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MPETERS
08-18-2011, 02:28 PM
Hi all,

I am new to Discus but have had both fresh and saltwater fish over the past 30 years. I am planning on setting up a 240 gal Discus tank and have been doing a ton of reading. I have many questions but will start with one about water hardness. I live in Apache Junction, AZ. and have a 600' deep well. As you would expect the water is very hard, over 180 mg/l using an API 5 in 1 test strip. I have been looking into options to soften the water, including a water softener, RO and/or the use of peat. I am worried about the sodium the water softener will add to the water, also RO would have a large amount of waste water. Does anyone have a simular problem or can offer some advise.

Again this is the first of many questions, thanks in advanced for the help

Mike Peters

TURQ64
08-18-2011, 02:59 PM
Mike, In 2001-2, I lived in AJ whie doing rigging for the rebuild of the generators at the dams for SRP..At that time, we had water reports showing a lot of nasty chemicals leached in to the ground water from too many years of meth labs in the desert.don't know if that applies to your deep well,but...I'd go with an RO, and figure a large collection/recycling method for the reject...I have hard, alkaline water, so it's what we do..My reject runs the laundry and yardwork.(we have larger collection containers for waste than we do product water)...something to consider..Otherwise, the usual aged water and chemical conditioners and a similar aging container..Gary

MPETERS
08-18-2011, 03:18 PM
Hi Gary,

I go up the trail to the dam a lot just because it is so beautiful. All that worked on the dam did one heck of a job, Thanks.

I will have to think about capturing the waste RO water. Other then laundry I really don't have any use for it. I use to make RO when I had my salt water set up so I have a 150 gal tank to capture the RO water and use to dump the waste on the ground, it seems like a waste. Now that I have a well and don't haul water anymore I would have to find a use for the waste water.

Thanks for the advise.

Mike

TURQ64
08-18-2011, 03:21 PM
If you were just planning a single tank setup, you could probably keep up with the waste recycling; we just make so much RO that it's hard to get creative, so I know what you mean...

laborelch
08-18-2011, 04:21 PM
It's a lot of waste water - and I felt bad about it as well. I setup the waste to run alongside the house into a 40g barrel that is connected to an irrigation system for my veggie patch. Lots of nice tomatoes, peppers and squash without the hassle of watering myself :-)
Not sure about the washing machine/dishwasher - for me calcium buildup is definitely an issue. And you need more detergent in harder water. My tap water comes out at 180mg/mL with the API 5 in 1 test strips as well. TDS reads at about 450ppm. That is pretty hard :-)
I do use tap in my normal tanks - R/O is really only needed for wilds or breeding - or if you plan to go planted and have a lot of phosphates in your water. I grow out all my juvies in straight tap.

TURQ64
08-18-2011, 04:34 PM
My tap after aeriation is 8.5 ph with just under 400 ppm....my reject is 880 ppm...I use it as a precise adjuster for the RO instead of a buffer chemical....but aside from that, RO is the only way to assure no heavy metals or chemicals you can't pronounce are entering your tank....That's my line of reasoning pertaining to this post...I don't agree that RO is only for wilds or breeding due to the prior statement..Healthy people drink RO, and they aren't doing it for breeding...Arizona has fun stuff like arsenic occurring naturally....

laborelch
08-18-2011, 05:01 PM
Agree, you need to know your local water report in order to see if there's harmful stuff in your water and if you can go with straight tap or not. If there would be harmful stuff inthe water I wouldn't use the reject to adjust my RO. :)
BTW, I do use RO in my planted tank due to phosphates/algae issues - has nothing to do with breeding ...

Darrell Ward
08-18-2011, 05:29 PM
Mike, if I lived where you do, I would probably use RO water for everything except flushing the toilet, and landscaping.

MPETERS
08-18-2011, 08:06 PM
Hi again,

Thanks to all for the replys, I guess I will fire up the RO system. I think I will also send a test sample of water out to a lab and see what they say about it. Anyone know of any good labs.

This is the first of what I am sure will be many questions as I would like to provide my new friends with the best living conditions I can. Sure glad I found this site.


Mike

Tropical Haven
08-22-2011, 04:48 PM
Mike,
If there isn't any nasty stuff in your water then don't worry about the hardness it won't hurt anything unless you plan on raising babies. Once that time comes then you can purchase an RO unit. For growing discus or just keeping them as a pet hard water is fine, I have raised discus in 700 - 900 ppm hardness for years with great success as long as you keep up with water changes.