PDA

View Full Version : which better? R/O once a week? or tap water twice a week?


neupane00
10-03-2009, 02:54 AM
hey guys. pls suggest me here.. my tap water is:

ammonia: 0, nitrite: 0, nitrate: between 5 to 10, KH: 4, ph: 7.6

now the suggestion i need is: should i go with tap water and change twice a week?
OR should i go R/O water and change just once a week? i cant change with r/o water twice a week cuz its time consuming to collect RO so often so going twice a week water change is not an option. and my week days are VERY busy.

any advise will be HIGHLY appreciated guys.
Eddie
10-03-2009, 03:53 AM
Straight tap if its stable after 24-48 hours of aging/aeration.

Eddie
Ardan
10-03-2009, 06:40 AM
Dont' change with straight RO , you can change the kh, ph and water chemistrys too much.
You must know all the parameters first and experiment without fish to see the end results first.
Use straight tap as Eddie suggests if the ph is stable.
hth
Ardan
ssevasta
10-23-2009, 01:23 AM
You could use the RO water as long as you add a product such as Kent RO Right to add trace elements to the water. The trace elements are important to the development of juvenile fish. I use RO in my 55 + 35 gallon tanks because my local water has a PH of 8.0 and the water is extremely hard in Rockland County New York.
Jhhnn
10-23-2009, 08:49 AM
Age and aerate a sample of your tap water for 24hrs, check the pH at that time. If it doesn't change much, your water is suitable for discus, straight from the tap.

In general, more water changes are better husbandry, so twice a week would be preferable.
calihawker
10-23-2009, 09:33 AM
Straight tap if its stable after 24-48 hours of aging/aeration.

Eddie

Ditto.
GrillMaster
10-23-2009, 05:23 PM
I was gonna vote wc's at least every other day with aerated same temp tap water but it wasn't up there in the poll... ;) :D :D :D
scottthomas
10-23-2009, 05:31 PM
It seems your tap water is fine for raining discus to me. Just age 24 hrs. IMO the RO water change is not great idea. Are you trying to breed? Maybe use some RO for breeders and then go to tap after they fertilize the eggs
TwoValveKid
11-02-2009, 04:17 PM
I wish my tap looked that good. VERY hard and usually a pH of about 8.2.
exv152
11-02-2009, 04:50 PM
hey guys. pls suggest me here.. my tap water is:

ammonia: 0, nitrite: 0, nitrate: between 5 to 10, KH: 4, ph: 7.6

now the suggestion i need is: should i go with tap water and change twice a week? OR should i go R/O water and change just once a week? i cant change with r/o water twice a week cuz its time consuming to collect RO so often so going twice a week water change is not an option. and my week days are VERY busy.

any advise will be HIGHLY appreciated guys.

Tap! Unless the GH is high, then I would mix RO w/tap. My question is, why not change the water more often than 2/week?
TwoValveKid
11-02-2009, 04:56 PM
Ok..newb question...what would be a good KH and GH level for juvi's/non breeders?
exv152
11-02-2009, 10:04 PM
Ok..newb question...what would be a good KH and GH level for juvi's/non breeders?

In the wild discus live in very soft and acidic conditions, but in an aquarium moderately soft is good enough, somewhere between 3-6 dKH and the same for GH. Test your water once it's had a chance to age/stabilize.
Elite Aquaria
11-02-2009, 10:11 PM
Your tap water will be fine...amount of water changes will depend on tank size, amount of fish, what you feed, age of fish and your filtration.
TwoValveKid
11-02-2009, 10:57 PM
In the wild discus live in very soft and acidic conditions, but in an aquarium moderately soft is good enough, somewhere between 3-6 dKH and the same for GH. Test your water once it's had a chance to age/stabilize.

Excellent. Im sure my dKH and GH are through the roof, im thinking i'll have to mix with my RO/DI i make.