What do I have to do with the RO water before I put it in my tank, this would be for discus? Thank you.
RO water with discus
- Thread starter Hatchey
- Start date
While I'm no expert on Discus or RO water for that matter, I think you need to mix equal amounts of RO water and aged Tap water depending on your tap water hardness. I would never use straight RO water.
Before you go to an RO check your water after its been aged for at least 24hrs. To age it just put it in a container with an airstone bubbling away. Depending on your tapwater you may not need RO. When I lived in Cleveland I used water straight from the tap using only a dechlorinator in my discus tanks. They lived and successfully spawned many times over the course of the 10 yrs I lived there. Now I have well water, so if I were to go back to discus I'd have to use an RO.
If you feel you still need RO I'd try 2:1 RO to tap then check the hardness and pH Then tweek the ratio as needed. If you go with pure RO you will have to add trace elements back and buffer the pH. pH is very unstable in pure water [RO].
Glad to see your asking several questions before you dive in.
If you feel you still need RO I'd try 2:1 RO to tap then check the hardness and pH Then tweek the ratio as needed. If you go with pure RO you will have to add trace elements back and buffer the pH. pH is very unstable in pure water [RO].
Glad to see your asking several questions before you dive in.
Thanks for the replies, my problem is that tap has a ph of 8.4 and is not the greatest quality and I wouldn't trust discus in it.
depends on what you want from your discus and what type. if you are looking to breed wilds then yes, you'll need to go with RO. many domestics are raised and bred in high ph. my wilds are in a steady 7.6 ph and are doing great, but it's a show tank and I realize that even if they lay eggs they would not hatch. using RO will work but be careful. a steady high ph is much better and easier on your fish then a changing ph.
Thanks for all the replies 2:1 ro water and tap sounds good for me thanks. What other tips do you have for discus like a UV sterilizer?
You need to find out what kind of water they have been kept in. As already stated most discus nowadays are kept in regular old tap water. I would actually be worried about using RO to be honest. Check with the breeder or whatever and find out what they are using.
ro is generally saved for breeding.ive been taking care of discus for years and they need the minerlas that are in tap water. which an ro filter takes away. if you where to use ro be sure to add atleast some tap water. and the best thing for the ph is API ph buffer. 7.0. thats what ive been using all these years and i havent gone wrong with it. and where i live (miami) the water comes out at 8.2 so i dont think ph would be a problem man.
but by far the best thing you could do is just by a big trash can. fill it up with water and put a air pump. age it for 36 hours so the chlorine and chlorimine evaporate. then all you need is ph buffer and no decolorizer. the less chemicals you use the better
but by far the best thing you could do is just by a big trash can. fill it up with water and put a air pump. age it for 36 hours so the chlorine and chlorimine evaporate. then all you need is ph buffer and no decolorizer. the less chemicals you use the better
I was thinkin about using pete moss to lower my PH, but I have well water and its kinda crapy and had some bad stuff in it. Will this hurt them?