question on commercial distilled water

[ethanleow]

as ive read that all distilled water have lower PH, what pre add sodium bicarbonate to the desired PH prior to topping up into tank? will it be ok since i guess the KH of the water should be higher than just adding newly bought distilled water in. anyone experiment this before care to share??

[ethanleow]

sorry got typo, should be "*what if i pre add sodium bicarbonate to the desired PH prior to topping up into tank?"

Distilled water has ph 7, its normal neutral ph. It has different kh, i think lower.

[ethanleow]

i read from one of our bros post that dasani water has a ph of 5.5

@.@! Distilled water got so low ah? Dunno how come he got 5.5 leh. I tested my dasani n its 7.0 perfect.

[KaLiB]

You could inadvertently raise kH in the tank to beyond recommended levels if you pre-buffer your distilled water with sodium bicarbonate. This can then cause problems with your Calcium and Magnesium. Its better to just monitor the tank water parameters and adjust as necessary by adding in supplements or through water changes.

Unless your adding in lots(relative to tank volume, like around 40% or more) of distilled water at one go, its unlikely to cause pH swings. If your concerned, you can drip the water in.

To put your mind at ease, you can always do a test yourself in case a test kit error caused the pH 5.5 reading in the other posting.