Storing RO/DI water?

[PheonixKingZ]

What are your guy’s opinions on storing water? (Specificity RO/DI water)

After reading @Byron ‘s new article on the importance of water changes, I realized I wasn’t doing nearly enough. (In quantity or volume for that matter)

That being said, I want to be performing bigger and way more water changes weekly.

—-

I’m wanting to keep the RO/DI water in 5 gallons buckets, until I need it. I do have a lid for one of the buckets, so I will use that one primarily.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Yes, storing water is useful if you keep fish or shrimps that require special water such as marine fish, Sulawesi shrimps, or if you use RO/DI water that require you to add special salt/GH+ salt.

Usually I stored them at least one night in advance before my water change.
I mixed my distilled water with the Sulawesi salts(mineral) and leave them overnight for the temperature to stabilize to my room temperature.
This also allow the salts to be mixed properly with my distilled water before I change the water the following day.

The bigger the bucket, the better it is as you can change more water.
For your 29 gallons tank, probably you may need a 8-12 gallons bucket if you want to change at least 30-40% of water weekly.
I think most people who keep marine fish don't change as much water as those who keep freshwater fish.
Keep your tank bio-load low so that you don't need to change more water.

Some info:

How To Mix Saltwater For Your Reef Aquarium

Learn how to safely and easily mix your very own saltwater using artificial seawater salt mix.

www.marinedepot.com

How to mix perfect saltwater from Red Sea Salts

If you want to mix perfect seawater, this Tips & Tricks blog will provide you with great practical advice on how to ensure a consistent and perfect mix every time while addressing some common issues and misconceptions

www.redseafish.com

5 Simple Steps to Making Your Own Saltwater

Follow these time-tested techniques that make mixing saltwater for your marine or reef aquarium easier and more consistent each and every time.

www.marinedepot.com

 

[Colin_T]

R/O water can be stored in any food safe plastic container.

You don't need R/O for your freshwater tanks. You have been using mains water for a while and the fish are fine with that. Just do bigger water changes once a week.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

You don't need R/O for your freshwater tanks. You have been using mains water for a while and the fish are fine with that. Just do bigger water changes once a week.

I thought it was generally better for them?

 

[Slaphppy7]

RO/DI water has essential elements/minerals removed during the process, some of which are beneficial to fish.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

RO/DI water has essential elements/minerals removed during the process, some of which are beneficial to fish.

And yet the whole reason why I got the system in the first place, is to remove all of the dissolved solids, because saltwater fish are more susceptible to those?

If I know they are in the water, it makes me not want to use tap water any more.

 

[Colin_T]

I thought it was generally better for them?

It depends on the fish being kept and what the pH, GH and KH of the tap water is.

If you use R/O water for livebearers or Rift Lake cichlids, you may as well kill the fish now because they won't survive in R/O water unless you add minerals to it.

If you have hard water with lots of minerals, and you keep soft water fishes, then putting the tap water through an R/O unit will remove most of the minerals and make it better for the fish.

If you have lots of harmful substances in the tap water, then putting it through an R/O unit will remove most of these and make it safer for the fish, but you will need to add minerals if you keep hard water fishes.

 

[Slaphppy7]

And yet the whole reason why I got the system in the first place, is to remove all of the dissolved solids, because saltwater fish are more susceptible to those?

If I know they are in the water, it makes me not want to use tap water any more.

I know nothing about saltwater fish keeping, so no comment on that, but Colin summed it up pretty nicely, above.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

It depends on the fish being kept and what the pH, GH and KH of the tap water is.

If you use R/O water for livebearers or Rift Lake cichlids, you may as well kill the fish now because they won't survive in R/O water unless you add minerals to it.

If you have hard water with lots of minerals, and you keep soft water fishes, then putting the tap water through an R/O unit will remove most of the minerals and make it better for the fish.

If you have lots of harmful substances in the tap water, then putting it through an R/O unit will remove most of these and make it safer for the fish, but you will need to add minerals if you keep hard water fishes.

Oh, I see. Maybe I should just use tap water for the big weekly water changes, but use RO water to top off the tank?

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Also, will there be an issue with the “soft” RO water for my saltwater tank? Or will the high calcium rocks help balance that

 

[mbsqw1d]

There's enough threads between seangee and wills on here to tell you everything anybody could ever want to know about using RO in this hobby.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

There's enough threads between seangee and wills on here to tell you everything anybody could ever want to know about using RO in this hobby.

Do you have a link for one of those threads?

 

[Essjay]

It's not so much specific threads as things they've said in several threads.

With salt water tanks, you have to add marine salts so that will make the water right for the fish.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

With salt water tanks, you have to add marine salts so that will make the water right for the fish.

Yes, of course. I mix my saltwater (I use Instant Ocean) in a 5g bucket, via a powerhead. Once I get livestock, I will wait 24 hours before adding the water to the tank, so the salt can properly dissolve.

 

[Colin_T]

Oh, I see. Maybe I should just use tap water for the big weekly water changes, but use RO water to top off the tank?

—-

Also, will there be an issue with the “soft” RO water for my saltwater tank? Or will the high calcium rocks help balance that

If your tap water has been fine for your fish, then keep using it.

If you want to top up evaporated water, then using R/O water is fine.

With marine tanks, the artificial salt mix contains all the minerals and trace elements so you don't need to add anything else to get the pH, GH and KH to the right levels.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Just to add some info.

Your RO/DI system is useful especially for your reef system.
Corals and invertebrates probably won't survive with tap water.

Why You Should Use Reverse Osmosis Water for Your Aquarium

Reverse osmosis water is an incredible starting point for any aquarium owner seeking to create ideal water conditions for their fish and coral. RO water is completely free from chemicals toxic to fish like chlorine and chloramines, is neutral in pH, and contains no water hardness. Many tropical...

www.freshwatersystems.com

Reverse Osmosis in the Reef Aquarium - Do I Need It? - Reef Pure RO Systems

The reef aquarium hobby is a relatively expensive hobby, especially when it comes to purchasing all …

reefpurero.com.au