Spring Water/verses RO water?

[Marka]

Have a question looking at purchasing some discus that have been raised in RO type water. Currently I use a mix of tap water and freash
spring water. I am not real familiar with RO water. Will it be alright to use my fresh spring and tap water mix. These are older discus
around 3"-5" in size. Thanks for any advice it is greatly appreciated.

[Keith Perkins]

The biggest concern would be a significant drop in pH, and if you're going from RO to spring and tap the pH is most likely going up. The increased TDS of your water should be no concern and could very well be beneficial.

[DJW]

Mark, your spring/tap mix might be just fine. RO water is different in two ways: it has low dissolved solids, say between 0ppm and 20ppm, and it has a pH that is subject to being swept up or down due to its low buffering capacity. Were the fish raised in pure RO water or a mix? Is your spring/tap mix soft or hard? Aside from the more technical aspects of the water, if you are able to provide a gradual change in TDS (total dissolved solids) and pH as the fish are being acclimated to your water, they will probably be OK.

Is this a spring that has been developed for household use & human consumption?

[Marka]

Yes it is used for human consumption but it flows from a two inch pipe no chemicals added the ph is around 7.5

[DISCUS STU]

Shouldn't be an issue. Discus aren't the delicate flowers they're sometimes made out to be.

For sure they need the right care, but as long as the water is good, a transition from RO to your water should be fine.

The RO parameters aren't mentioned, only "RO type water" which could have a few variables in regard to hardness, ph, etc., just like any other type of water. Not to be too concerned, sounds like it'll work out fine.

[Filip]

Should we concern about any pathogens in spring water,as it comes directly from earth and its not chemically treated ?

[DJW]

Springs that are set up for human consumption are usually enclosed in a box to prevent contamination by coliform bacteria (from animals & bugs). I would think that since a spring is not part of an aquatic system there shouldn't be a population of organisms pathogenic to fish. And how nice not to have chlorine/chloramine to deal with. The spring water here is great stuff; for some reason the springs have much softer water than the wells.