• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Search results for query: *

  1. Sacha

    Acceptable RO water at LFS?

    The guy tested the TDS of the water and it was 150? Then he sold that to you as RO?
  2. Sacha

    Accurate method of mesuring nitrates

    I find that you need to smash bottle #2 as hard as you can repeatedly on a hard surface in order to release the metallic reagent inside
  3. Sacha

    Accurate method of mesuring nitrates

    A nitrate test kit is a good 3- point guide. Yellow = low Orange = moderate Red = high And ignore the numbers.
  4. Sacha

    pH pens and low KH

    Thanks for all the input guys. I've always thought that it would be great to have a more accurate drop checker. What I mean by that is one similar to the JBL one, but with a very precise colour chart which indicates the estimated Co2 level in PPM. So you could compare the colour of the bromo...
  5. Sacha

    pH pens and low KH

    I fully understand all of that. Using the charts as an extremely rough guide, it's clear to me that in most water (above KH 2.5), a full pH drop before lights on means we have injected a dangerous amount of Co2. Can't you see that? In most water, a full pH drop means we have injected well...
  6. Sacha

    pH pens and low KH

    I appreciate all the replies. But the problem still stands. Every single pH profiling thread on this site lists pH and KH readings which, according to the charts, equate to lethal amounts of Co2. Does that mean that the charts are horrifically inaccurate? Or that everyone's pH meters are...
  7. Sacha

    pH pens and low KH

    Hmm interesting. The Hanna one I linked to- will that be reliable in low KH water? According to my pen, I have only achieved a 0.7 point drop today, from 6.6 to 5.9. Also it's taken about 7 hours to drop that far. What could cause the pH drop to be so slow?
  8. Sacha

    pH pens and low KH

    The fauna are happy at Co2 levels well in excess of 200 PPM?
  9. Sacha

    pH pens and low KH

    My pH pen is now telling me the pH is 6.1. If that's true, then the Co2 concentration in the tank is around 50 PPM. Can that be correct, considering the fish aren't struggling?
  10. Sacha

    pH pens and low KH

    That was my very long rant about Seneye, about 2 years ago it started. Took such a long time for me to get a straight answer out of them!
  11. Sacha

    pH pens and low KH

    Been having a few issues trying to get an accurate pH profile so I'll try and make this as clear as possible... I have a cheap pH pen from eBay. From what I can tell, it works extremely well. My reason for saying this is that, even after 3 months of sitting unused and dry, it still gets the pH...
  12. Sacha

    Back Flushing RO unit

    I flush it for about 2 minutes before each use.
  13. Sacha

    ph and purigen

    Think it's .2. They are really great, get it!
  14. Sacha

    ph and purigen

    Salifert make a very good KH test. It's titration method so it's the most accurate you'll find outside of a lab.
  15. Sacha

    ph and purigen

    It adsorbs humic acid, so it removes all the beneficial properties.
  16. Sacha

    RO Water and pH readings

    Ah- see, if my tap water was GH 12, KH 8 and pH 7.4, I might consider it. But it's GH 20, KH 16, and pH 8.2-8.4.
  17. Sacha

    RO Water and pH readings

    I have always used RO. I wouldn't even consider using London tap water to keep fish.
  18. Sacha

    RO Water and pH readings

    Right, in that case your KH tests are probably correct after all. The most important two things to match are temperature and TDS. pH shock doesn't really exist in fish. What shocks them is the change in TDS, or hardness, or the relative composition of "salts" in the water. Fish don't know...
  19. Sacha

    RO Water and pH readings

    Measuring pH of pure RO water is meaningless. The ionic bonds within the water are far too weak for there to be any real value. So first of all, ignore any readings taken of pure RO. Secondly, your readings are incorrect. It's not possible for your "RO" to have a TDS of 16, and a KH of 20...
  20. Sacha

    R.O water- Remineralising needed?

    Yeah the membrane is shot, bin the water- it might contain nasty stuff.
  21. Sacha

    What do you guys think of this?

