Why RO water

marting83

marting83

Member
Not as if it matters now since I already have the RO filtered water in my tank, but I was wondering, why RO filtered water as apposed to tap water with a declorinator? Are Saltwater fish really that sensitive? :rolleyes: I'm curious because I have been using tap water for my freshwater tank for the past seven years. Of course, I am using quite a lot of water conditioner too (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals: Stress Coat, Stress Zyme, Aquarium Salt, Root Tabs, Leaf Zone, Ammo-Carb, and Vinegar to adjust PH).
 
col

col

Active Member
Tapwater can contain stuff not good for the tank - whereas RO usually filters it out.
Phosphates can be present in tapwater and these can feed nuisance algae.
I am still using tap waterbecause I'm having no real problems at the moment.
You seem to be adding a lot of chemicals and also vinegar????
 
benj420

benj420

Member
Zero Total Disolved Solids (TDS) is the reason why. Some people even use UV sterilizers to further treat the water. Here are two links that should fill you in.
http://www.h2ofix.com/howROworks.htm
http://www.h2ofix.com/RODI.htm
Please note that I have only done research at this site. I have not ordered anything from this company and can not comment on their prices or quality.
IMO, Don't use vinegar to adjust pH. You are asking for problems. Vinegar is very unstable and I'm sure you will find yourself adding more and more almost every day. I've tried it in a hydroponic african violet grow system and quickly discovered it was a bad idea. The pH fluctuated greatly, and the roots all turned brown (not good). If it does this to plants, I can't imagine what it would do to fish and inverts. Have anyone else tried this?
 
marting83

marting83

Member
Ah, IC. IRO removes harmful impurities as well as benificial impurities which is why my "Instant Ocean" Synthetic Sea Salt comes with the benificial nutrients?
I'm not using vinegar in my Saltwater tank. Like I said, I use Instant Ocean which adjusts the PH for me. Our tap water has a PH of about 10.2. :eek: So, what would you guys recommend I use to reduce the PH other than vinegar? Note, it is very heavily planted, so I can't use phosphate buffers.
Yes, I am adding a lot of chemicals to my freshwater. Here's why:
Stress Coat = Declorinator
Stress Zyme = BioLogical Filter Stimulant (Not really needed)
Aquarium Salt = Stress Reducer (Not really needed)
Root Tabs = Plant Growth
Leaf Zone = Plant Growth
Ammo-Carb(Activated Carbon) = Removes trace elements
Vinegar = Lowers PH
 
nacl-h2o

nacl-h2o

Active Member
I use store bought distilled for the reef tanks and culligan kiosk RO water for the FW tanks.
 
marting83

marting83

Member
I'm asking about saltwater concerning the RO Water, yet a couple think I shouldn't be using vinegar to reduce PH in my Freshwater, so I'm asking about PH in relation to my freshwater.
 
javatech

javatech

Member
i would try an other test kit 10.2 is to high for tap water i think you have a bad kit im in spring hill and it's 7.8
 
marting83

marting83

Member
10.2 was a calculation. My High Range Test Kit only goes up to 8.8. I know my PH test kit is working correctly becuase I am using Instant Ocean which adjust to PH 8.2 which is what my test kit reports. We must get our water ot of different Systems even though you are only 20 miles from me.
I made that calculation based on the number of drops of AP's PH Down I had to add to lower PH 8.0 to 7.8. This took 2 drops per gallon. Using new tap water, I counted the drops until the water was at PH 8.6. This took 16 drops. 16 / 2 = 8, 8*.2 = 1.6, 8.6 + 1.6 = 10.2.
Java Source Code for JavaTech:
import Javax.swing.JOptionPane;
public class PH
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
String userInput;
int drops8078, drops86;
double ph;
userInput = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null,"How " +
"many drops did you have to add to make "
+ "8 = 7.8?");
drops8078 = Integer.parseInt(userInput);
userInput = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null,"How " +
"many drops did you have to add to " +
"make your tap water 8.6?");
drops86 = Integer.parseInt(userInput);
ph = (drops86 / drops8078 * .2 + 8.6);
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Your tap " +
"water has a PH factor of " + ph + ".");
System.exit(0);
}
{
I'M BORED WAITING FOR MY TANK TO FINSHING CYCLING, OK?
 
