# Reverse Osmosis



## danilykins (Dec 22, 2010)

I have been seeing these online and wanted to know some information about them. Worth it? not worth it? Good for fish? Help water quality? Lets hear it


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

RO water is PURE water, its nearly 1005 stripped of any and all impurities and minerals.

I use it due to the type of fish I keep and my local water supply parameters and it was a no brainer must have for myself. Its neutral out of the RO so water is always at a 7.0 give or take a .10th.

They also dont leave that white line of deposits when it evaporates out of the tank either.


----------



## danilykins (Dec 22, 2010)

Would buying distilled water do the same thing as RO??


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

no, RO water and distilled are different. 

Distilled is unadvised to use as aquarium water because of its inability to sustain proper chemistry(buffering)

RO is filtered water, membrane filtration size limits the size of TDS going thru it. My RO on the inlet side has normally 300+ ppm of total disolved solids(copper,iron,ect,ect)and on the outlet side I only have 002. Distilled water has zero TDS in it.
In the long run the RO unit is cheaper, both waters will have to be chemically buffered with acid and alkaline buffers and possibly others.


----------



## danilykins (Dec 22, 2010)

Would buying a filter for the faucet be similar, you know like PURE or something like that? Which brand of RO system is the best for my 30gal, and how much should I be looking at for it? Trying to find things for my tank to improve the water, my betta has gotten ich even though I have been doing 15% WC ever other day


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

I know I got a 25 gallon per day(gpd) spectrapure MPDI RO/DI unit from aquariumplants.com for like $160 bucks brand new w/ 4g holding tank for drinking water.

I dont think a PURE or faucet filter will work as im not familar with them since I use the RO units.

The RO unit I have now is a US WATER 100gpd RO unit. it has a 1:1 ratio so every gallon of good water it makes it wastes a gallon, most units are 1:3 or 1:4 good to waste water ratio.


----------



## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

RO/DI water is great for 2 things - salt water tanks, and lowering your hardness. My LFS sells RO/DI water at $0.05/gallon, so I've never needed a unit for it (I pick up 1-2 gallons per month to help stabilize my GH and KH), but if you're running a delicate tank like a discus tank, you might consider getting a unit. Otherwise, I would much rather spend the hundreds on a canister filter or something along those lines.


----------



## danilykins (Dec 22, 2010)

Its definitely something that I need to think about for the future. Thanks for all the great answers


----------



## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

RO water is also a safe and natural way to lower your ph if your tap was in the 8+ range and you wanted to get it lower (not that you may need to). I use a 200gpd RODI system to get my kh down, as some of my plants don't like really hard water (my tap is 9+kh). My water coming out of the RO is 0kh/6.6ph. Starts out at 7.4 and then lower to 6.6 in about 12hrs. My water changes are 50/50, tap and RO. My other system that I don't use is a 100gpd that lowered to 7.0.

I initially bought a system to use near 100% RO water for cleaner water (I have well water), but then realized that just wasn't possible after I bought 2-125g tanks over a period of about 1 month. Perfect for smaller tanks though.


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

You can get those household filters from the home depot and make your own, the higher the micron count on the filter the more it filters the water. RO works off forcing water thru filters and stripping it down.

Well water can be bad as well if you live near livestock farms and ranches. Just test everything first then go from there.
My tap water is fine for use on fish here but I keep discus and delicate south american cichlids and tetras and needed that 7.0 so I could reach my targets of 5.8 and 6.4 respectively.


----------



## Chillwill007 (Aug 20, 2010)

Not to thread jack but thought this might help the original poster too. What do you think about this faucet filter by API. slot of the reviews said it made the water tds lower then some ro units. And I was thinking about getting it for my 40 breeder. It seems cheaper and easier then an ro/di unit since you dont have to worry about bad and good water

Aquarium Water Quality: Tap Water Filter


----------



## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Chillwill007 said:


> Not to thread jack but thought this might help the original poster too. What do you think about this faucet filter by API. slot of the reviews said it made the water tds lower then some ro units. And I was thinking about getting it for my 40 breeder. It seems cheaper and easier then an ro/di unit since you dont have to worry about bad and good water
> 
> Aquarium Water Quality: Tap Water Filter


I looked into that filter before I bought a RO system. I reasoned that given the hardness of my water and TDS level I'd be replacing cartridges fairly often and they weren't very cheap - changes color I think. I think it only make 150g, where as the RO system I bought was rated for over 1,000 gallons.


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

I have that filter, I wont use it nor give it away, its very very crappily built.
The thing bursts apart with the slightest amount of pressure, the faucet adapter breaks under pressure. Its truly a waste of time and money, with what you spend on it and filters for a few water changes you can have a small output RO unit.


----------



## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Do you have a particular problem with your water quality? Is it hard water? I don't know much about it but I'm pretty sure RO water would not be at all good for your guppies, mollies, or apple snail as it would be too soft.


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

RO isnt soft its neutral. you use buffers to create acidic or alkaline environments.


----------



## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

WhiteGloveAquatics said:


> RO isnt soft its neutral. you use buffers to create acidic or alkaline environments.


Do NOT use phosphate buffers. They are a temporary fix, most don't even work, and phosphate buffers will wreck plants. Look into buffers like a bag of crushed coral or peat moss as better alternatives.


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

I dont use phos buffers.


----------



## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

In most cases you are just as well to leave the water chemistry alone unless you are trying to breed a particular fish (probably whiteglove is) or have fish that have particular requirements.


----------



## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

WhiteGloveAquatics said:


> RO isnt soft its neutral. you use buffers to create acidic or alkaline environments.


My kh is 0 coming out of my RO, haven't tested gh. Seems pretty soft to me, at least from an alkalinity standpoint or zero hardness. I also don't add buffers usually, although I have them. I just mix 50/50 with my tap water and dose with stability.


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

I dont mix and dose with acid and alkaline buffers and equilbrium.
I know RO's are designed to be neither acidic nor alkaline but to be neutral. Arent you on well water Ben? Im trying to recall all those emails from before.


----------



## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Yes, I'm on well water. My ph coming out of my tap is 8.2ph/9kh and out of the RODI it is 6.6ph (7.4 intially, 6.6 after about 12hrs)/0kh. I mix 50/50 to try and get somewhere in the 7.2-7.4 range...only on one of my tanks (heavily planted) that is.


----------

