To Ro Or Not To Ro

[BlueFox]

I am about to aset up a new 380l planted tank. I have all the bits and pieces ready (substrate, filter, Co2, heating, lights etc.) but I'm not sure what to do about the water.

I took a sample of tapwater to my local aquarium stockist to test. the pH was 7.6, nitrate 30, gH 17 and the Phosphates were off the scale! Ideally (so I've been told), for a planted aquarium should have a hardness of about, pH of 7 and the nitrates and phosphates at 0. But if my tapwater is of this poor quality, how am I to achieve these levels?

Someone suggected to me RO water but I've heard that 100% RO is no good as it is void of all the 'beneficial' stuff. Also, at £3/25l, it ain't goonna be cheap - especially the bi-weekly water changes.

Somebody else suggested 50/50 RO/Tap. I assume the the Phosphate/hardness will halve, taking me closer to my goal. If so, what else can I use to get that little bit closer?

Either that, or has anybody out there any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

 

[fozzy_wozzy_woo]

I am about to aset up a new 380l planted tank. I have all the bits and pieces ready (substrate, filter, Co2, heating, lights etc.) but I'm not sure what to do about the water.

I took a sample of tapwater to my local aquarium stockist to test. the pH was 7.6, nitrate 30, gH 17 and the Phosphates were off the scale! Ideally (so I've been told), for a planted aquarium should have a hardness of about, pH of 7 and the nitrates and phosphates at 0. But if my tapwater is of this poor quality, how am I to achieve these levels?

Someone suggected to me RO water but I've heard that 100% RO is no good as it is void of all the 'beneficial' stuff. Also, at £3/25l, it ain't goonna be cheap - especially the bi-weekly water changes.

Somebody else suggested 50/50 RO/Tap. I assume the the Phosphate/hardness will halve, taking me closer to my goal. If so, what else can I use to get that little bit closer?

Either that, or has anybody out there any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

where do you get a price of 3 pounds for 25l? if you buy an RO 60 this will make 60ltrs of RO water a day. And the system will work for around 3years before needing to change out the flters. remember the best RO systems will make 1 good liter to one bad liter however the one I have makes 1 good liter to 3 bad so the only cost is for paying for the water you use.

 

[BlueFox]

£3/25l is what my local shop charges. I take it from your post that you think this is expensive. I have no experience of RO so I have no point of reference.

What do you mean 1 good to 3 bad? How do you know the difference?

Is a tapwater filter a better/cheaper option?

 

[annka5]

I think Blufox is talking about buying RO water whereas fozzy wozzy is talking about buying an RO unit.
In the long run, an RO unit would be way cheaper than buying lots of RO water, but the cost of the unit up front
The other thing with RO is the water wastage - the RO unit will produce, say, 1 litre of high quality tank water from every (e.g.) 3 litres of water. So the other 2 litres go to waste, which is not exactly the most environmentally responsible way to be, and costs if your domestic water is on a meter.
Nitrates of 30 are pretty high as a starting point, and phosphate will encourage algae. If you plant the tank heavily and do water changes so that the nitrate doesn't rise above say 45 in the tank then that would be manageable. Otherwise, RO water, wather you buy a unit yourself or buy RO water.

 

[BlueFox]

Thanks Annka,

Taking a slightly different spin on the same subject, what is the difference between RO and De-ionized water? And is it recommended to use 100% DI when setting up a new tank and adding the required metals etc or should it be a percentage mixed with tapwater?

 

[nmonks]

One unit of RO water to 3 units of wasted water is a pretty good deal for these things. Most systems I've encountered have a ratio of 1:10, RO water to wasted water. As you say, in terms of environmental impact, RO systems are appaling, right up there with giant SUVs and nylon fishing line.

No-ones mentioned it yet, so I will. You can always use rainwater. That's what I do. Depending on your ambient climate, rainwater can be very cheap and easy to collect. All you need is a water butt replacing one of the drainpipes on your house. I've been doing this for about a year now, and managed to maintain a 180 litre aquarium using a single 100 litre water butt.

Yes, rainwater will collect dirt from the roofing tiles, but this is trivially easy to remove (put a net over the spout while you fill your bucket). The idea rain collects poisons from the atmosphere is largely a myth, unless you happen to live next to a dirty factory or something.

You should add a little tap water to the rainwater just to provide a bit of buffering, but beyond that, it's fine to use as it is. Zero cost, zero fuss, zero waste.

Cheers,

Neale

The other thing with RO is the water wastage - the RO unit will produce, say, 1 litre of high quality tank water from every (e.g.) 3 litres of water. So the other 2 litres go to waste, which is not exactly the most environmentally responsible way to be, and costs if your domestic water is on a meter.

 

[@ombomb]

I took a sample of tapwater to my local aquarium stockist to test. the pH was 7.6, nitrate 30, gH 17 and the Phosphates were off the scale! Ideally (so I've been told), for a planted aquarium should have a hardness of about, pH of 7 and the nitrates and phosphates at 0. But if my tapwater is of this poor quality, how am I to achieve these levels?

Depending on what you mean by "off the scale" I think your tap water sounds OK tbh.

Depending on how much time and effort you put into your tank, you may end up dosing phosphates and nitrates anyway. 30ppm is a pretty good level for a planted tank and if heavily planted with quick growers that'll come down very quickly as the plants use them up.

Have a read through this pinned thread it may give you some food for thought. Well worth having a good read through planted section.