reverse osmosis water

[jdepasqu2]

I was told by a few ray keepers that RO / deionized water is not good to use with rays..... I have a situation where I dont think my local tap water is any good either..., which is why I filter it with the RO filter.... obviously i add the correct amount of trace elements back to the water...., (i use watley's discus somethin -ur-other) I was wondering if anyone had any comments about this mater...??? and also if they have any reccomendations for someone like me in this situation

I just set up my ray tank (120g) with RO water....., so if this is a really bad idea...., id like to know if i should do something about it before i decide to purchase a pait of rays........

thanks ahead of time to everyone with comments and advise.....

 

[jdepasqu2]

pure r/o or de-ionised water is a strong solvent, having no buffers it will also give false pH readings and the pH will crash quickly...it should be used by either adding back minerals using some buffer or other or by 'cutting' the r/o with regular tap water, proportions depending on the hardness of your own water.
However, rays are fairly hardy and unless you have really terrible tap water it is probably better, as well as easier and cheaper just to use straight aged tap.

thanks for the advice Dave....., the tap water that im dealing with is pretty hard...., and since rays are normally from softer water i thought it would make sense to use the RO filter....... since i have already set up my tank with the RO water...., do you think i should just do a water change with aged tap water......??? If i can buffer the RO water and keep the ph in check...., do you think ill be allright with what i already have (Cycled RO water) Also do you or anyone reccomend any additives for RO water that will help me buffer it a level that is good for rays...., im really not sure what to do at this point.

one other question I have is..... If I end up using aged tap water....., what is the reccomended process for removing chlorine and any other tap water contaminents..... basically I am just trying to figure out what is the best method for me with the seemingly hard tap water that I have in this part of PA...... anyone from the area have any comments??? thanks in advance...

 

[Big Daves Rays]

I use 2 whole house filters to fill my tanks. one with a cheapo sediment filter and then a drinking water carbon filter. The filters are 30.00 each at home depot.