Ro Water ...how Badly Is It Needed ?

[yekram10]

HI yall ...ive started planted tanks now and have been at it for about 2 months or so.....ive been told that i should be using RO water...but up till knowing ive been using tap water...i use conditioners for the water....ferts and Co2 for the plants and nothing seems to really being doing any harm ...is RO water really a critical part to keeping the plants healthy or is it a better way of controlling what the plants are exposed??

 

[Ben M]

Hi, RO water isn't necessary in a planted tank. Most people have great results with tap water.

If you have good ferts, CO2, lighting and flow then you are on the right track.

cheers

 

[yekram10]

thanks ...hey would you happen to know how many bubbles i should have bubbling in my bubble counter

 

[ian]

yep, agree with Pestcontrol. Taps water contains a lot of traces that you plants will use. Personally i would never use RO in a planted tank.

saying that...Tom Barr used RO with this tank, but dosed NO3 and PO4 heavily. It/is was a discus tank, absolutely stunning.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=155875&hl=behemoth

 

[RadaR]

No point using RO water in a planted tank

 

[yekram10]

hmmmmm haha...well my friend John who is the guy i get all my stuff from said i should used RO ...i know for a fact he knows his stuff and has a couple planted tanks....for me it is a relief that you guys say i dont need it...but why would he say use RO or rather what does it do for plants ??

 

[RadaR]

.but why would he say use RO or rather what does it do for plants ??

He could be simply mis-informed. I guess the easiest way to find out is to ask him. I'd be interested as to why he thinks RO is needed. Does he believe excess nutrients like N+P cause algae? Therefore RO is needed because these contain next to "0" amounts? Ofcourse this is completely wrong but some people still think this way. Fact of the matter is, with RO water you're left with 99.9% pure water therefore you've removed a lot of things that can indeed be beneficial to plants. Most plants also do fine in a broad range of water hardness. So there really is no need.

 

[Aqua Tom]

If plants realy did need RO water then none would be able to grow in the wild. Rivers are not purified water, they are full of minerals from their meandering journey to the sea.

 

[RadaR]

Rivers are not purified water, they are full of minerals from their meandering journey to the sea.

Well...some arent. Some rivers have low TDS. But yes, no plant NEEDS RO water.