Reverse Osmosis

[Fadi]

I currently have a tank with gourami and platy. I plant to take out most of the fish and leave just a few gourami and maybe 2 angels, and bring in discus. My question is it essential that I have a reverse osmosis filter?? I dont know too much about that filter or anykind of sump pumps, since I have been using the traditional Bio-Bag tetras. If i do get the discus i plan on making 40% water changes twice a week. Is this enough without r/o.

 

[fozzy_wozzy_woo]

I currently have a tank with gourami and platy. I plant to take out most of the fish and leave just a few gourami and maybe 2 angels, and bring in discus. My question is it essential that I have a reverse osmosis filter?? I dont know too much about that filter or anykind of sump pumps, since I have been using the traditional Bio-Bag tetras. If i do get the discus i plan on making 40% water changes twice a week. Is this enough without r/o.

For freash water aquariums RO is not really needed, Howeer i have a RO system on my FW aquarium. This has helped me do water changes and keep the water hardness down. Again however I have a 780l tank with a 200l sump.

You must see if the cost is worth it. I have built an over flow system into the sump so all access water flows into the drainage system. this has saved me hours in cleaning and having to have tap water sat in a bucket for day waiting for the chloreen to evaporate.

I would say it is a luxury but a well worth one. oh yea it is keeping my tank temprature regualted at the moment.

 

[Opcn]

If your water is hard then a still or RO filter would certainly make it soft, but a cheaper way to soften water is to run it through peat via a peat media bag in the filter, or even better peat in your waterchange bucket for a few housrs with a powerhead on, you will go through a fair deal of peat but you can put the used peat to good use in the garden, also it will stain your water with tannons, which actt in the same way activated carbon acts and pulls many DOC's out of the water, unfortunately its a bit like useing a magnet and tannons and AC bind to each other and become ineffective against DOC's, so if you are useing carbon throw peat into your water bucket, then carbon after 12 hours, then after 12 hours you can do your water change, are you seeing were the convinience factor for RO units comes in here?

 

[Fadi]

The two bio-bag filters I have actually break the water tension in the tank so that wont be a problem. I think I can do w/o a R/o system, and it is pricey.

 

[Opcn]

even with broken water surface DOC's are not your friend

 

[Bignose]

Opcn, your reply #3 here is a little off. 1) Tannins are DOCs (dissolved organic compounds). DOC is a huge group of chemicals, and anything with carbon in it can be considered an OC, organic compound.

2) Tannins and in fact all DOCs can be your friend, there is actually many good things that they do. Most importantly, they bind to heavy metals and neutralize them, keeping the fish safer. Many good water conditioners also do this, but I like the extra safety factor. Next, when the metals are bound to a DOC, they are much more easily taken up by plant. This is great for the micro-nutrients that plants, need, like iron. Depending on your water chemistry, without this binding, your water could be extraordinarily high in iron, and yet your plants suffering from iron deficiencies. So the DOCs help in that way too.

But you are right in that carbon will take these out. In my opinion, this is just another strike against using carbon, since DOCs do many useful things in a tank.

There is such a thing as too many DOCs, you could get a film on the top of the tank, which if bad for gouramis and bettas, but again if you have live plants, the DOCs will be constantly cycled. A live plant takes them up, and eventually gives them up when it dies.

 

[Opcn]

You are correct sir, I should be more specific, I was reffering to maily proteins disolved in the water columns.

*egg on face*

I've seen far more cases of too many DOC's than too few, but then again I don't deal with hevily planted tanks (people who plant hevily generally know there stuff)

*shrinks into a corner*