For the fish I want to keep, my well water just isn't going to be good enough. I have been using peat for 4 days now and the KH is holding steady at 6.5dh and the ph at 7.8. The tank is almost completly brown and I can't really see the fish. I have decided to use store bought RO water. For the first while, can I use straight RO water??? Or should I mix it with a little well water??? How should I heat it??? Should it sit open in a bucket with a heater?? I assume if everything is the same, the kh should not rise as there is nothing in my tank to raise it. Should I remove the peat and add carbon??? Please give me your thoughts.
RO Water-How to introduce
- Thread starter Hilroy50
- Start date
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Hi Hilroy 
. If you're going to use RO water it's safe to discontinue the peat. YES. You want to mix it with your well water. My advice is to purchase a quality TDS meter. You can add the RO water to your well water and gauge the correct amount based on your TDS readings alone.
What fish are you keeping? How many gallons is your tank? How many gallons is your reservoir tank?
. If you're going to use RO water it's safe to discontinue the peat. YES. You want to mix it with your well water. My advice is to purchase a quality TDS meter. You can add the RO water to your well water and gauge the correct amount based on your TDS readings alone.What fish are you keeping? How many gallons is your tank? How many gallons is your reservoir tank?
Hi Brian: I want to keep Discus. I spoke with one breeder and he didn't recommend with my water conditions to keep Discus unless it was adjusted. My plants aren't even doing well. My tanks is 33 gallons. I don't have a reservoir tank, but I do have a spare 20 gal. I'm not sure what a reservoir tank is used for. I also have 2 Hagen CO2 units but I took them out because the PH went up to 8.6 due to the high KH. It was recommended that I wait until the KH is around 4.0 to use CO2.
I sort of recalled that you wanted to keep discus Hilroy. That 20 gallon tank is your reservoir. It's where you'll mix, age and store your RO and well water. I keep discus but I'm fortunate in having very soft water.
What you're planning is very doable (and intelligent). Sorry to ask so many questions but in order to help you, I need to know more. Is this 33 gallon to be a planted discus tank? If so, I would strongly recommend you buy adult fish. This way you can get away with changing less water.
What you're planning is very doable (and intelligent). Sorry to ask so many questions but in order to help you, I need to know more. Is this 33 gallon to be a planted discus tank? If so, I would strongly recommend you buy adult fish. This way you can get away with changing less water.
krap101
Aquarium Advice Addict
hmm. dont discus eat plants. sry read it somewhere.
okay. im fortunate of having a ph of 7.2. thats pretty nice. you could just get like a 20 gallon rubbermaid tub or something for the resovoir tank or something like that.
i think you might be able to use full RO water the first time then slowly introduce your wellwater into the tank and they might acclimate.
but im also aware that discus (i think) are very fragile fish. need extra excelent water conditions so i dont know if the (above) will work.
good luck and have fun
okay. im fortunate of having a ph of 7.2. thats pretty nice. you could just get like a 20 gallon rubbermaid tub or something for the resovoir tank or something like that.
i think you might be able to use full RO water the first time then slowly introduce your wellwater into the tank and they might acclimate.
but im also aware that discus (i think) are very fragile fish. need extra excelent water conditions so i dont know if the (above) will work.
good luck and have fun
As you can see Brian, I'm not in a big hurry. I just want to do it right. I assume that the reservior has some sort of filter and heater???? Yes the 33gal will be planted with Discus. I've been looking for a breeder here in Canada, I agree that adults would be best. What do you mean by age the water??? I do have another option, if I remember correctly, your ph is in the mid 7's, my parents live 15min from here and their water when left sitting is around 8.0 but the kh is around 3.5 dh. What are your thoughts???
Patience sure helps with discus (or anything). 
Age the water means.. . . . As long as you have a place to mix the RO water, you may as well age the well water too. This way the PH and hardness will be stable. In my mind, it's less of a burden to buy a small RO unit and do say 10 gallons at a time mixed with 10 gallons of well water in your 20 gallon reservoir. This way you have enough to do water changes for your discus for about a week. Understand?
Age the water means.. . . . As long as you have a place to mix the RO water, you may as well age the well water too. This way the PH and hardness will be stable. In my mind, it's less of a burden to buy a small RO unit and do say 10 gallons at a time mixed with 10 gallons of well water in your 20 gallon reservoir. This way you have enough to do water changes for your discus for about a week. Understand?
I actually have a small RO unit. At this point it will cost more to fix it then buy a new one. The tanks bladder is gone and the membrane doesn't last very long with the hard water here. What type of mixing ratio's do you suggest? My tap water KH is 180ppm. I was going to start with 4parts RO and 1part well water.
AtodaJ
Aquarium Advice Freak
Some pennies of thought from my experience...
I use RO water for my 55 gallon. I used to try the mixing method to get my TDS/PH down but it seemed a bit erratic to me. The ratios seemed to change. The reason is that the TDS/PH of my tap water wasn't very consistent. On top of that, I know that my tap water isn't perfect in that it has contaminents in small enough amounts to not affect me but what about my fish?
As a solution I opted to stop the mixing game and just use straight RO water treated with "Electro-Right". Now my water is perfect and consistant for every water change.
It will cost more money but it is less of a hassle to me and will provide better quality water for your particularly sensitive and expensive fish.
Just another option to consider. Good luck.
AtodaJ
P.S.
To heat the RO water up I simply place the RO water jug I use in the sink after plugging up the sink. Then I fill the sink up with hot tap water that surrounds the jug quickly raising the temperature of the RO water in the jug. With thermometer in hand I remove the jug once the RO water reaches the proper temperature (takes 5 minutes tops).
I use RO water for my 55 gallon. I used to try the mixing method to get my TDS/PH down but it seemed a bit erratic to me. The ratios seemed to change. The reason is that the TDS/PH of my tap water wasn't very consistent. On top of that, I know that my tap water isn't perfect in that it has contaminents in small enough amounts to not affect me but what about my fish?
As a solution I opted to stop the mixing game and just use straight RO water treated with "Electro-Right". Now my water is perfect and consistant for every water change.
It will cost more money but it is less of a hassle to me and will provide better quality water for your particularly sensitive and expensive fish.
Just another option to consider. Good luck.
AtodaJ
P.S.
To heat the RO water up I simply place the RO water jug I use in the sink after plugging up the sink. Then I fill the sink up with hot tap water that surrounds the jug quickly raising the temperature of the RO water in the jug. With thermometer in hand I remove the jug once the RO water reaches the proper temperature (takes 5 minutes tops).
AtodaJ
Aquarium Advice Freak
I believe RO right is similar but I've never used it.
I personally like Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Electro-Right though and it has instructions specifically for Discus water right on the bottle. I use it in concert with Aquarium Pharmaceuticals PH Adjuster to get the water just right. I get mine at Petsmart.
Good luck!
http://www.aquariumpharm.com/aqwater.html
I personally like Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Electro-Right though and it has instructions specifically for Discus water right on the bottle. I use it in concert with Aquarium Pharmaceuticals PH Adjuster to get the water just right. I get mine at Petsmart.
Good luck!
http://www.aquariumpharm.com/aqwater.html
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