RoDi/Rubbermaid questions please help

[nextlevel808]

Ok so I just installed a new BSR stage 6 RoDi and purchessed 2 Rubbermaid 50g trashcans. After cleaning both with vinegar and water and rinsing out with bottled water I had bought and always fill my tanks with in the past. I had 30g of water in bottles left over so I put that in one Rubbermaid and mixed my salt in it. Now I've usually not always check the ph before putting in my tank after getting salinity right I tested ph and found it was 8.4 which is high I was wondering if it might be the cleaning of the can with the vinegar. Now I also had made some fresh water using the RoDi in the other Rubbermaid and when testing that it's reading it's super low which might just be my water. Can I get anyone's thoughts here as I'm completely lost on what I should do next. Will I always have to bring my ph of my water up every time I use my RoDi unit? Please help.

[YHSublime]

I never test for anything other than salinity. Sometimes temp if I feel like there is a huge difference. If you're doing anything less than 25%, I wouldn't be concerned. Just my 2 cents.

[tom39]

+1 for never testing anything but salinity.

IMO, even with a PH of 8.4, the volume of water in the average WC is not going to make much of a change to the tank PH and any change should self regulate itself within a few hours.

[gmerek2]

Dont worry about RODI PH. The only thing people worry about with RODI is TDS. Now water change (fresh saltwater) PH should only be a concern when doing a super large water change (emergency situations) most people won't do more than 25%. the people doing 5-10% but more often water changes are the people with higher end SPS sticks since they are more sensitive to swings

[Origami]

Newly mixed salt normally has a higher than normal pH. Either aerate it, or stir it with a pump for a few hours (or overnight) before using it and it should equalize to a lower number. It's not the RO/DI, but the carbonate salts that are used in the salt mix that set that initial pH level. If they bias it with a little more sodium carbonate versus bicarbonate, the initial pH starts higher. Eventually, any mix should settle down after it's had a little time to breathe and age.

 

BTW, vinegar is acidic and acids have a pH below 7, not above. The pH of store-bought vinegar should be close to 5.5, I think. As noted, the pH of RO/DI or distilled water is highly variable to the point of being meaningless for our purposes. (But I don't think that you were measuring the pH of your freshwater.)

[nextlevel808]

Thanks everyone. I also tend to do a 10% water change every week as my coral and fish both like it so far. This all makes since and I really think I was looking to far into all of this. There I guess could have been a few things that could have caused this as well now looking back. I had just opened a fresh bucket of reef salt for mixing, I don't normally or ever remember testing fresh water before so all these things mentioned have helped me realize I over think things a lot of the time. Thanks again for all the help.

[fishgate]

Bottled water is not RO/DI. I would not have used that for your tank water. It is the same as your tap water.

[Aquaknott]

I have a similar setup, using too rubbermaid trash cans for my system. 1 can is used to have the RODI fill then I pump it into the second tank where I mix my salt. I keep both tanks heatd to a desired temp that way the water is always similar to the tanks I would use the water in. I also keep up with Salinity in my salt tank of course. In addition I also keep a pump in the salt tank to keep the water circulatign adn help with the mixing. I do check my tds in my first tank to make sure I know what its coming out of my RODI system. Yes there is a meter on my output of my RODI i just like to make sure.

[nextlevel808]

I also don't mean regular bottled water I use to buy RoDi water in 5g bottles or jugs.