Ro Water, Minerals, And Things

[CrustyOnEastCoast]

Well, I have been in my fishless cycle for a month. Big day today ... 0 nitrites, 30 ppm nitrates! (tap water had 0-5ppm nitrates). Have been experiencing 0 ammonia every 24 hours dosing 2ppm ammonia for a couple days. So, starting this evening, I bumped up the ammonia dose to result in 5ppm ammonia in tank. (will start testing stuff every 12 hours after a bit).

But that is all a digression. Just mentioning it because I am excited...

Anyway, for reasons I won't elaborate here .. using tap water for my small 5 gallon tank is going to be a bad idea. (maintaining such a small tank as a newbie is also a bad idea, I know, but too late right now for that...).

I will be using RO Water. I will add minerals to it ... specifically Seachem Replenish (includes calcium, magnesium, potassium, a little sodium)... You can control the dosage to reach various hardness levels. (I wonder what dosage I should pick?0 But with the RO water I will have likely softish water with a low PH (at least compared to my hard tap water, 8.0ph). Well, low PH is good, 'cause less ammonium will turn into free ammonia.

I have read somewhere that RO water has low oxygen. Do I care? My filter will oxygenate the water, right? I figure I fill up the tank with the RO + minerals water, let it run for a few days (and verify that my bio-filtration is still doing its work)... so on day 1 oxygen will be fine ... the low oxygen will just be in the 10% water changes ... can I just open the cap on the container holding the RO water and let it sit for 24 hours so it gets a little more oxygen --- before heating it, adding the minerals, and adding into the tank?

Since my tank is small, water evaporation ends up being significant. If I top off, using pure RO water in this case, I assume my hardness would stay the same (since only the water evaporates not the minerals .. so in this way I just replace water and keep mineral hardness level the same). After a top off, and I let it filter for 30 minutes or so, I suppose I can do a normal water change and put in the RO water + minerals into the tank ... all this to keep the hardness level as close to the same all the time for the fish .. so I don't kill all of them by water changes, like I did last time (but that time might have just been from the ammonia in my tap water or some other unkown thing ... temp was the same as tank).

Basically, I guess I am just looking for confirmation that I am thinking things through properly...and ...if there is anything in particular I should be wary of or careful about when using RO Water + minerals for a freshwater tank .. I would love to hear it. I am just getting preprared ... I figure my fishless cycle will be ending in another couple weeks or so

Thanks!

 

[Whitey_144]

Well, I have been in my fishless cycle for a month. Big day today ... 0 nitrites, 30 ppm nitrates! (tap water had 0-5ppm nitrates). Have been experiencing 0 ammonia every 24 hours dosing 2ppm ammonia for a couple days. So, starting this evening, I bumped up the ammonia dose to result in 5ppm ammonia in tank. (will start testing stuff every 12 hours after a bit).

But that is all a digression. Just mentioning it because I am excited...

Anyway, for reasons I won't elaborate here .. using tap water for my small 5 gallon tank is going to be a bad idea. (maintaining such a small tank as a newbie is also a bad idea, I know, but too late right now for that...).

I will be using RO Water. I will add minerals to it ... specifically Seachem Replenish (includes calcium, magnesium, potassium, a little sodium)... You can control the dosage to reach various hardness levels. (I wonder what dosage I should pick?0 But with the RO water I will have likely softish water with a low PH (at least compared to my hard tap water, 8.0ph). Well, low PH is good, 'cause less ammonium will turn into free ammonia.

I have read somewhere that RO water has low oxygen. Do I care? My filter will oxygenate the water, right? I figure I fill up the tank with the RO + minerals water, let it run for a few days (and verify that my bio-filtration is still doing its work)... so on day 1 oxygen will be fine ... the low oxygen will just be in the 10% water changes ... can I just open the cap on the container holding the RO water and let it sit for 24 hours so it gets a little more oxygen --- before heating it, adding the minerals, and adding into the tank?

Since my tank is small, water evaporation ends up being significant. If I top off, using pure RO water in this case, I assume my hardness would stay the same (since only the water evaporates not the minerals .. so in this way I just replace water and keep mineral hardness level the same). After a top off, and I let it filter for 30 minutes or so, I suppose I can do a normal water change and put in the RO water + minerals into the tank ... all this to keep the hardness level as close to the same all the time for the fish .. so I don't kill all of them by water changes, like I did last time (but that time might have just been from the ammonia in my tap water or some other unkown thing ... temp was the same as tank).

Basically, I guess I am just looking for confirmation that I am thinking things through properly...and ...if there is anything in particular I should be wary of or careful about when using RO Water + minerals for a freshwater tank .. I would love to hear it. I am just getting preprared ... I figure my fishless cycle will be ending in another couple weeks or so

Thanks!

Hi,

you are in much the same position than me! have you got your RO unit yet? i got the TMC advanced from Marineaquatics for £20 cheaper than anywhere else, also the D-D seems to be popular.

