Top off water parameters

[dwall174]

What additives or buffers are good to use for stored RO/DI top off water? Also what parameters do you keep the top off water at?

 

[wrightme43]

I either drip kalk or pure rodi water. I dont really add anything to my top off water but kalk. When adding top off water it is IMHO best to drip it just like kalkwasser even if it is just pure rodi. HTH Steve

 

[dwall174]

My top off tank is a 20 gal tank that’s connected to a float valve in my sump. I also have a 3 gal container for kalk! & because I only have softies I only drip at 1 drop every three seconds which usually lasts about three days. I did try to just add the kalk right to the top-off tank but it caused problems with the float valve sticking!

I’ve been adding Kent’s pro-buffer to help maintain my tanks PH, So I figured it would also help to add some to the RO/DI water which has a PH of only around 6.0? I add 10 ml of pro-buffer to my 20 gal RO/DI storage tank & it brings the PH up to 7.6

I have heard that CaribSea's AragaMight also works good to buffer & re-mineralize RO/DI water?

 

[cwcross]

I don't add anything to my top off water except Kalk as needed. Just suggest to put in pure RO/DI. It can be beneficial to add the Kalk directly to the top off rather than do it in a separate container. The Kalk will help precipitate Phosphorous so it won't get into your tank....Collin

 

[dwall174]

It can be beneficial to add the Kalk directly to the top off rather than do it in a separate container. The Kalk will help precipitate Phosphorous so it won't get into your tank....Collin

Is there a min. amount to add & still be beneficial? I have a 20 gal storage tank & if I use the min. suggested 1/8 teaspoon per gal it still seems to affect the float valve?

 

[cwcross]

Is there a min. amount to add & still be beneficial? I have a 20 gal storage tank & if I use the min. suggested 1/8 teaspoon per gal it still seems to affect the float valve?

Saturated Kalk uses about 2 teaspoons/gallon. However, many tanks should not drip this amount full time as the demand of the tank does not warrent it and the kalk levels will rise. kalk should be added on an "as needed" basis. One must have a feel of the demand to understand how frequently to add kalk.

In my setup I have two reservoirs connected via a T to the float valve. When the float valve is shut, the T provides a siphon between reservior 1 and 2. Thus if I add water to reservoir 2 it will siphon to reservoir 1 to equalize levels. This makes it easy to add water as reservoir 2 is outside my cabinet. Furthermore, I only add Kalk to reservoir 1 on an as needed basis to keep my levels where I need them. I do not have problems with my float valve sticking. It does have some buildup on it but causes no problems.

there really is no minimum. The think to watch out for is not allowing much mixing. If to much CO2 gets into your water then the hydroxide will start to convert to carbonate/bicarbonate which you want to happen in your tank where you have magnesium to prevent precipitation of lime. This doesn't really hurt anything, just causes a loss of some of your kalk power. If you add to little Kalk, there is already enough CO2 in the water to start this process. Again it doesn't hurt anything but something to be aware of. Here is a good link to Kalk:

http://www.reefscapes.net/articles/breefcase/kalkwasser.html

best regards...Collin

 

[PM1]

I don't have an RO/DI. I buy my top off water from a place with 12 stage fitler which includes ro/di. I then add 4-5 drops of Seachem's reef carbonate to each gallon. I store the pure water in pure form until needed. I only have some 3 and 5 gallon jugs, so they only last a week to 10 days. Then I go get more. Seems like a lot of work, but it is easier. Of course I don't have any real corals yet. Not till summer, then I might have to rework how I do things.