To Use R/O Right Or Not !

[Steve_Meyers]

Hi All,
Am setting up a 125 Tank with a 50/50 mix of tap water and RO/DI water
Using a TDS meter the water measures 104. Using the API GH and KH test kit I get 3 degrees of KH, and 5 degrees of GH. (all very confusing to me) pH is running about 7.2/7.4
Should I be using some Kent R/O right to add the correct amount of minerals to my 50/50 mix ??

Thanks !!!

[warblad79]

No need to add anymore unless your doing 100% RO. You need to do your own research

[Jack L]

i stumbled upon this a while ago, cleared some things up for me

https://www.cs.duke.edu/~narten/faq/chemistry.html

are you sure you need to bother with RO though?

i do, and it is a PIA.

[DonMD]

Steve, in my opinion you have no need at all to use R/O. My tap water has a tds of 260 ppm, and my fish do wonderfully well in that. I also don't think you need to worry about hardness, unless you're planning on having a planted tank, in which case I have no advice to give. I do use R/O, but only in my 29 gallon breeder tanks while I want my pairs to spawn. After they spawn and their fry get attached, I go right back to my hard water, with no problems at all. In fact many people on this forum have made the case that harder water is better for growing out fry (I don't know if this is true) claiming that it aids in bone development. But unless you are actively preparing pairs to spawn, I would not bother at all with the R/O, unless I am missing something about your setup. Good luck.

[MadMatt]

I would have the same opinion as Don.
There is no need for RO unless your breeding, or you have some huge water problem.
However, hard water and higher TDS is totally fine and your discus will not care either way.
What they need is stable clean, ultra clean water. Worry about water changes not RO.
Make sure your ph is stable as a rock, no dips as it ages and change your water daily if you can.

[Steve_Meyers]

WOW... First, I am not, nor do I plan on breeding. That said, I will have to change my feelings about using tap water. Previously, I felt that all the bad things in most of our tap water would be bad for our fish. Fluoride, Arsenic, Lead, Copper, Fertilizer and Pesticide Runoffs, Steroids, and so many others... are bad for us... should be bad for the fish. However, I will not ignore what 100% of you have said. It makes no sense to me, but then again a lot doesn't make sense !! I will change, and go to 100% tap. Thanks for all your thoughts !!!! Have A Great Weekend All !!!

[DonMD]

Fertilizer and pesticide runoff in your tap water? I have requested and received a very detailed report from my water company about minerals and additives in the water. It's pretty good, no fertilizer in it. When they are chlorinating heavily with free chlorine 3 months a year I always double up on the dechlorinator, otherwise I just use the standard dose and it's no problems. Good luck.

[Steve_Meyers]

Thanks again, "going for the tap !!"

[MadMatt]

If your concerned about your tap water then I would suggest using a, inline filter system.
I did, and my water quality is much better, however my city water isn't the best, a lot of pollutants in the water, so filtering was best, RO isn't needed to keep them but I would recommend filtering.
What you save on the chemicals to treat your tap water, you can get a nice filter system for your house.
But I have to agree with you on the run off from fields in the tap water, most people don't understand this.
However we all come from different water sources so from member to member this could be different.

WOW... First, I am not, nor do I plan on breeding. That said, I will have to change my feelings about using tap water. Previously, I felt that all the bad things in most of our tap water would be bad for our fish. Fluoride, Arsenic, Lead, Copper, Fertilizer and Pesticide Runoffs, Steroids, and so many others... are bad for us... should be bad for the fish. However, I will not ignore what 100% of you have said. It makes no sense to me, but then again a lot doesn't make sense !! I will change, and go to 100% tap. Thanks for all your thoughts !!!! Have A Great Weekend All !!!

[mmdiscus1]

No need to change water paramts, unless breeding. My discus leave happily under tap 460 Tds, for two years now.. For breeding i use specially treTed RO water.