Advice - to RO or not to RO

[SarahBravo]

The PH coming out my tap is really high - about 8.5 to 9. Most of my fish have adapted really well, but I do have some dwarf cichlids that would appreciate a lower PH. I've also found out that the two cats I spent £50 on last week will find the high PH really hard to deal with.

OK - options:

1) Leave it alone - if the fish die, they die
2) Buy RO water from my lfs at £4 for 20 litres, all additives added
3) Buy an RO unit and have hoses and buckets around, but make my fishies happy. (Sell RO water to nearby TFF members at VERY low rates?!!!!!!)

Waddya guys think?

 

[Bloo]

Option 4 - rehome fish before they die ?

I know most fish adapt to higher pH, but some unfortunately don't and find it very hard to thrive - or even survive......

Otherwise, buy some RO water (if you have a car and can transport it) and keep them that way. Expensive but the better option of the 3 above.

 

[Def]

I doubt your lfs will have premixed r/o water, and if they do it will probably be aimed for s/w rather than fresh. Your best bet may be to mix r/o with tap water, say 30:60 ratio and test the params. If you use full r/o you'll have to worry about additives, buffering etc.

 

[Teelie]

One of the LFS here sells R/O and it is meant for saltwater however it's not premixed so it can be used to cut tapwater which is what I do for my fw tanks, though I get my R/O from a water store.

 

[SarahBravo]

The lfs has just invested in a commercial RO system for all it's own tanks - it sells 'neat' RO water at £2.99 for 20 litres and all additives added for FW for £3.99 for 20 litres. It doesn't sell marines, and so doesn't sell marine RO water.

 

[CFC]

A quid for minerals, jesus the shop owner needs locking up for robbery!!

Buy yourself a cheap small R/O unit and the minerals you need, i use KENT R/O right and KENT pH stable which will cost you around a fiver a tub each and a tub will last you 6 months to a year. The R/O unit can be plumbed in under the sink and no one will even see it. R/O man sells reasonably cheap units http/www.ro-man.com/shop/index.php

 

[SarahBravo]

Thanks CFC! That's a good site. At £50 for a small unit, it would pay for itself in a few months against buying water from the LFS. I just need to think which tanks need it now, to try and work out how many gallons a week I'd need. Do you have to have a large water butt kinda thing? Or can you just run off 10 gallons when you need it?

 

[Opcn]

R/O water is fine for you to drink too. Another option is to filter your water through peat moss, that will make it softer and more acidic but give it a yellow hue and you cant run carbon as without the tannic acid the PH will go higher again.

 

[Bloo]

I looked into RO water at one stage, but as it's a rented house, I don't want to mess with plumbing. Secondly I don't have the space. Thirdly it's very very time consuming - check how many gallons per hour it does.....
And also remember that water as hard as yours will need the membranes etc. replacing a lot more frequent - so just remember to factor that cost in too....

 

[CFC]

You can buy the adapter kits which allow you to turn the unit on and off so you can just run off the water you want when you need it.

 

[Def]

R/O water is fine for you to drink too.

R/O water is fine to drink, RO/DI water IS ABSOLUTELY NOT fine to drink. A lot of R/O units are multi-stage RO/DI units. If you drink the water from a DI unit you will get very sick!

 

[Teelie]

I find it doubtful it will make you sick immeadiately but at the same time it's not healthy. R/O water itself can be dangerous if you don't have a healthy dose of nutrients in your diet

 

[Timmy]

I started off buying RO water from my local LFS but then bought a cheap unit from ro-man. I don't have it permanently plumbed in but just hook it up to a tap every couple of weeks and collect a load of water. I mix 3 parts RO to 1 part tap. The fish colours are much brighter. I've probably reduced my water change frequency but on the whole I reckon the water quality is better.

 

[breezer40]

You can buy the adapter kits which allow you to turn the unit on and off so you can just run off the water you want when you need it.

Thats what I have done..its attached to my garden hose in the shed at the moment. I honestly wouldn't be without one now but wouldn't like to drink it

 

[Dorkhedeos]

get some ph down?