    This is not a low cost choice. There's no point just using DI resin without RO. The DI will become exhausted every couple of weeks, and you'll be buying hundreds of pounds worth of the stuff every year. If you're worried about waste water, just buy a pumped RO unit with DI. I don't know why...
  22. Sacha

    RO under 100 quid?

    Definitely the Osmotics. If you get a pump at some point, you can increase your output, by adding another membrane in series.
  23. Sacha

    RO under 100 quid?

    It is pretty important to have one, but you can buy it separately. Make sure you know when the filters were last changed
  24. Sacha

    RO under 100 quid?

    It depends when the filters were last changed. If the filters need changing, you will spend about £60 on that alone.
  25. Sacha

    Fishless Cycling and Hobby Grade Test Kits

    The shorter answer is that the 2013 API ammonia tests show a false (green) positive for ammonia, so watch out for that.
  26. Sacha

    Fluctuating TDS

    Well Darren, TDS is a completely arbitrary measurement. It is irrelevant unless you know what the solids comprise. Your bororas will not display above a certain hardness/ pH. TDS is irrelevant to them.
  27. Sacha

    Fluctuating TDS

    I'm pretty sure Clive is going to come in on this thread and tell you to stop worrying about/ measuring your TDS :-)
  28. Sacha

    Advice please- KH/ GH/ TDS

    Wow. Thanks for that, my mind is more at ease now.
  29. Sacha

    Advice please- KH/ GH/ TDS

    Yeah definitely- I'll take a look now.
  30. Sacha

    Advice please- KH/ GH/ TDS

    Ok. Thanks a lot for the reassurance- I do worry too much... The snails seem to be doing ok. The only reason I am asking about TDS is because I am looking at successful beautiful Aquascapes and they all have pretty low TDS.
  31. Sacha

    Advice please- KH/ GH/ TDS

    No, but I am keeping Nerite snails.
  32. Sacha

    Advice please- KH/ GH/ TDS

    This is linked to a question I asked earlier in a different thread. I use RO water in my tank, and I currently remineralise using JBL Aquadur. I have done tests, and found that adding enough Aquadur to raise the TDS to 100, brings the KH up to 0.75. Based on this, if I want a KH of 3.75...
  33. Sacha

    What TDS should I aim for?

    Mine does spend most of his time above the water line :-(
  34. Sacha

    What TDS should I aim for?

    Wow thanks a lot for that response Darrel. I have nerite snails who have been living in this tank for years now. For at least one year, the pH has been below 7, and the KH below 4. Are you telling me these snails are suffering in any way? Their shells appear "healthy", although they have...
  35. Sacha

    What TDS should I aim for?

    OK, thanks a lot for your advice. Really I want my water to be as soft as it can reasonably be. My concerns are really the health of the nerite snails, because I know they suffer from calcium deficiency in acidic water, and the risk of pH swings. I will have to get hold of that book I think.
  36. Sacha

    What TDS should I aim for?

    How did you get a KH of 5-6 if you weren't remineralising? Were you adding carbonate somehow?
  37. Sacha

    What TDS should I aim for?

    Also, have any of you kept Nerite snails happy in acidic water for a decent period of time...
  38. Sacha

    What TDS should I aim for?

    Ok my mistake. but my main concern is how can you keep a tank stable without any Carbonate? With a KH of zero?
  39. Sacha

    What TDS should I aim for?

    Not true... The fish need Calcium, Magnesium etc for their Osmoregulatory systems to function properly. Calcium especially- this isn't included in EI ferts. It's very important to remineralise RO water... Ferts alone do not provide the minerals which are vital to the fishes' health. Some...
  40. Sacha

    What TDS should I aim for?

    Hmm ok. Any idea what your KH is?
  41. Sacha

    What TDS should I aim for?

    I use RO water, and I remineralise using JBL Aquadur. I typically remineralise to a KH of 4. After dosing with EI, TDS ends up in the 300s. Should my TDS be lower? If so, that would mean using less Aquadur, which has two drawbacks. Lower KH means pH swings are more likely, and more acidic...
Back
Top