R/O water

[murph3400]

Is R/O water absolutely necessary for initial set up and water changes?

 

[Fishdude3233]

Not at all it's not even recommended unless you have some hard or super soft water I'm talking like a 5 or 8 for PH regular tap is fine

 

[dalto]

It depends what your tap water is like and what kind of fish you want to keep. First order of business should be testing your tap water.

 

[coralbandit]

RO may cause trouble with cycling..
Most fish will not appreciate RO unless they themselves are very soft water fish.
When using RO to adjust your source water it is best to come up with a formula of tap and ro mixed to achieve the desired water parameters and stick with it...
I use a TDS meter to mix my breeding water...

 

[murph3400]

So I guess I will test the tap water. Looking for hardness I guess right?

 

[murph3400]

Any suggestion on how to test my tap water??

 

[dalto]

Any suggestion on how to test my tap water??

Test for gH(hardness), kH and pH. You can either buy test kits or have someone test it for you.

Many fish stores will do these tests for free if you have one in your area.

 

[murph3400]

Test for gH(hardness), kH and pH. You can either buy test kits or have someone test it for you.

Many fish stores will do these tests for free if you have one in your area.

So water test. No nitrites or nitrates. No chlorine. PH 8.0 hardness approx 250.

So I guess I will test the tap water. Looking for hardness I guess right?

 

[dalto]

So water test. No nitrites or nitrates. No chlorine. PH 8.0 hardness approx 250.

That is decently hard and alkaline. What kind of fish were you planning on keeping?

 

[murph3400]

That is decently hard and alkaline. What kind of fish were you planning on keeping?

Dwarf cichlids preferrably Rams

 

[coralbandit]

Rams prefer softer water..
I raise my rams in my tap which is 7.6pH , 2-3 kh , 9 gh. With an average TDS of 360..
I think TDS is a better measurement of water then all the others and basically a necessity if you are going to mix ro and tap together.
Get a HM3 TDS pen.It is the better of pens out there..
https://www.amazon.com/HM-Digital-T...8&qid=1501964300&sr=8-3&keywords=tds+meter+hm
I think you might find it cheaper , but don't accept substitutes...

 

[Brookster123]

I'm with bandit, tds will tell you everything and nothing at the same time! 700tds? There's a whole.bunch of something in your tap water. You'll have to to test down the line to figure it out. Here's a tip I picked up in my new water source (town). Find out where they get the water, if you live by a huge river system they may actually pull it directly from the river. If the highway dept. Dumps 800,837,756 lbs of salt on the road every winter than a high tds May indicate salt in your tap water, not so great for soft water cichlids and plants... city water was way better ime

 

[murph3400]

Rams prefer softer water..
I raise my rams in my tap which is 7.6pH , 2-3 kh , 9 gh. With an average TDS of 360..
I think TDS is a better measurement of water then all the others and basically a necessity if you are going to mix ro and tap together.
Get a HM3 TDS pen.It is the better of pens out there..
https://www.amazon.com/HM-Digital-T...8&qid=1501964300&sr=8-3&keywords=tds+meter+hm
I think you might find it cheaper , but don't accept substitutes...

Thank you my gh converts to like 14

 

[murph3400]

I'm with bandit, tds will tell you everything and nothing at the same time! 700tds? There's a whole.bunch of something in your tap water. You'll have to to test down the line to figure it out. Here's a tip I picked up in my new water source (town). Find out where they get the water, if you live by a huge river system they may actually pull it directly from the river. If the highway dept. Dumps 800,837,756 lbs of salt on the road every winter than a high tds May indicate salt in your tap water, not so great for soft water cichlids and plants... city water was way better ime

I have American Water co on Long Island NY. I believe they draw from wells

 

[murph3400]

I'm with bandit, tds will tell you everything and nothing at the same time! 700tds? There's a whole.bunch of something in your tap water. You'll have to to test down the line to figure it out. Here's a tip I picked up in my new water source (town). Find out where they get the water, if you live by a huge river system they may actually pull it directly from the river. If the highway dept. Dumps 800,837,756 lbs of salt on the road every winter than a high tds May indicate salt in your tap water, not so great for soft water cichlids and plants... city water was way better ime

Big question is there a way to soften the water without removing all minerals like R/O or will I need to mix R/O with tap??

 

[Brookster123]

Cut it, I cut it 70/30 with tap most of the time, winters months I use mostly ro and remin with equilibrium

 

[murph3400]

70% RO and 30% tap

 

[murph3400]

Cut it, I cut it 70/30 with tap most of the time, winters months I use mostly ro and remin with equilibrium

Sorry to sound stupid but remin and equalibrium I assume are supplements

 

[coralbandit]

Equillibrium is by seachem.It replaces [ by your need] some of the minerals needed.
Re mineralization is adding the stuff back yourself because you know exactly how you want your water.
I remineralize my RO for my ram breeding as the eggs need soft water to be fertilized. The hard water "in moderation" like mine possibly is not a problem for the fish ,but the eggshell will be too hard instantly to be fertilized.
I have done many experiments to figure what I add back and how much...
I use driveway ice melter [Calcium source]/Epsom salt [magnesium source]/baking soda [sodium bicarbonate] to reminerlize..less then 1 teaspoon total of all of them for 32 gallons.....This sets my ro[100%] to aprox.80TDS.
My rams need under 100 usually for the eggs.The fish like the softer water better,but mine don't need it since I switch them to my tap at around 4 weeks old.

 

[murph3400]

I'm with bandit, tds will tell you everything and nothing at the same time! 700tds? There's a whole.bunch of something in your tap water. You'll have to to test down the line to figure it out. Here's a tip I picked up in my new water source (town). Find out where they get the water, if you live by a huge river system they may actually pull it directly from the river. If the highway dept. Dumps 800,837,756 lbs of salt on the road every winter than a high tds May indicate salt in your tap water, not so great for soft water cichlids and plants... city water was way better ime

So my tds reading is about 170