So you drip straight RO in your tank? Or mix back some tap water with it? Can you tell us more about the RO (stages)? Are you using anything to remineralize it like DI resin? Or is it just straight RO with coral gravel?
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DB i drip RO into the sump where it is well airated before it goes into the main tank. I use 3 pond plant baskets full of coral gravel to buffer the water to 6.5 and change it every 4 months because it does break down as the RO strips it of the calcium. When i first add new coral gravel i wash it thoroughly to remove debris ect, after 4 months you actually see the level of the gravel drops by about an inch. When i remove a basket to replace the gravel there is a big cloud of coral dust and this shows how much the RO breaks it down.
This article is on the dangers of humans drinking RO....I did not know it could give you arthritis and then kill you. Please do not say that rays are not humans....
The point being that the us health agency quoted in the articles stated how aggressive the water is by taking in any minerals and stripping metals out of the host trying to re-mineralise itself...It will strip this out of decor, substrate and our fish! (I met some guys who run an lfs and they only drink RO at the shop...they need to see this)
I mentioned before that you should aerate for at least an hour before use....lack of oxygen is one of the lateral line erosion protagonists too.
This is why i airate my tank so much and use so much coral gravel in the sump. RO in its raw form is deffo toxic to humans and even if remineralised it is still harmfull to us because it still lacks certain minerals that are added by the local water authority.
There are specialised units that are made for drinking purposes and only these should be used. WARNING...DO NOT DRINK RO WATER... it will make you very ill and could potentially kill you. You've been warned.
When you set up an RO unit there is a membrane that contains toxic chemicals and you must flush your RO unit for a couple of hours before you start dripping into your tanks otherwise you will end up killing whatever fish you are keeping.