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[pbrack]

I've maintained a saltwater aquarium for the past year, and now I bought a few new aquarium I'd like to turn into planted freshwater aquarium. so, here are a few questions I have:

1) Is Ro/Di water suitable for freshwater, because it seems as if no one ever mentions it? And if so, do I have to add a lot of stuff to increase alkilinity and hardness?

2) Are there any drwbacks to using driftwood? I once heard a few years ago that driftwood can leach some nutrients into the aquarium.

3) If I have an air pump and a CO2 reactor (DIY), do I still have to regulate the CO2, or not really because of the oxygen coming from the air pump.

Thanks everybody for the great information on the site!

 

[Pretender]

Short answers, as best as I can answer them:

1) Is Ro/Di water suitable for freshwater, because it seems as if no one ever mentions it? And if so, do I have to add a lot of stuff to increase alkilinity and hardness?

RO/DI is typically not recommended for freshwater as it is too pure. It is used by freshwater aquarists who want to make up their own water from mixes, and want to know exactly what is in the final mix without having to know exactly what is in the tap water. After treating tap water for chlorine and chloramines, it is usually fine for most fish, and trying to chase chemical properties such as hardness, pH, alkalinity, etc. with additives only serves to stress the fish with changing osmotic pressure. The main reason to try to match a certain water condition is breeding, as most fish require specific conditions to breed, although can live healthily in a wide range of conditions.

2) Are there any drwbacks to using driftwood? I once heard a few years ago that driftwood can leach some nutrients into the aquarium.

Provided it doesn't harbor any disease, it can lower the pH of your water and the tannins can color your water. If your water is a little more basic than your fish would prefer, this would be a gentle way to try to help lower the pH.

3) If I have an air pump and a CO2 reactor (DIY), do I still have to regulate the CO2, or not really because of the oxygen coming from the air pump.

OK....this is outside my experience, but I thought CO2 reactors were for plants.

Anyway, the air pump does little itself to introduce dissolved air in the water, except that it provides water movement, and water movement at the surface helps air dissolve in the water. If you have an adequate filter, you should be getting all of the surface motion you need, and anything the air pump does is mostly decorative. (Unless your filter is an undergravel filter driven by the air pump, in which case it is important, but if you have a UGF, we need to break you of that! ).

 

[pbrack]

Thanks already for the reply.
Unfortunately, my tap water is well water which seems to pull out a lot of sediment, so tap water is out of the question. I'm also guessing there is no miracle liquid additives that can make water good from an Ro/Di unit! So are there any additives I should be looking into (Baking powder for alkilinity? Ph up?)

As for no.3, are you saying that I should scrap the air pump, and simply regulate the CO2 for plants, so it wouldn't kil any fish? (Sorry, I'm french, my english reading skills aren't the highest

 

[nlmadison]

Thanks already for the reply.
Unfortunately, my tap water is well water which seems to pull out a lot of sediment, so tap water is out of the question. I'm also guessing there is no miracle liquid additives that can make water good from an Ro/Di unit! So are there any additives I should be looking into (Baking powder for alkilinity? Ph up?)

Hi pbrack, I too, have well water with lots of sediment and minerals. My house has a water sediment filter and a water softener. I use my water in my tanks and while my Ph is high (8.0) the fish and plants are doing fine. Have you considered using a tap-mounted water filter? There are also some which mount under the kitchen sink which are relatively inexpensive. I don't know what size your tank(s) are or if this would be practical for you.

N.

 

[pbrack]

My tanks are 20 gallon and 10 gallon

I already have the Ro/Di unit for the saltwater aquarium, but the tap water contains some metal sediments. I thought for sure that Ro/Di + additives is way better than the tap water, since metal can be toxic. I might be way off on this one though!

 

[pbrack]

If I only increased the hardness of the Ro/Di water, would that be ok for the aquarium?

 

[nlmadison]

I don't know much about using RO water except what I learned while investigating using it to lower my Ph. I have seen products available to replace needed minerals, etc in RO water for use in freshwater aquaria. If it were me, I'd give it a try. That seems like it would be way easier than trying to correct the well water especially since you already have the RO unit. Maybe someone else with more experience can help. Sorry.

N.

 

[mooman]

I'm also guessing there is no miracle liquid additives that can make water good from an Ro/Di unit!

Yes there is, the product's name is called "R/O Right". It is designed to replace the trace elements that are removed during the reverse osmosis process. Another option would be to simply mix ro water with a littltle bit of well water. You said the well water has sediments? That's not really a problem to fish unless they are heavy metals.

Using ro water with some ro right, driftwood, and sand would be outstanding for an amazon river tank. I can see it now. Angel fish cruising slowly through a school of tetras, while a large shoal of coryandrous catfish move en mass across the sandy bottom. Easy to grow java moss and java fern creeping over the driftwood completes the illusion.

Good Luck.