Ro water

[VOZIE]

I have a 120g tank with simple community fish and lots of plants. Other then teething problems I have been lucky and only get my fish from shops where I would consider the fish to be well kept. However I want to know if there are Any advantages to having RO water and not tap water. I am looking to keep Discus in the future and I was told that I would need RO water for them. I was also told that most freshwater fish like RO water too and that it's better for my plants etc. Due to this advise I have brought some and to be honest the water looks crystal clear but is it money well spent or just an expensive luxury.

 

[mommytron]

tap water is actually preferred for FW fish. i'm not sure about discus, but as far as other FW fish, they need the minerals that are in the tap water. if you use RO water, you need to manually add those back into it. tap water all the way

 

[VOZIE]

I would buy fresh air with the right sales pitch lol. Cheers

 

[xxwolfpackof1xx]

if you allredy bought the ro filter and if you ever plan on doing s reef id say buy a di part and you'll be all set on water

 

[VOZIE]

I just got the water and added it in as I did a water change.

 

[xxwolfpackof1xx]

I just got the water and added it in as I did a water change.

ohh i see

 

[VOZIE]

Will it help plants and be good to fish. Starting to thing I wasted my money.

 

[mommytron]

yeah, you did, sorry

if anything it's worse for the fish because it's lacking minerals that tap water has that fish need

 

[43Gallons]

Actually, if any of your fish are from Sith America (Amazon) or India, RO water is great! Those areas have literally no mineral content, so it replicates a natural environment suitable for coaxing stubborn fish to breed. However, if your fish are not from those areas, you will need to add minerals back in.

 

[43Gallons]

Sorry, South*^. and yes, Discus are Amazonian fish. They can be acclimated to mineral-laden water, but they will not breed.

 

[mommytron]

Actually, if any of your fish are from Sith America (Amazon) or India, RO water is great! Those areas have literally no mineral content, so it replicates a natural environment suitable for coaxing stubborn fish to breed. However, if your fish are not from those areas, you will need to add minerals back in.

Sith America??? i so gotta visit there, do you think Vader lives there???

heheheh jk jk i know you meant south america. are there any specific fish (that would be a common choice) you can name that prefer the RO water?

 

[43Gallons]

Certainly! Just about all tetras, discus and cichlids. Do you need more specificity? I keep lemon tetras which are hard to breed as well as head and tail light tetras myself.

 

[mommytron]

interesting, i've never heard this before. i keep 4 varieties of tetra (cardinals, black neons, glowlights, and embers) but i also have a pitbull pleco and otos. would they mind if i switched to RO water? wouldn't mind seeing my tetras breed.... the tap water isn't bad, right? (it can't be that bad, i've had them all a year and they are doing swimmingly )

 

[VOZIE]

I have guarmi knife fish and Plattys hope the RO water helps.

 

[43Gallons]

Yeah, the gouramis are from India and do prefer a low hardness level. I plan to setup a gourami tank, and all the research I've done has suggested that they prefer a Kh of 10-20. I don't know anything about platys unfortunately. Maybe someone else has advice to offer?

 

[43Gallons]

^^ And yes! The tap water is totally fine, especially for the hardy tetras like the head and tail lights. If you want them to breed, (what sort of tetras btw?) they prefer a lower pH (around 6.8) and lower light levels. Putting some driftwood in and lowering the water level often help get them ready. As I said before, certain species are difficult to coax into breeding.

 

[mommytron]

interesting, i've never heard this before. i keep 4 varieties of tetra (cardinals, black neons, glowlights, and embers) but i also have a pitbull pleco and otos. would they mind if i switched to RO water? wouldn't mind seeing my tetras breed.... the tap water isn't bad, right? (it can't be that bad, i've had them all a year and they are doing swimmingly )

^^ And yes! The tap water is totally fine, especially for the hardy tetras like the head and tail lights. If you want them to breed, (what sort of tetras btw?) they prefer a lower pH (around 6.8) and lower light levels. Putting some driftwood in and lowering the water level often help get them ready. As I said before, certain species are difficult to coax into breeding.

read first quote.... i keep cardinals, black neons, glowlights, and embers. would it "shock" the fish if i went from tap to RO water? or is it something i would need to do gradually? would my pitbull pleco or otos be missing the minerals from tap water?

 

[43Gallons]

That should say 6.8. Sorry, my iPod is not very suitable for this

 

[43Gallons]

I would not know about the pitbulls and otos as I have kept only a few species of fish. I would suggest a gradual change using ROed water IF it won't hurt the otos or pitbulls. If they do prefer minerals, then you would have to split them or be satisfied with nonbreeding tetras

 

[43Gallons]

In terms of the other tetra species, tgey will all enjoy the gradual reduction of hardness, because their eggs will be able to eitgstand the water conditions.