Ro Unit

[degsod]

I am thinking of buying a RO unit, my question is once I have filtered the water, can I use it directly? or do I have to add minerals back to it?

 

[backtotropical]

Pure RO water is no good for fish, but it depends what fish you are keeping.

If you are talking about marines, the salt you add to the water replenishes the required minerals so you need add nothing else.

If you are talking about freshwater fish, you will need to add back the minerals some other way. Your LFS will probably sell a solution designed to do just that, although that can be expensive. Most people use maybe 1/2 RO water and 1/2 tap water. That way the mineral content isn't really a problem, and you don't need to add anything else.

Hope that helps.

BTT

 

[degsod]

Ok thanks, it is freshwater tropical. The main reason is that I am getting a new tank soon, I will also be usingthe RO for topping up so I presume that I can use the ro water on its own for topping up purposes.

 

[backtotropical]

Yes, that would be fine, but may I ask why you want to use RO water for freshwater fish? In 99% of cases, it's not necessary and is just an added expense.

Tap water treated with dechlorinator is usually the best option.

 

[degsod]

That is what I ahve been using in the past, I was told by some one that the dechlorinators don't work very well for removing Chloramine's I can get a 55G per day RO unit for about £65 which seems like a good deal.

Also I mgiht go marine in the future

 

[rabbut]

Going to be Devil's advocate here, but why is Chloramine a problem if de-chlorinators don't work here. I do twice weekly 50% water changes on my Discus tank, and I last used de-chlorinator about a year ago. My water source is maxed out to the legal limit on either Chlorine or Chloramine most of the time (depending on the time of year, they switch occasionally), and I don't have problems... Just a thought

Many people kill their fish learning how to work with RO in FW. Unless you are going marine, save yourself the expense, not just of the RO unit, but of the lives of the fish you will loose unless you go into it fully understanding the water chemistry involved

Also, don't forget that almost all De-chlorinators do remove Chloramine, so if yours doesn't, simply switching brands will fix your perceived problem

All the best
Rabbut