Soft water plants

[JuiceBox52]

What plants will thrive in straight reverse osmosis water? I know some plants need harder water. I’m looking for low tech plants

Lighting can be whatever is needed, can get new lighting. Will be a 10 gallon tank

 

[Rocky998]

What plants will thrive in straight reverse osmosis water? I know some plants need harder water. I’m looking for low tech plants

Lighting can be whatever is needed, can get new lighting. Will be a 10 gallon tank

I'm pretty sure not even fish can survive in 100% reverse osmosis water...

 

[JuiceBox52]

I'm pretty sure not even fish can survive in 100% reverse osmosis water...

Only a few species, I’ve gone over it with Byron

 

[Rocky998]

Only a few species, I’ve gone over it with Byron

Oh? That's interesting... What species are they?

 

[JuiceBox52]

Oh? That's interesting... What species are they?

The bororas species of rasboras and Pygmy corydoras and potentially ember tetras

 

[Rocky998]

The bororas species of rasboras and Pygmy corydoras and potentially ember tetras

The bororas rasbora species actually doesn't surprise me! But the others do... Very interesting.
Learning everyday

 

[JuiceBox52]

The bororas rasbora species actually doesn't surprise me! But the others do... Very interesting.
Learning everyday

What makes them surprise you vs not?

 

[Rocky998]

What makes them surprise you vs not?

Well those rasboras are from pretty acidic waters and are found in very soft water as well.
But the species names of "tetra" and "corydora" remind me of the Amazon rivers where there still his a but of mineral content but still soft water and low PH.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Well those rasboras are from pretty acidic waters and are found in very soft water as well.
But the species names of "tetra" and "corydora" remind me of the Amazon rivers where there still his a but of mineral content but still soft water and low PH.

Many areas of the Amazon and surrounding tributaries are near to no GH or KH

 

[Rocky998]

Many areas of the Amazon and surrounding tributaries are near to no GH or KH

I always thought there would be a bit of mineral content in all bodies of water... This is new info to me...
I feel like I should've known this a while back

 

[Crispii]

I'm pretty sure not even fish can survive in 100% reverse osmosis water...

I beg to differ, but some fish can survive and thrive in full RO water. All of my aquariums are running full RO and not half tap, half RO. I had killifish (Aphyosemion and Fundulopanchax), wild Betta, and Apistogramma in full RO water and they do just fine. Not only that, but all the genus of fish that I mentioned have spawned for me.

To answer the OP's question, there are plants that can do okay in straight RO water. I have kept Anubias, Microsorum, Bucephalandra, and Bolbitis in RO water. In my experience, keeping epiphyte plants in a tank that is filled with nothing but RO water is hit or miss. There are some plants that I kept that will slowly die and rot, and there are some plants that will thrive. The only plant that does well in such conditions in my experience would be Anubias Nana "Thick Leaf." I have kept other types of Anubias, but they end up rotting, but with the thick leaf, it seems they fare better and have grown a new leaf every few months.

 

[Byron]

I see more "teaching" is needed, lol.

Water in its pure state has no GH, no KH and a neutral pH. Evaporated and then condensed water forming clouds that then rain/snow is the only example of pure water in nature. Much of the rain/snow now days will be on the acidic side ("acid rain" it used to be called). But once it hits the earth, it changes.

Water is termed the "universal solvent" because it is able to dissolve more substances than any other liquid on this planet. It readily assimilates many substances with which it comes into contact. If you want a more technical explanation, check the info on the US Geological Sciences website https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics.../science/water-qa-why-water-universal-solvent
Water that runs over calcareous rock will become harder, while water that comes into contact with soil and organic matter will be softer. The GH is the measure of primarily calcium and magnesium, though other minerals can be present too but aquarists are concerned primarily with these two.

Rain falling in the Amazon basin rarely comes into contact with calcareous rock, but primarily organics. Thus, the GH of many Amazon watercourses is so low it would not even be measured by our aquarium test kits, often in the range of 1 to 3 ppm, less than 1/10th of 1 dH. Such water is usually acid, very acid. The Rio Negro, the world's largest blackwater river and the sixth largest tributary of the Amazon River, has a pH in the 4 to 5 range permanently. All of this is why the GH, KH and pH of Amazonian watercourses rarely vary throughout the year, or if they do, it is very minimal.

There are areas in the Amazon basin or other areas of South America where the water does come into contact with calcareous minerals, but the high organic content tends to offset this, and the GH is still very low. The pH may be basic (above 7), but these areas are few by comparison. One is the source habitat of Poecilia (Acanthophacelus) wingei (Endler's Livebearer) in Northeast Venezuela; this species is endemic endemic to Campoma and Buena Vista coastal lagoons. The source for the type specimens is a warm freshwater lake with hard, alkaline water on the Paria Peninsula. See Poeser et al, 2005 and Schories et al, 2009.

Any fish that naturally occurs in soft/very soft water will have no issues in straight RO. Ian Fuller told me that he uses pure RO with no additives to breed many species of Corydoras, including C. pygmaeus. I maintained dozens of Amazonian species for 30+ years in my straight tap water with a GH of 6 or 7 ppm, and a pH that I know was no higher than 5 (the lowest test I had) and was likely lower in some tanks.

 

[Byron]

What plants will thrive in straight reverse osmosis water? I know some plants need harder water. I’m looking for low tech plants

Lighting can be whatever is needed, can get new lighting. Will be a 10 gallon tank

@Crispii provided some ideas above. I would just say that most aquarium plants will not have issues in soft or very soft water. Vallisneria is one that is easier in harder water, but I had V. spiralis do fairly well for several years in my very soft (GH below 1 dH) water. Not really surprising when you realize that the vast majority of our aquarium plants come from areas with a high organic load, few minerals, and thus very soft water...the entire Amazon basin for example with sporadic exceptions.

It is usually necessary to add the mineral nutrients. Fish foods achieve this, but unless you stay with very slow-growing plants (mosses, Java Fern, Anubias) this is not likely to be sufficient. A comprehensive supplement, in tab form for substrate-rooted plants, and/or liquid achieves this.

 

[Rocky998]

I am glad this thread was made!
Always really happy to learn new things with marine biology!

 

[JuiceBox52]

I am glad this thread was made!
Always really happy to learn new things with marine biology!

Not marine