Ro Unit

[dave_gray2077]

Hello

Is it worth buying an RO unit to reduce the GH of my local water when keeping tetra’s.

My water is currently about 16GH, which is quite high. I was planning on cutting the RO water with tap water to dilute the GH to a more acceptable level for tetras.

I was planning on getting one of the cheaper 2/3 units from osmosis’s for the job.

 

[Lateral Line]

Many tetra species will live in the kind of tapwater you describe. With dissolved salts in the water over and above the natural conditions, the more effect it has on the metabolism, typically the kidney has to work harder to maintain electrolyte balance, and wears out sooner then it otherwise would, killing the fish. The more blackwater species will sucumb faster then the more generalists.

Keeping fish in conditions that mimic their natural environment tends to extend their life. In that respect, cutting your tapwater with RO water is a good move. I use an RO unit myself, not just for breeding, but in my regular tanks.

The thing to bear in mind when looking at an RO are the costs of running it. They produce relatively small amounts of RO water from large volumes of tapwater. Unless you can find a way to use this, it goes to waste. If you are paying for water by volume, this can be a significant cost.

 

[thegnu]

my tap water has nitrates of 40+ PPM so as its best to keep fish at lower rates than that i use an ro unit. as it cleans my water of almost everything and leaves it soft with a low GH and with kent ro right and sphagnum moss peat to get it nice and acidic i keep soft acidic loving fish and they all breed like there's no tomorrow. my rummynose tetras cardinals and harlequin rasboras are superb!!!

 

[dave_gray2077]

Thanks for the advice on this one.

I think i will invest in a Unit for the good of my fish.

I can always use the waste water on the garden. I currently put the old water from my tank onto the garden as well.

I am dosing IE on my tank and its 125l. Im changing about 70liters of water a week. How much waste water will i get from an RO unit when trying to produce 35 liters of the stuff?

 

[John59]

The ratio is 1 r/o to 3 - 4 parts waste depends on water temperature

 

[PaperArrow]

I have just set up my ro unit for my small reef tank, But i now also use it on all my other tanks and would highly recomend it.

The 3 stage 50gdp unit (same as the osmotics one) I have had a few problems with mine as it came without instructions, for this reason i reccomend osmotics as i believe thier after sale service is very good.

I have just got it working correctly, You will find your water pressure is a main factor in your good water turnover, when i use mine in conjuction with my washing machine, i loose pressure, and product, and the waste will go up, the quality also drops from 8ppm down to 40ppm, due to the loss of pressure. This should however be more than good enough for your tetras .

My tap pressure is 45psi, it can range from 20 - 60 in the Uk, With this i can produce 40 Uk gal per day. (24hrs)

One thing to bear in mind when buying the RO unit is the extras you will also need, hose fittings/self piercing taps etc, these will cost you between £10-15 extra, a tds meter comes highly recomended to check the membrane and final water quality, I am just outlining this as i did not realise this was the case before i got mine

Finally i was advised that if i had very very low water pressure from my tap, i would need an additional pump, which cost £60+. but average pressure here is about 40psi should do the job.