RO water for use in a freshwater aquarium, mixing question.

[MYname]

i'm setting up a tank for fish that do better in a low pH.
my tap water has a pretty high pH so i decided to get an RO unit a while back.

now i know that fish cant just live in strait RO water and i also have heard that an easy way to put the goodness back in the RO water is to mix it with some tap water.

so my point is does anybody know roughly what ratio i need to use to keep my water healthy?

half RO and half tap? more? less?

 

[petluvr]

Can't help with the mixing question but I must ask what fish are you planning to keep?

 

[MYname]

i was going to try getting some babies out of a pair of agassizi apistos.

 

[jpappy789]

I would focus more on the GH (and KH) of the water, better yet would be TDS if you have a meter to test that...pH really is not as important.

I've never bred apistos myself but without knowing what your water is like it is hard to say exactly what you would need to do. One thing to keep in mind is that stability is often just as important, if not more, than the actual water levels themselves. It is probably going to come down to trial and error to get the desired results.

 

[Mgamer20o0]

all depends on what your source water is. try a 50/50 mix and see what that does to it.

 

[MYname]

ya from my knowledge using ro water deals with all of that stuff, not just pH.
and i think as long as i stay away from additives and chemicals, i don't think i need to worry about stability as much.


i was just really hoping someone could tell me the minimum amount of tap water i need to keep things safe.

 

[jpappy789]

As already mentioned, it depends on your source water. A 50/50 mix is essentially going to cut your levels in half...

 

[Mgamer20o0]

i don't think i need to worry about stability as much.

yes stability is always a main concern. you want to stick to one set of tank parameters and not have the tank swinging all over the place. by using part ro you are messing with the chemistry of the water.

 

[1oooop]

I would recommend baking soda to raise the KH of the water, but baking soda is a base. It will raise the KH though. What you might be able to do is run some peat moss in the tank. I'm not very sure about peat moss, for I have high PH fish and therefore can't experiment with it.

 

[Rbishop]

ya from my knowledge using ro water deals with all of that stuff, not just pH.
and i think as long as i stay away from additives and chemicals, i don't think i need to worry about stability as much.


i was just really hoping someone could tell me the minimum amount of tap water i need to keep things safe.

If that is what you think, then you are wrong IMO. You need to understand the GH/KH and TDS of your system, then decide if RO is needed.