Ro Water

[seeley82]

might sound like a dumb question but...........
my local fish store sells RO water at 10p per ltr. Is this just water out of there tank system and can it be used to do water changes

 

[Chad]

No, that's filtered water. The RO stands for Reverse Osmosis. You can learn a bit more about it here http/www.remco.com/ro_quest.htm. The process can be taken even farther by adding a dionizing filter for RO/DI water which is what I use for my reef tank (and for my planted tank since I have it). Based on my experiences with different water qualities I recommend using it if for no other reason than the consistency of quality.

 

[KrystaK]

Agreed. RO water is basically pure water. Tap water will have the chemicals the water treatment plant puts in it, as well as traces of other elements that will be picked up in the pipes on the way to your home. It's pH and Ammonia content can be affected.
RO water has none of those impurities in it. It's pH is (or should be) exactly 7.0, or neutral and there should be no Ammonia or any other chemicals in it. It's the ideal tank water IMO, if only I had an RO filter

 

[seeley82]

cool, some lfs sell RO water and the one I use sells "tripple filtered" water. I have never tested them but I think I might get some and give it a test. So with that............ what is tripple filtered water and how is it justified

 

[tanktop]

I would just like to point out, that if you live in a hard water area and your fish are happy adding RO water would be a bad idea. You want to check what your tanks chemistry is like before you add the RO water.

 

[DrRob]

Thing to remember with water, is that if you want a stable system, then you need to be willing to keep doing whatever it is you do.

I use RO after finding out that my very hard tap water is also high in ammonia and organics (tastes terrible), but it's a regular thing, and can be a pain (amazing water though if you have the right fish). The option to do sudden large water changes for me requires a water butt plumbed into the RO machine. Fortunately I have the space to do this so I can have a couple of hundred litres of RO kicking around for emergencies.

It's not something you can get away doing occasionally, much like most other water changing chemicals.

 

[Chad]

That is true. If you use it, use it, if you don't don't. It's not something to go back and forth with. As mentioned it's basically neutral water which means you may need to make adjustments. In a reef tank this is fine because we add in a salt mix that does this, or buffers. In many FW tanks this is fine too, especially for small water changes.

In Arizona we have very hard water with lots of minerals and organics so it's not good at all for fish tanks. So know your local water too.

 

[Livewire88]

Also you need to either mix your RO water with tap water to add the required minerals/trace elements, or if using 100% RO you will need to add a remineral mix, you should never keep fish in pure 100% RO water.

I add this to RO water for my Crystal Red Shrimp tank;

http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/tmc-pro-discus-mineral-500g-p-4820.html