I plan to test my RO unit's water as soon as i get a part then add dechlorinated tap water...if that doesnt get close to what i want..then i'll get minerals. my tap water is hard, but doesnt have ammonia or much nitrate. But yours sounds to have high nitrate? and ammonia?

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/351114-ro-water-mineral-additives/

that's my latest thread, my cycle thread is on my sig.

You're right about evaporation, top that up with RO water or you'll end up increasing the water hardness at each top up...as i have done during my cycle.

When i have fish i will top up evaporated water with RO only.

regarding the oxygen, i hadn't heard this, but i wouldn't think it's too bad unless we're doing large water changes..ut i hopefully wont be. also i guess it depends on your stocking levels, live plants, temperature etc too.

hope this helps!
adam

 

[hixy]

Hello why are you using RO water.What fish will you be keeping if your keep normal every day tropical fish you dont need RO water just use the 2 filters under the RO filter.You would be ok with tap water and a good water conditioner.


regard mick

 

[waterdrop]

Well, it's good that you've connected up with Adam, who is attempting to do the same sort of thing. Hopefully you guys will figure it out and do ok.

I know that Adam already understands what a pain this can all be but I'll repeat that most of the experienced ones here on TFF warn us that it's a risky and difficult thing to get into the business of artificially getting away from your baseline tap water. That tap water is the basic emergency system for your fish and acclimating them to something different means you can no longer rely on it when you are in a pinch. Instead you have to always be prepared to constitute the custom mix for all water changes, cleanings and other activities. When you are new to the hobby this all seems kind of fun, but in truth it is a huge commitment as the weeks and years begin to go by.

Not trying to discourage you, just want to make sure you've heard this.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[CrustyOnEastCoast]

Thanks for the replies.

Whitey_144: I am not buying an RO Unit. My tank is only 5 US gallons. I plan to change 1 gallon of water a week. I can buy 1 gallon of RO water for $1.00. So, I will spend just $4.00/month for the water. (Maybe just slightly more to cover the replacement of water evaporation .. actually much of my current water loss is probably not evaporation but just my own removal of the water for all of these water tests I am doing during my fishless cycle. And maybe a little bit more money still for any unforeseen large, emergency water changes -- hopefully none of these .. yeah right).

hixy and waterdrop - Believe me, I don't want to use RO Water and am not doing it for fun (hopefully it will be fun though

Tap Water Stats:
Ammonia 1.5ppm or greater
Nitrites 0ppm
Nitrates 5ppm
Ph 8.0
Hardness - moderately hard to hard
Chlorine and Chloramines present (hence the ammonia reading ... but wow is that ammonia reading high. I thought the API liquid test kit was failing me 'cause it registers a little higher than the values claimed by the municipal water company ... but during the fishless cycle I have learned to trust this kit ... because everything else I have see from it, makes perfect sense.

If that weren't bad enough, during my fish-in cycle ... every time I changed the water my fished stress-ed out big time ... I kept changing the water (no more than 10-20% at a time, but finally this killed them when I did 2 20% water changes 12 hours apart. Them being 1 tiger barb and 1 cherry barb -- known for being hardy fish). During these water changes, I matched the replacement water temperature to the tank water and treated the replacement tap water with water conditioner that handles both chloramines and chlorine. I am pretty sure that I didn't do any evaporation top offs, so hardness levels, and Ph levels probably wouldn't have changed drastically from the water changes .. so no known reason why there would be osmotic stress from the water changes.

So, I think there is something bad in my tap water (copper? something else, who knows). I did use warm water from the tap, but my water heater is only 3 years old.

Maybe another option for me is to buy a carbon filter or something and just filter my tap water and then use it. But my tank (5 U.S. gallons) is so small, it will pollute easily. The kids saw the fish die the first time, don't really want to disappoint them again.

Maybe I'll buy a Betta fish when my cycle is done, and one other fish. I should be able to at least keep that Betta alive I would hope!

 

[OldMan47]

Crusty, I must say that I find a tank built around RO water from a local merchant or even from my own source is a bit risky. I have presently got 26 tanks running. Of those I have only taken the plunge to make them less like my tap water on 2 tanks. The two are low mineral content south american type habitats. Once you make that commitment, you must be ready to use the right mix of water from your tap and from your RO source forever. The question for each new fish keeper is whether or not each of us is ready for such a commitment. If you can truly answer "yes" over several years, do whatever your heart desires. If you cannot make that commitment, you are much like me. I must answer that I am willing to take on a specific issue for such and such a period. After that period, I have made no commitment. If things go well or the needs of a species of fish are within my grasp, I will no doubt bid on any offerings.

 

[CrustyOnEastCoast]

Well, is one option really more difficult than the other? Either way you are "committed for life". Either you are always adding dechlorinator to your tap water or you are always adding mineral supplements to your RO water. Once you have established the proper mineral supplement dosage, should be smooth sailing, unless I am missing something. Well, the one extra headache I will have is buying the RO water.

I have no intention of mixing tap water and RO water.