tutquarium

Dear Seachem,

I have just had an RO unit installed and am now planning to use Seachem Equilibrium. But I cannot find Seachem Alkaline Buffer in the market at the moment. However, I do have Seachem Acid Buffer that is recommended to be used together with Alkaline Buffer in order to obtain an optimum two-way buffering system (if I don't take it wrong).

Could you please advise whether or not I can temporarily use NaHCO3 instead of Seachem Alkaline Buffer, along with Seachem Acid Buffer? and if I can, in what quantities with respect to the Seachem Acid Buffer? That's very important to me until I obtain Seachem Alkaline Buffer.

Thanks.

tutquarium

Forgot to mention about the followings:
- Seachem Acid Buffer I have is in dry form.
- Additional CO2 to be provided (so perhaps I don't have to add Seachem Acid Buffer. Should I say I mustn't or I don't have to?)

Seachem

It is perfectly fine to use Acid Buffer in conjunction with CO2 injection. Just be sure to dose accordingly and monitor the pH frequently. If you have fish in the tank, you want to be careful not to shift the pH more than 0.5 in a given day.

It should also be fine to use NaHCO3 until you can purchase some Alkaline Buffer. However, I am unsure of the exact amount you would use with the Acid Buffer. I would recommend using the ratios on the label as a starting point and test it on a smaller volume of water (i.e. 5 gallons) to see where it brings your pH and adjust from there. Since you are using RO water, then it should not be too difficult to hit your target pH. Please let us know if you have additional questions.