Why RO water?

[Tyler718]

I'm venturing over from the FW side of the forum because I'm converting one of my FW tanks into a SW. I can hardly wait for my final items to be delivered next week so I can start.

With all reading I have been doing I seem to have only one main question. Is RO water required for a FOWLR setup? If so, why can't I treat the water from the tap like I do with my FW tanks?

Thanks in advance,
Dave

 

[Jman]

You don't need R/O water, but like others will tell you, it's one thing that you can control.

My tap water has a bit of nitrates in it and it is very hard so I use R/O. There are enough things that can go wrong so I just try to take every advantage I can.

 

[mogurnda]

Like Jman says, it depends on your water. Mine has a lot of nitrate, and I worry about heavy metals as well.

What sold me was when they wereworking on the water mains here, and the water came out of the tap a different color every day.

 

[loyalty]

i used culligan water, which is evidently RO. Seeing as how I'm a beginner, i'll take every advantage i can

 

[Cearbhaill]

Ditto all of the above.
There are numerous things/problems that happen regardless of what you do or how well you watch over your water quality. Using RO/DI water is just one way of controlling the things that you are able to control. Eliminating the heavy metals, water treatment additives, and various substances just gives you a that much greater chance of success over the long haul.

$200 now will buy you peace of mind, and is much easier than buying and schlepping water, or putting the success of your tank in the hands of bottled additives.

 

[mogurnda]

i used culligan water

We actually got a Culligan RO system installed in the house. There are less expensive ways to go, and systems that produce more gpd, but it won for a couple of reasons:
1. It adds value to the house.
2. Culligan is likely to be in business for the foreseeable future (important for item 1).
3. It makes my wife's tea taste better.

 

[loyalty]

Originally posted by mogurnda
We actually got a Culligan RO system installed in the house.

I didn't know you could do that. Out of curiosity, when I was filling the tank, i poured myself a glass, and it does actually taste better than the local stuff

 

[Tyler718]

Thanks for the replies. So it looks like I'm going to start using RO water again. The part that I hate is that I had a RO unit when I kept Discus, but sold it since I thought I didn't need it anymore. I should have been a better pack rat.

Dave