Would RO water be worth the bother?

[piao liang yu]

I read a bit about it and see it is somewhat popular for reef aquariums. Do any of you use it for freshwater and are the pros over tap water really worth it? I can buy a system for $100 or buy water from a guy for a quarter a gallon. Since I will be doing 15% to 20% pwc's weekly I was considering it. Let me know.

 

[Scottyhorse]

Only if you have really crappy tap water, or are keeping sensitive species of fish or inverts. Some people have ammonia, nitrites, and nitrate readings from their tap water, so it is useful for them. But if you don't, I wouldn't bother.

 

[piao liang yu]

Only if you have really crappy tap water, or are keeping sensitive species of fish or inverts. Some people have ammonia, nitrites, and nitrate readings from their tap water, so it is useful for them. But if you don't, I wouldn't bother.

Well I tested our tap and all levels read zero ammo, trite and trate with a ph of 7.8. I was curious though because periodically we get a notice from the city that the levels of something was above acceptable range and prolonged use could result in cancer yada yada. I am guessing that sometimes their parameters deviate from what they have deemed acceptable and it is a reportable event, but if it is only once or twice a year it may not be an issue, but I don't know. We only use it for tea, but we boil it. I asked about the RO for this reason.

 

[ezy33]

RO water has all the minerals removed, some are needed by your fish. I suspect a carbon filter would be cheaper and better overall.

 

[DanTheGuppyMan]

Carbon in the filter is not good for freshwater planted tanks, if you are planting it. And I know that in the last couple pages of my 60g thread (linked in my sig) CorallineAlgae discussed using RO water in freshwater tanks, maybe worth a peek. From what I have learned, using 40% tap and 60% RO or vice versa, gets the readings most people are looking for. But definitely check out what he had to say about that...could really learn something!

 

[librarygirl]

50% weekly changes are good practice actually, so 10-20% isn't too much. Unless you're currently having problems with your water and fish I wouldn't bother with it yet. You'd need to replenish it with minerals and it seems like a lot of bother for something that may not even be an issue. Most dechlorinators should detoxify anything in the tap water that could harm fish (Seachem Prime is one of the best).