Ph/alk increase for top off?

[candide]

I ordered my RO/DI unit that should be in this week. But the water had drained too much for me to wait anylonger, so rather than using tap water like I had been for hte past few months, I went up to one of those water stations outside a grocery store.

Anyways, I used a dipstick test just to see where it showed the TDS, and noticed the Ph and Alk were real low. Well, duh. Never thought about this before for some dumb reason.

I needed about 10 gallons for my tank, I went to pet smart (twas a sunday afternoon) and got some Kent Alk plus or whatever its called. Sounds more like a supplement to add to a tank, but I used it to raise the Ph up to about right, Alk was a bit low but ok.

Question is, should I always do this? I never have before and my tank always tests fine. Makes sense I would. If so, is there a better method/product to use than kents?

 

[Len]

Your tank should have sufficient natural buffers that you don't need to condition your freshwater this way. A lot of the additives are specifically designed for saltwater, so I think it's best if you adjust the tankwater accordingly if (after 48 hours) the tank levels are still depressed.

A lot of purified water will have very low pH. In actuality, the pH is probably neutral (around 7), but test kits sometimes aren't able to read pH accurately for water that has so little ions in it.

 

[SpicyBalls]

yep, i do the same, just add freshwater for top off's.. i don't treat it in any way (ie buffers etc..)
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Mercedes 320

 

[ufans]

If you have inhabitants that need Ca then you can do what most other reefers do and mix the RO topoff water with CaHO2 (calcium hydroxide) (Kalkwasser). Kalkwasser has a pH >12 so you have to drip it, but helps maintain the tanks Alk and Ca levels.