Explain what an RO filter does =D

[davidude36]

Hey guys and gals. If you have read my other threads it basically tells you what am doing. Basically haven't got discus yet, am just working up the money to afford all the best stuff.

So on to RO filters. I just do not get them at all. They remove bad stuff from the water straight from the tap to the tank right? If i bought one should i use it for all the water in my discus tank, or should i mix a ratio of water and RO water?

Are RO filters really worth it?

I am planning on getting a 180G tank - I saw on some of the RO units available they say "100G a day" so that means it will take a day to process through 100G and that means it will take 1day 5/6ths to fill up a 180G tank?

Please explain to me about RO filters, i've been searching google and all i find is retailers selling them.

Also another un answered question i have is: How do i change the PH level?

Thanks guys!

[Dan S]

Hello,

There are people who can probably explain this far better than I, but here goes.

An RO unit as you said takes the bad stuff out of the tap water, this is done using a prefilter, then a carbon filter and then into the RO membrane which is a reverse osmosis membrane.

When working well they should remove between 97% & 99% of tap water contaminents.

As regards to what size to get, I started with a 50gpd unit, but soon realised that was no where near enough (I have a 110g tank). I then changed to a 200gpd unit with a pressure regulating pump as water pressure and water temperature are very important in the performance of the unit.
Still this wasnt enough, so I now have a 300gpd unit which for me is about right, its not because I want 300 gallons a day, its because I want to be able to produce the water I use fast enough. However at this time of year, the water is so cold its tripled the production time.
The unit I have actually has three 100gpd membranes piggy backed on it as that reduces the waste water drastically.

Do you need one? What are your water parameters like? Where I am, the water is very bad quality so I have to use one. I used to live in a good quality tap water area and quite happily kept domestic Discus in treated tap water.

If you use one, you need to put your product water into a storage tank before putting it into your Discus tank so it can be heated and for it to settle (Ph etc). I always mix a bit of treated tap water with my RO water, approximately 10 - 15% but that depends on the quality of your tap water. The reason for mixing in some treated tap water is that there needs to be some minerals etc in the water for fish and plants to thrive and pure Ro water has so little in it.

As for Ph, once I have mixed my Ro water and treated tap water I get a Ph of about 6.5 so havent needed to change the Ph, but if you want to lower it you could use commercial buffers or filter it over peat and if you want to raise the Ph you could again use commercial buffers.

Hope that helps abit, Im sure some more experienced guys will add to that.

Regards

Dan

[tonymaccs]

Hi ddd,
There are plenty of sites you can search to learn about reverse osmosis. Here is one to start with.
http://www.historyofwaterfilters.com...smosis-pc.html

Whether you could benefit from one depends entirely on the qualities of your source water, and what you want to achieve with your discus. Find out what your water qualities are (hardness, dissolved compounds, etc then post them for some advice.

Tony

[Blackwater Aquaria]

From my side of the fense

Hey guys and gals. If you have read my other threads it basically tells you what am doing. Basically haven't got discus yet, am just working up the money to afford all the best stuff.

So on to RO filters. I just do not get them at all. They remove bad stuff from the water straight from the tap to the tank right? If i bought one should i use it for all the water in my discus tank, or should i mix a ratio of water and RO water?

Are RO filters really worth it?

I am planning on getting a 180G tank - I saw on some of the RO units available they say "100G a day" so that means it will take a day to process through 100G and that means it will take 1day 5/6ths to fill up a 180G tank?

Please explain to me about RO filters, i've been searching google and all i find is retailers selling them.

Also another un answered question i have is: How do i change the PH level?

Thanks guys!

Unless you are going to breed Discus I really dont see spending the money or waste water from info I get from mostly all of the breeders that I have talked to. Good luck Mike

[davidude36]

Thanks for the great response guys. It seems pretty clear that I'm gonna have to test my tap water! I would sure as heck love the discus that i'm going to get to breed in the far future. If my tap water is fine would i still want to invest in an RO filter if I am breeding discus/raising fry?

Now to order a test kit...

