R.O Water

[Clown King]

Hello all, can you help me with some advice about R.O Water.

My lfs supplies it at a good price, but i dont know if it would be worth using or not. I have heard that people use it all the time for discus and other fish, so if it is that good why doesn't everybody use it. Is it safe to buy it and use it just like you would with treated tap water for water changes or do you need special equipment to get the most from it.

Hope you can clear a few things up for me. Thanks !!!!

 

[con771]

For me it has just been easier to treat tap water

 

[breezer40]

Here is a link all about R.O water but before you go rushing out to buy it concider if you need it.

http/www.ro-man.com/ro-facts.html

I do use R.O water because I breed alot of plecs and the R.O water is softer and lower in PH than my tap water which makes the plecs think that the rainy season has come with fresh water and they breed (sometimes).

 

[Clown King]

Could i cause problembs in my tank by using R.O Water, I have heard that as there is nothing in the water i could cause my water quaility to plumet,is this true

 

[breezer40]

R.O water needs to be buffered or what can happen is the PH can drop and cause a PH drop, again read this article and all will be revealed

http/www.geocities.com/shtinkythefish/diseases/ph.htm

Each fish has a set of requirements such as ideal PH, GH and KH. Most fish we keep are fine in tap water so unless you are planning to keep any fish that can not cope with this I would forget about using R.O water.

 

[@ombomb]

Basiclly RO water is completely pure water, Hygrogen, Oxygen and virtually nothing else. Normal water (Tap / river / lake) contains other elements, some good some bad. The problem with RO water is that while it strips the bad stuff out it also removes the good stuff, which for example can cause the PH to flucuate wildly. As such you need to add the "good" stuff back in. You can buy the additives from your LFS shop, but depending on what you keep and the quality of your tap water, you probably shouldn't worry about it.

 

[cujoho78]

Hi. My tap water comes from a private well and it is very hard with a high pH. I mix RO water with my tap water 60% RO to 40% tap. This gives me a KH of about 4 or 5, and a GH of about 8 or 9 which is a good compromise for the fish i have. It also helps keep the pH from being so high. By mixing in some tap water it does the job of buffering so i don't have to buy additives, and i use less RO water which is about twenty cents Canadian around here.

 

[steelhealr]

@ombomb hit it right on the head and cujoho78 has found a good use for it. I must use RO/DI water for my small marine tank. Using reverse osmosis, following by deionization (DI), the water comes out about 99% pure. That means there is virtually nothing in the water with regards to minerals, etc. What's good about that? No phosphates or nitrates, components that could lead to algae blooms or toxicity in a marine system.

What's bad about it? All minerals are removed. Fish still need to take in minerals for good health as do plants. No buffering capacity. Any insults to the tank could result in pH swings which could cause stress. Expense..if you make your own RO/DI water you need to buy a filter.

As mentioned above, RO can be buffered. You make the water and take out the bad, then, you add in 'the good' as per what you need for your tank. SH

 

[andywg]

Important to note RO is extensively used where you need to remove nitrates and phosphates (such as reefs).

FW tanks have a larger safe zone and can stand more "abuse" to the water (in general). It can be good for triggering breeding, and historically discus fared better in it though many people have them going well in tap water.

Unless you have awful tap water, chances are you won't need it for general FW .

 

[Clown King]

Thanks everyone for the help, i guess i haven't really got a great need for it untill i think about breeding fish or possibly go for a marine reef tank.

 

[kamel_007]

Hello all, can you help me with some advice about  R.O Water.

My lfs supplies it at a good price, but i dont know if it would be worth using or not.  I have heard that people use it all the time for discus and other fish, so if it is that good why doesn't everybody use it.  Is it safe to buy it and use it just like you would with treated tap water for water changes or do you need special equipment to get the most from it.

Hope you can clear a few things up for me. Thanks !!!!

[snapback]924474[/snapback]​

Hello..

We use R/O water only if we have :

1. high DTS tap water , (high GH,KH,PH)...

2. For very sensitive fish like Discus and some kind's of Tetras...

3. to lower the (PH,GH,KH) in our tank's...

4. for Breeding Discus Fish too..

5. For Salt water, because marine fish need's very clear water, then we add
salt to raise the (PH,GH,KH)...

That's it..

I hope you really referendum and all reader's...

Best Regaards..