ro/di better than tap??

[just1morefish]

so just did another test (api master) on my tap water and here are the results:

ammonia: 1-2 ppm
nitrite: 5+ ppm
nitrate: 5+ ppm

here's the question:

i use amquel+ as a water conditioner for regular water changes and seem to really have no ill effects on fish (malawi mbuna and a couple haps) but it seems hard to keep nitrates at the level i'd like them. So started researching and came to a conclusion that some sort of Reverse Osmosis water filter may help with the high, intial levels of above contaminants found in my tap-water. (iowa water tastes good but has loads of agriculture "crap" in it)

I've kept cichlids for years but recently moved to an area where water is not as clean as one would hope it would be. Found a deal on craigslist about a guy tearing down his whole saltwater setup and was offering a "Typhoon 3 Extreme 5 stage ro di unit, new in the box and everything for less than half of new one, 100$. So i figured i'd get it for drinking and for my tanks.

Now after reading more about ro di details, all i come across with is stuff saying don't use for freshwater tanks. Am I to assume that this water would be worse than the contaminated water coming from my tap with water conditioner added?? Maybe I just read too much and confused myself but anyone with experience please chime in. I know you can re-add trace minerals to the water but if saltwater enthusiasts use ro di for ultra clean water, why would it not be beneficial for freshwater as well. Super confused and a pre-thank you to any and all who help...

Thanks!!!

 

[OhNeil1969]

I don't have any info for you but will be following and doing some research on my own. Interesting topic.

 

[just1morefish]

thanks, kinda crazy, was like everything i read said if your tap water is bad, get an ro filter, so i go out and get a great deal on a beast of a unit then find out i'm not suppose to use it...makes no sense to me and i hope someone can help...

 

[wrmiller]

I realize this thread is several months old but I am in a similar situation myself. I recently found out that my well water contains high levels of Nitrate and I have a FW tank. I have been doing water change after water change only to see no changes in the Nitrate levels. So I did some testing on my tap water from the well and sure enough, I can do all of the water changes I want but those levels aren't going to go down using this water.

I have ordered a RO/DI unit but plan only to use the RO side and not the DI filter for producing the water for my freshwater tank. I'm going to premix the RO water with some concentration of my tap water to introduce some minerals and such back to the water. I'm going to try to find a good mix that will work and add less than 10 ppm of Nitrate to the tank. I'm going to be setting up a QT tank to experiment with while I'm fishless cycling it. If necessary I will just use something like RO Right chemical additive if I can't find a mix of the RO and tap that will stay stable.

What were your all results? Did you ever try the RO water in your freshwater tanks and if so what were your results?

I will be sure to post my results when I start experimenting.