help about to do a water change with first water filter

[BluePhish]

so i got the API tap water filter(ion exchange), i know its no ro/di unit but im working my way up . My question is when the treated water comes out dosent it have a low P.H. ? when i do a water change will my salt buffer it back up to 8.3 (reef crystals)? also when i make top off water what should i do then to buffer it back up? Ive also bought some seachem marine buffer(safely raises and maintains P.H. to 8.3)should i add a lil for water change water with the salt? and can i add this buffer to top off water that dosent have salt in it yet.

[Nemo 22]

add the buffer to the water.i do it on mines just to maintain ph.remeber that most buffers will not raise the ph over 8.3 even if you overdose.

[reef_guru]

most if not all salts sold on the market today are balanced. try something: test the new saltwater for Ca, dKH, pH and see what you come up with. after the new saltwater is introduced into the system allow 30-60 minutes for mixing, check your parameters and go from there. i have never and will never doctor the new saltwater, it to risky since the small amount of water used, better off to do it in the main tank.

kalkwasser makes a better buffer than store bought buffers to raise the pH without raising the dKH much.

[ReefSparky]

I think Reef Guru hit it on the head. There is no sane way to "change parameters" of something for which you have no baseline. In other words, why would you buffer, doctor or otherwise try to change the levels of an item when you don't know what its levels are to start?

Only you can answer your question of "My question is when the treated water comes out dosent it have a low P.H. ?"

As Reef Guru said, test both aquarium water, and new, filtered water, for the parameters in which you are interested. Then you have a baseline. From there you can either mix it in, test the aquarium water and adjust, or simply adjust the new water before adding it to the tank; but again, it's safer to adjust levels of a greater quantity of water--so it may be best to adjust the tank water after new additions. If the pH is off, fix it. If it needs to be buffered, then do so. But there's certainly no merit in just adding this or that to water if you haven't already tested it.

[dcaribewolf@bellsouth.net]

I have learned to only use the buffer in times of emergency, such as a crashing pH, that is something less than 8.0. Remember, the lower the pH, the more acidic. You are attempting to obtain an alkaline reading, which for marine fish can be anything from 8.2 to 8.4. Even if it hits 8.0, it does not make a difference unless you add new livestock that have been accustomed to more alkaline environments. Usually, what I do is mix my own salt water and that usually gives me a pH of 8.3-8.4. If I do a 20% change on an established tank with a pH lower than 8.2, it will bring the water more alkaline or give a pH of 8.2 which is what I want. I think its okay to add the buffer, I just try to only use it in times of emergency when I want a rapid pH change.

Caribe

[BluePhish]

ive took the advise just to add the top off water as is and adjust PH accordingly, althou i havent had to adjust the Ph yet . never seems to drop lower than 8.2-8.3, so that seems pretty good my tank is doing a good job at buffering the water on its own.