of new saltwater from RO/DI water and Instant Ocean. At SG 1.025, the pH is 7.8. (That's actually lower than the pH 8.0 of my tap water before it goes through RO/DI.) For what it's worth, my pH meter reads 7.3 for my RO/DI water.
I'm still (re)learning the chemistry behind it all, so I don't really understand why adding exactly the right amount of Instant Ocean to RO/DI water gets me such a low pH. But it does.
Do I (1) leave everything as it is, (2) incorporate some kind of buffer--which I was hoping to avoid, or (3) do something else--e.g., incorporate outside fresh air?
I just mixed up a batch of new saltwater from RO/DI water and Instant Ocean. At SG 1.025, the pH is 7.8. (That's actually lower than the pH 8.0 of my tap water before it goes through RO/DI.) For what it's worth, my pH meter reads 7.3 for my RO/DI water.
I'm still (re)learning the chemistry behind it all, so I don't really understand why adding exactly the right amount of Instant Ocean to RO/DI water gets me such a low pH. But it does.
Do I (1) leave everything as it is, (2) incorporate some kind of buffer--which I was hoping to avoid, or (3) do something else--e.g., incorporate outside fresh air?
