RO water filter questions

[Retired Viking]

I use a water hardness meter to measure the hardness and mix my RO and treated tap water accordingly. I keep a record every water change to keep track of what I am doing. It is work lugging around 5 gallon jugs and mixing the tap and RO water together in a bin but it is not hard to figure out how to do it.

 

[Salty&Onion]

No. You mix the buffers INTO the RO water. lol
It's an unspoken rule.
They are also called acid buffer and alkaline buffer. Here are some on the US amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00029PO6Y/?tag=ff0d01-20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002Z7UC4/?tag=ff0d01-20

I don't get it...

 

[Salty&Onion]

But an RO unit will also lower ph (?), GH and KH?

 

[DwarfCichlidLvr]

I don't get it...

sigh
you cant put just plain RO water into you tank. You have to have some minerals in it.
Those buffers provide those.

But an RO unit will also lower ph (?), GH and KH?

It depends. It will have a ph of 7 (i believe) and 0 gH/kH/TDS. You have to add minerals back into it but you add less. The acid buffer keeps the pH low.

 

[Salty&Onion]

sigh
you cant put just plain RO water into you tank. You have to have some minerals in it.
Those buffers provide those.

It depends. It will have a ph of 7 (i believe) and 0 gH/kH/TDS. You have to add minerals back into it but you add less. The acid buffer keeps the pH low.

Okay cool. Makes sense, I basically need everything in a nutshell lol. I'll get the acid buffer bit later. Anyhting else I need to get?

 

[seangee]

you cant put just plain RO water into you tank. You have to have some minerals in it.
Those buffers provide those.

Actually you can. 3 of my 4 tanks get nothing but RO water. All have soft water fish and they don't care how low the pH goes. The 4th gets a shrimp mineral mix because the shrimps and nerite can't cope with 0GH.

The idea that you need 2 products is Seachem's marketing genius at work. It's overly complicated and expensive

 

[Salty&Onion]

Actually you can. 3 of my 4 tanks get nothing but RO water. All have soft water fish and they don't care how low the pH goes. The 4th gets a shrimp mineral mix because the shrimps and nerite can't cope with 0GH.

The idea that you need 2 products is Seachem's marketing genius at work. It's overly complicated and expensive

So I can get and use an RO unit/filter and get the acid buffer? The acid buffer can be an indian almond leafe as well..

 

[DwarfCichlidLvr]

Okay cool. Makes sense, I basically need everything in a nutshell lol. I'll get the acid buffer bit later. Anyhting else I need to get?

Alkaline buffer. (form my limited knowledge)

Actually you can. 3 of my 4 tanks get nothing but RO water. All have soft water fish and they don't care how low the pH goes. The 4th gets a shrimp mineral mix because the shrimps and nerite can't cope with 0GH.

The idea that you need 2 products is Seachem's marketing genius at work. It's overly complicated and expensive

Really? Ok, I can see that for some species. What do you have?
I see

You don't have to use theirs.

So I can get and use an RO unit/filter and get the acid buffer? The acid buffer can be an indian almond leafe as well..

I'll leave this us to the more experienced people.

 

[Salty&Onion]

Alkaline buffer. (form my limited knowledge)

Really? Alkaline water has a pH of 7.1 and above, and acidic water has a pH of 6.1 and so on. I've got a betta and they need acidic water..

 

[seangee]

There is a lot of confusing information in this thread. If you are set on an RO unit follow @essjay's advice and mix your RO water half and half with tap water. If you prefer to use plain RO water that's also ok. You do not need to add anything else.

 

[Essjay]

It is much easier to use a bit of your tap water rather than these chemicals. Your hard tap water contains the same stuff, so why spend money buying what comes out of your tap.

For a betta I would not use just RO water, I would prefer water for a betta to have a bit of hardness. RO water has no hardness at all, zero. So you need to add a bit of hardness to the RO water. Your tap water has lots of hardness, that's what makes it hard. If you use a bit of tap water in with the RO water you''ll be adding a bit of hardness. Yes, you can add it from a bottle but using tap water is easier and cheaper.


Use the machine to make some RO water. Then half fill your water change bucket with RO water and put tap water in to make it up to a full bucket. That will make water at half the hardness of your tap water, which is perfect for a betta.

 

[DwarfCichlidLvr]

There is a lot of confusing information in this thread. If you are set on an RO unit follow @essjay's advice and mix your RO water half and half with tap water. If you prefer to use plain RO water that's also ok. You do not need to add anything else.

Yes. Keep it simple. (im the person who complicates opening a jar of jelly so take what i say with a grain of salt)

 

[Salty&Onion]

So I get RO unit along with some RO water. I mix half tap, half the RO water together I add it to the tank and?

 

[Salty&Onion]

Or I can get the RO unit, do weekly water changes with my tap? Do bettas really need hardness in water?

 

[seangee]

So I get RO unit along with some RO water. I mix half tap, half the RO water together I add it to the tank and?

Got it. There is no and
(except dechlorinator for the tap water)