RO Vs. Aged water?

[Abercrombie6202]

I"m not really sure what to do for my 75 glalon way of doing water changes, should i age my water in buckets, buy a pump and hose OR should i get this R/O thing and jsut put that waterdirectly into my tank, what are the usually prices and what are the pros and cons?

[ronrca]

Unless you are breeding, I would not bother with RO especially if you are growing out discus. It is easier and cheaper to use your tap water for water changes.

One other thing! RO can not be added directly to the tank because it needs to be 'reconstructed'. RO is nearly 100% pure meaning there is nothing in it, no hardness, nothing! You will still need to add buffers and such before adding to the tank. ;)

Prices? Age tap water besides the container, pump, hoses, airstone, airpump, etc, etc which you will need anyways is basicly whatever you pay your city. RO starts at what? $150+? Plus yet all the equipment for aging the tap water.

So, for starters Adam, go with aging tap water. ;)

[crazy4discus]

ill use age water you dont need the ro unless your breeding and age water cost a lot cheaper then them ro units

[Jeff]

Aged water is the way to go. ;)

[Bill_P.]

What are your water conditions after you age the water? Does your area have nice soft water, or is it on the hard side. I agree with the other post. If your not breeding use aged water. As long as the aged water is sutibale for discus.




Bill

[oodi]

Adam,

It doesn't have to be a choice between RO water and tap water... depending on your water supply, you may need to use a tap/RO mix.

If your tap water isn't suitable for discus, you will need to get an RO unit, and then play with it, to see what mixture is best. We use 60% tap mixed with 40% RO... and all water is aged, aerated and heated for 24 hrs before it is used. Also note that the aging process can alter the PH of the water. For some, the PH lowers slightly... but I've also heard others say that the PH is higher after aging. Again, it all depends on your water supply.

HTH,

Judi
:)

[Carol_Roberts]

Aged water container, hoses and pumps first. You may never need an RO if your water is soft enough . . . .