Info needed on mixing De-ionised water with tap water

wastedyears1981

Due to the hardness of water from the tap, Im am having to mix tap with DI water to get the correct KH/GH levels for water changes.

Does anyone know if this will lower the PH levels, as it is bang on perfect from the tap. Cheers

Fishguy2727

Yes, it will effectively and safely decrease KH/pH and is a much safer option than using all RO/DI and adding things back to try to stabilize it.

What is the pH naturally? What fish do you have? In most cases even if it isn't 'ideal' or what they would have in nature the water quality (lots of water changes) and food quality are a thousand times more important than exact pH.

For a link to an article on freshwater chemistry just PM me.

AbbeysDad

I have just started using DI water to combat high nitrates in my well water. I am using the Electro-Right and pH Adjuster that came with the API Tap Water Filter. It comes with a warning that DI water is simply too pure for fish and the additives are required to put back some elements stripped out for proper gill function and overall health. I suppose you can mix, perhaps 50/50, but you'd really need to test to determine the best 'recipe' relative to the nature of your source water. In any event, assuming you have an established tank, introducing in small water changes 10-20% would be best. Typically creatures can tolerate a very wide range of water harness and pH, but sudden dramatic changes can be very bad.

Byron

In your other thread Very HIgh GH in new tank this same issue was raised. I suggested how to deal with this in that thread.

wastedyears1981

The gh and kh levels are on theyre way down now. Just worried the ph level will drop by using DI wate. Out of the tap its 7.2ph. i have no stock in there just yet as its in the process of cycling. which gives me the opportunity to play with the tap/DI recipe to get the perfect mix ready for when i start doing water changes.