So my towns water has over the acceptable lever of manganese as well as brown water (iron likely) on the other side. I’m reading the DI cartridge removes electrolyte for plants. I have powdered ferts by the pound from aquariumfertilizer.com so I’m not too worried about building up the water although it will take time to configure. MY MAIN QUESTION: I want to grow water mellow swords Java fern etc. should I remove the DI filter or go full RO/DI? I just got it and it’s still working on filling my reserve so I have nothing to report besides my water quality was reallllly bad plants died discus had Illnesses brought by stress. Cloudy tank and the iron reacting with the oxygenated water caused what I call brown snow. What would you recommend for successful plant growth? Does the DI matter that much? Thank you for your interest
RO vs RO/DI for planted discuss tank??
- Thread starter Drew__ster
- Start date
RO will take out something like 90% of the minerals in the water, DI will just get most of the rest. For what you want I wouldn't bother with DI, but it's usually easy to just plug in a DI canister after the RO later. But for what you want, I think it's at best overkill, at worst another consumable to replace.
DI units remove things like nitrite, nitrate, ammonium etc. Anything with a positive or negative charge is basically an ion.
Neither fish nor plants can thrive or even survive in pure water. If you start with pure water you have to remineralize. If you use only an RO membrane and no DI resin, you will not know what is left in the water you make. Therefore you will not be sure what you need to add back.
I would not bet iron is what makes your water browning. It very well may be sediment. So you may need a sediment filter on any RO or RO/DI unit you get,
I have used a portable 75 gpd RO/DI for about a decade now. I use it for a tank with Altum angels. However, I have soft (83 ppm TDS or lower) and neutral pH well water. I take it down to a TDS in the high 50s low 60s and the pH on the 6.0 to 6.3 range. I do not remineralize, I mix it 11::9, RO/DI::Tap. I also would take the unit with me to weekend fish events if I was selling in the vendor room. I would mix my RO/DI with hotel tap water as the best way to keep fish safe over the weekend.
I suggest you do a bit more research into RO/DI before deciding how to approach things to best solve your issues. This is a decent place to start https://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2016/01/use-of-ro-di-softwater-in-aquariums.html
I am not suggesting you purchase any of the products on the site, but the info is decent. I got my unit from Abundant Flow- this is the unit I have. I got it with the garden hose input as I have my utility sink set to accept them. I also have all the Python adapters so I can connect hoses with garden hose connections to about any faucet.
You should be sure to read about reminieralizing and buffering RO/DI water for discus and plants.
Neither fish nor plants can thrive or even survive in pure water. If you start with pure water you have to remineralize. If you use only an RO membrane and no DI resin, you will not know what is left in the water you make. Therefore you will not be sure what you need to add back.
I would not bet iron is what makes your water browning. It very well may be sediment. So you may need a sediment filter on any RO or RO/DI unit you get,
I have used a portable 75 gpd RO/DI for about a decade now. I use it for a tank with Altum angels. However, I have soft (83 ppm TDS or lower) and neutral pH well water. I take it down to a TDS in the high 50s low 60s and the pH on the 6.0 to 6.3 range. I do not remineralize, I mix it 11::9, RO/DI::Tap. I also would take the unit with me to weekend fish events if I was selling in the vendor room. I would mix my RO/DI with hotel tap water as the best way to keep fish safe over the weekend.
I suggest you do a bit more research into RO/DI before deciding how to approach things to best solve your issues. This is a decent place to start https://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2016/01/use-of-ro-di-softwater-in-aquariums.html
I am not suggesting you purchase any of the products on the site, but the info is decent. I got my unit from Abundant Flow- this is the unit I have. I got it with the garden hose input as I have my utility sink set to accept them. I also have all the Python adapters so I can connect hoses with garden hose connections to about any faucet.
You should be sure to read about reminieralizing and buffering RO/DI water for discus and plants.
Agree with the above.
RO/DI is really only good for those fish and plants that have evolved to live in mineral free environments, and in many of those type habitats, aquatic plant do not thrive, but even these species may need remineralization.
If you do get a unit, it may be best to mix your tap with it. so experimenting with different ratios to determine amount may be needed.
With research you may discover RO isn't good for humans either.
RO/DI is really only good for those fish and plants that have evolved to live in mineral free environments, and in many of those type habitats, aquatic plant do not thrive, but even these species may need remineralization.
If you do get a unit, it may be best to mix your tap with it. so experimenting with different ratios to determine amount may be needed.
With research you may discover RO isn't good for humans either.