What do you add to your RO/DI water?

[Karlsbad]

LFS told me today just add aquarium salt, and that it has basically the same contents as RO right etc.

[Aquarius0015]

I've never used it, but on the boards here people suggest a mixture of conditioned tap water and RO.

[Karlsbad]

My tap water is cloudy, thats why I'm getting an RO unit.

[delmore]

Originally posted by Karlsbad
My tap water is cloudy, thats why I'm getting an RO unit.

??? I'll let the experts answer this, but cloudy tap water is not a reason to get an RO unit. My tap water is cloudy sometimes. I think it is just air in the water.

What kind of fish do you have and what is the pH and hardness of your water?

[Hans]

RO water is good in the plant tank business, not so much damned phosphates

[Karlsbad]

Either way I'm using RO/DI water:D and trying to figure out what to add to it for Oscars.

[falcon]

As I was told, you have to add some of the nutrients back as RO water has none. The best thing is to mix RO/tap and then add something in. Salt won't be enough as you need other minerals. I use simply discus - you can use it for any fish. To get rid of cloudy water you would need to store it for a couple of hours with a powerhead in it to mix the water. I get cloudy water sometimes too and I use a storage tank to do my water changes. I think after 30 min or so, the water clears.

I don't think anything would happen if you add that water straight to your acquarium. It just would take around 30min for the water to clear.

Falcon

[Uncle Bete]

something like this will work...
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4128&D=ro%20right&R=6112&Ntt=ro%20right&Ntk=All&Dx=mode+matchallany&Ntx=mode+matchallany&Np=1&N=0&Nty=1

[Karlsbad]

Originally posted by falcon

I don't think anything would happen if you add that water straight to your acquarium. It just would take around 30min for the water to clear.

Falcon

Like I said I'm not using my tap water. It's not ok.

[Leopardess]

"It's not ok"?

Out of curiousity, why specifically? Does the cloudiness of it go away? Almost all tapwater comes out cloudy at times (usually due to dissolved oxygen). Does it come out with high nitrates? a pH of 9? Why are you set on using RO water? It's got a hefty price tag on it and needs to be fiddled with to get back to 'usable.'

Do you drink your tap water?

Saying "I just said I'm using RO" (using quotes loosely there) doesn't help anyone understand the *why* behind what you're doing.

[delmore]

Originally posted by Karlsbad
Like I said I'm not using my tap water. It's not ok.

I read your post about your sick oscar (hope he's getting better) and you wrote:

"LFS I trust told me its fungus and treat it with melafix and primafix. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 10 ppm nitrates 7.4 ph 120 hardness 120 alkalinity.."

Your water looks fine to me for an Oscar. Thousands of people in Chicago use tap water for their fish.

I wouldn't take advice from a lfs that tells you to add salt to RO water to add the essenetial minerals back in. Instead of an RO unit, maybe you should invest in a bigger tank or examine the frequency of your water change, and how adequate your filtration is. Fungal infections are usually caused by less than ideal maintenance/not enough water changes. That is not to say that this is true in your case.

Good luck with whatever you do. And I hope that when you ask for advise you consider the replies.

[Karlsbad]

Sorry but, grrr. My Oscar is pretty much all better thanks and thanks for the help at the time. My tap water doesn't have ammonia or high hardness or nitrates or nitrites but it looks like crap(much worse since it got cold out) and if I leave it stand it gets a film on it. It grows hair algae if I leave the tank light on at all, It has no direct or indirect light. I do 25-35% changes weekly and have a 90g tank with an Eheim 2028, an emperor 400, and an emperor 280. I live in a formerly unincorporated section of a suburb. I'm really getting the RO unit I just want to know what to put in the water ;)