RO Water ?

[rsw686]

I just acquired a 55gal freshwater tank that looks to have been neglected. I have the fish in a 5gal bucket and was going to fill the tank back up with water after I rinsed out the gravel, etc.

Anyway I have a saltwater tank and use ro/di water as my tap water contains nitrates, etc. I've heard you can't just use ro/di water in freshwater as it lacks minerals, etc.

Is there something I can add to the ro/di water, can I just use ro water, or I guess I could just use tap water with a water conditioner.

Thanks

[mobilecow]

If you use RO water, it's my understanding you need additives - something like discus buffer. Before you do that, ask around locally what people are doing with freshwater in the area - I know marine fish are less tolerant than freshwater and so demand RO water... The reason is that with RO - you're gonna have to test and modify your parameters accordingly.

[DarkSoul]

Kent RO Right ....

[mobilecow]

I trust Kent's product - but there are a few other brands out there too

[DarkSoul]

that was just the only one i knew of :)

I would love to know of some others, because I also will require some for the ultra-pure water I will be producing.

[Star_Rider]

yes definitely use an additive. you need to add back some buffers.

with marine fish it isn't that they demand ro/di..but you can control what goes in the water. Phophastes from the tap and other unknown concentrations of salts(calcium etc) may have a detrimental effect..like algae blooms or improper calcium levels. Ph out of range etc..I used tap water in my marine tanks with no ill effect..but with nitrates high out of the source..I thought I should clean that up.