[fredox]

The first thing to do will be test your water. But, I'd guess you're probably going to want a HMA filter (as it will remove all the chlorine, heavy metals and such) until you start breeding. I got my unit from http://www.devotedly-discus.co.uk/ but there are a lot of other sources out there. One good thing about HMA filters is that thee is no waste water so no need to worry about waste. Alternatively tap water conditioner might be a option if your water is good quality but it might get expensive.

[davidude36]

The first thing to do will be test your water. But, I'd guess you're probably going to want a HMA filter (as it will remove all the chlorine, heavy metals and such) until you start breeding. I got my unit from http://www.devotedly-discus.co.uk/ but there are a lot of other sources out there. One good thing about HMA filters is that thee is no waste water so no need to worry about waste. Alternatively tap water conditioner might be a option if your water is good quality but it might get expensive.

That website's shop is actually really close to me =D

So what your saying is that I'd only really need an RO if i began breeding them?

At the moment I'm just waiting to get a test kit, then I'll post back with all my info =D

[fredox]

The way I've always understood it is RO for breeding and normal water for everything else. No need to use it unless your breeding.

[davidude36]

So RO for breeding,
HMA for if my tap water is a bit crap,
and if my tap water is alright then i don't need any?

Sounds about right?

[Dan S]

Hello,

Untill you've tested your tap water you wont know what to use? I find it worrying that people suggest an idea untill you know what the tap water parameters are. Some parts of the country have tap water that is fine for keeping fish in and some people even breed in it, but untill you have tested you wont know that?

In Norfolk I have an average of Ph 8.4, TDS 380+ and Nitrate level of over 50 and thats a good average. I have liquid concrete and it varies quality wise quite drastically over periods of time and maintaining a constant water quality is very important. Personally I would never keep Discus in that let alone trying to breed them!

I know a couple of keepers in Southampton and they are using RO units to both keep and to breed.

The other thing to bare in mind is what fish you keep, for example I understand that Stendker fish are quite happy being kept at a Ph7 to 7.5 where as I keep Wilds and I have to keep the Ph below 6.5.

Regards

Dan

[pcsb23]

If you are near to Mark's place then you will need an RO unit for breeding. Liquid concrete from Mark's taps it has a conductivity over 600 microsiemens. An HMA is fine for keepng discus, though I would use a mix of HMA and RO. My water is liquid concrete too!

[davidude36]

If you are near to Mark's place then you will need an RO unit for breeding. Liquid concrete from Mark's taps it has a conductivity over 600 microsiemens. An HMA is fine for keepng discus, though I would use a mix of HMA and RO. My water is liquid concrete too!

Where exactly does Mark live? Sorry I seemed to have missed that =D

Thanks for all the replies so far as well! =D

[fredox]

Dan I agree with you about needing to know where your water is at before you decide what exact unit to buy if any at all. I was only suggestion a HMA unit as going straight to RO has always been a choice for breeding in my understanding unless you have liquid concrete. I hope this clears up what might have looked like me suggesting an answer without having all the facts.

David Mark runs Devotedly Discus.

[Dan S]

Hello Byron,

I hope you didnt take offence, your advice was good, I was just emphasing that as when I started I bought an RO unit which was totally surplus to requirements when I lived down in Plymouth and it wasnt untill I went to see Chris at Plymouth Discus that I got to grips with the RO v tap water issue.

I take it over in Cwmbran your tap water is lovely and soft? I certainly wouldnt use an RO unit if I didnt have to, it increases work and expensive drastically I think.

Regards

Dan

Dan I agree with you about needing to know where your water is at before you decide what exact unit to buy if any at all. I was only suggestion a HMA unit as going straight to RO has always been a choice for breeding in my understanding unless you have liquid concrete. I hope this clears up what might have looked like me suggesting an answer without having all the facts.

David Mark runs Devotedly Discus.

[fredox]

No offense taken Dan I just wanted to clear up any misinterpretations. I was at Plymouth uni for a while and even though I never tested the tap water there I could taste the difference when I drank it. Cwmbran isn't massively soft but I can't remember values.

So you all know I don't have any discus at the moment. But, when I do keep them again I'll be opting for a combination of RO and HMA as I'll be looking to breed. I'm in research mode for at least a year maybe longer as I can't get any more tanks until I have my own place.

Sorry for the hijack Dave.