RO/DI water for Freshwater tank
- Thread starter bmkj02
- Start date
salty blues
Active Member
Originally Posted by bmkj02
http:///forum/post/3033536
Can I use this water for my freshwater tank? I use it on my saltwater. When I use to go to the LFS they had RO/DI water, saltwater and freshwater. They told me the difference but I dont understand why you cant use RO/DI water in a freshwater tank. Thanks
I suppose the "freshwater" would have minerals & elements in it, depending on it's origin, whereas RO/DI would have none. I don't think it would hurt at all to use RO/DI for a fw tank.
http:///forum/post/3033536
Can I use this water for my freshwater tank? I use it on my saltwater. When I use to go to the LFS they had RO/DI water, saltwater and freshwater. They told me the difference but I dont understand why you cant use RO/DI water in a freshwater tank. Thanks
I suppose the "freshwater" would have minerals & elements in it, depending on it's origin, whereas RO/DI would have none. I don't think it would hurt at all to use RO/DI for a fw tank.
mantisman51
Active Member
Yeah, that's the exact issue. SW fish get their minerals from the synthetic salt that we add to the water. FW fish get their minerals from the water itself. They do have specific trace element supplements for different types of fish, though.
pete159
Member
RO water can be used for marine and reef tanks as the salt mix provides all the essential minerals and salts needed. Straight RO water is not acceptable for freshwater as it lacks essential minerals and salts. You must learn how to adjust the water chemistry if you use RO water for freshwater tanks.
pbienkiewi
Member
There are diffrent kinds of freshwater fish. Some perfer a soft water while others prefer a hard water. Softwater fishfish include neons, kribs, apistogrammas, Discus. While hard water fish include Tanganikans and African Chilids and others. Soft water with a PH lower than 7 and hard water with a PH above 7. Then throw in ALK. There are additives that you can add to reach the desired water conditions you are trying to mimick.
So yes you can use straight RO or DI water if you are adding additives. I would not use straight RO or DI water.
So yes you can use straight RO or DI water if you are adding additives. I would not use straight RO or DI water.
pete159
Member
even with soft water fish like discus, they like a hardness of about55ppm, so thats still much higher then pure ro/di which is usually 0.00 ppm
Unless your planning on breeding freshwater fish i wouild just use tap water treated with Prime, unless your planning on having soft water fish in whcih case you can use ro/di and add tap water until you reach the desired ppm
Unless your planning on breeding freshwater fish i wouild just use tap water treated with Prime, unless your planning on having soft water fish in whcih case you can use ro/di and add tap water until you reach the desired ppm