Is Ro/di water safe for freshwater ??

[Mokrytzki]

I am purchasing a 6 stage ro/di unit. Is it ok to use in freshwater aquarium? Will I have to add mineral supplements? Any advice with ro/di experiance would be great. Thanks. I have a community tank.

 

[Caliban07]

I am purchasing a 6 stage ro/di unit. Is it ok to use in freshwater aquarium? Will I have to add mineral supplements? Any advice with ro/di experiance would be great. Thanks. I have a community tank.

I guess we would have to first ask why you want to use RO/DI water. Could you not cut tap water with it 50/50 if you are trying to ensure safer water that cannot be achieved directly from your tap?

You would have to supplement the water with nutrients and keep a close eye on ph level as RO water will have little buffering capacity and you ph could fall too low.

 

[Rivercats]

If you use all RO water in your tanks then you will need to remineralize it with a product such as Seachem's Equilibrium for planted tanks or Seachem Replenish for fish only tanks. I would also invest in a Gh and Kh test kit. If you keep a Gh and Kh of 4 or above you will have enough buffers to keep the ph stable and enough calcium and magnesium for plants if you have them. You can also use a mix of RO and tap water in which you may not have to use any remineralizing products depending on what your gh and kh readings are.

 

[mrvincent]

RODI water is NOT safe for FW, it will kill your fishs and and make huge PH drops and flukes.

You must REMINERALIZE it with products like Seachem Equilibrum or similar product. If you have hard tap water, you can cut it 50/50 without remineralizing, depending on the hardness you want to reach.

Try to not fluke the aquarium hardness, as it will fluke the PH too... Only do this if your tap water is too hard, contains too much ammonia/nitrite/nitrates or kill your shrimps because of the cooper.

If you want to drop your hardness, do it SLOWLY overtime !

 

[Mokrytzki]

Thanks for the advice. I am still going to purchase the unit as it is a really good deal. I suppose with the insight that has been given I will not use it in my freshwater but perhaps get a saltwater setup going.

 

[mrvincent]

Thanks for the advice. I am still going to purchase the unit as it is a really good deal. I suppose with the insight that has been given I will not use it in my freshwater but perhaps get a saltwater setup going.

If you plan saltwater, grab it. I'll tell you personally 5 stage is enough for SW.
Sediment,Carbon,Carbon, RO and DI.


According seachem website;
"To raise mineral content/general hardness (GH) by 1 meq/L (3 dH), add 16 g (1 tablespoon) for every 80 L (20 gallons) when setting up an aquarium or when making water changes (add to new water). Equilibrium™ can be added straight, although for optimum solubility we recommend mixing with ~ 1 L (1 qt.) of water (the resulting mixture will have a white opaque appearance). When this mixture is added to the aquarium it will impart a slight haze that should clear within 15–30 minutes. HINTS: Do not use Equilibrium™ when replacing evaporated water. This dose is based on DI or RO water; for other water, measure hardness (GH) first, then add according to need. Plant preferences vary, but a general guide is about 1–2 meq/L (3–6 dH) or match the existing or target carbonate hardness (KH), which, ideally, is also about 1–2 meq/L (3–6 dKH)."

 

[Rivercats]

I have a few FW tanks that I use a mix of RO and tap. I use the same amounts of RO each week during WC's so the gh, kh, and ph are constant. I also use RO for all top offs during the week. If used consistently you don't need to worry about fluxuating levels. I like to keep some tanks ph lower and the RO-tap water mix works great.