Ro

[Ter]

Hi.. I just got myself an RO system.. and already had some discus.. So I got myself the RO right powder... added what they told me for discus.. now how long till i can add the water? I have a powerhead in my garbage can pushing the water around... and does RO right provent a PH crash?
thanks TER

 

[Liam]

It’s a long time since I kept discus so I cant remember the exact degree of hardness required its about 30ppm. But yeah the discus can’t live in the RO water; they need some dissolved solids and yes the powder buffers the water so that you don’t get ph crash. If they have been living in hard tap water before you got the RO unit, then do small water changes with the RO water so that they don’t suffer too much with sudden change. A fast change in the amount of dissolved solids/water hardness would stress them. I used to just mix some tap water to the ro water to get the correct hardness and ph.
Your discus will be happier if they have been living in harder water.

 

[Ter]

So I put the water into my garbage can, add my RO right, and add a little tap water correct?
should I add anything else?
Ter

 

[AMS]

Adding tapwater to your RO water is like adding hot sauce to your ice-cream. Use 100% RO water remineralized with RO right. According to Liveaquaria.com, "For soft water - 1/2 teaspoon per 10 gallons of water." If you have soft water, you'll have a low pH.