javatech

javatech

Member
LOL on the code :)
in my 135 gal cichlid tank i use half reg. water and half RO/DI. do you have a ro/di unit. the mix might bring your ph down. i got mine on ---- for $135 five stage 100gpd unit in the long run it will cost less
 
marting83

marting83

Member
No, I do not have an RO/DI unit. I had to go to three different stores to buy 75 gallons of water for my new saltwater aquarium. Obviously , I was not able to find one anywhere around here. ---- - what a great idea! Honestly, that's the best Chiclid tank I've seen! Very Nice! Here's my small, yet colorful freshwater aquarium:
 
broomer5

broomer5

Active Member
MartinG83
I'm not following your calculation for determining your tap water's pH.
Each value of pH ( 7 to 8, 8 to 9, 9 to 10 ) is a factor of TEN.
The pH of pure freshwater is 7.0
It has an equal number of H+ hydrogen ions as compared to the OH- ions.
In other words - equal amounts of both H+ and OH-
Pure water is H-OH
The pH scale is logarithmic from 0 to 14
For any given volume of liquid ....
A liquid with a pH of 8.0, has tens times less H+ ions than a liquid with a ph of 7.0
A liquid with a pH of 9.0 has 100 times less H+ ions than a liquid with a pH of 7.0
A liquid with a pH of 10.0 has 1000 times less H+ ions than a liquid with a pH of 7.0
Remember - when we measure pH, we are measuring the concentration of H+ ions in the water.
Acidic water has more H+
Alkaline or basic water has fewer H+
It's not a LINEAR scale where you can just add up drops, divide by this, multiply by than ..... and make assumptions that you're pH of the tapwater is now 10.20.
It don't work like that my friend.
Titration of an unknown works on this very principle.
The farther you are away from pH of 7.0 ..... the more drops it will take to bring down the pH of that liquid. But it's not a simple linear relationship.
It's logarithmic ;)
I would suggest that you find out what the true pH value is of your tapwater - by using a freshwater pH kit.
I would suggest using a saltwater pH kit for measuring saltwater.
I would suggest using RO or RO/DI water for mixing up saltwater for a marine tank.
 
javatech

javatech

Member
Looks good i'd love to put some plants in with my cichlid's but they would dig them up :mad:
thanks it's a home made plywood tank i was going to use it for a reef tank then i found out the cost of everything that go's in it :eek: and then made it a cichlid tank
here is the place that i got my ro/di from on ----
http://www.airwaterice.com/
it cost a lot less than all the others out there in the long run it's worth it
 
marting83

marting83

Member
Broomer -
How interesting. Thanks for the chemistry lesson. As you suggested, I have already used a freshwater high range test kit to test my tap water. The test kit reads 8.8 which is as high as test kit can go. Instead of worrying about the true value of my tap water, let's focus on how to reach 7. As you and JavaTech said, RO/DI water has a PH of 7; neutral. However, as you probably know, over time, the biological cycle in the aquarium produces ammino acids thus lowering the PH. At this time, to raise PH, and I am just changing up to 20% of the water thus allowing the tap water's high PH to balance the low PH of the aquarium vis a vis alkiline:acid. Good idea? Yes/No? I think really what I need to learn from this entire post is "I need to buy an RO/DI filter!"
JavaTech -
lol! Yes, I have live rock only in my new Salt Water Aquarium. Corals can be quite expensive can't they? I'll probably get some eventually, but right now, think I'll just be happy learning about the fish. Thanks for the web site. I definately need to buy one!
 
lharm

lharm

Member
I have a well/pump for my sprinkler system in my yard. It helps with fish alot, not dangerous.
 
twoods71

twoods71

Active Member
I get my water from a vending machine for $.25 a gallon. The water goes through a filtration process that is unmatched by almost all home filtration units.
The best quality I feel that I could buy and the price is not that bad either.
 
saltywashington

saltywashington

Member
Mr. Woods-
That sounds great my only concern would be how often that filter changed.
Martin-
I think you have got it. The only way to go is to get yourself a RO/DI unit. This is the only way to go IMO due to the fact that you are in total control of the filter and only you know how often the filters are changed. Plus it will be there for you in the middle of the night when the crap hits the fan.
 
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