freshwater fish
- Thread starter colotl
- Start date
Skeptic_07
New member
RO is hugely beneficial although it has no buffering capability. Your friend should invest in some 'RO right' or another one of those water bufferring products. what kind of fish does he have?
JimKelly12203
New member
RO is great, but it's devoid of any ions or beneficial components that are found in the rivers and streams and oceans and lakes that fish reside in.
The primary reason why RO water is useful in reef aquaria is that the synthetic salts we use in our tanks (at least in theory) provide said ions. So, the benefit of RO in a reef aquarium is that it provides a truly blank slate to mix with the salt we buy.
For fresh water fish, you're probably going to want to add suppliments depending on the type of fish you have.
That's just IMO. I work at a pharma company and we have RO units everywhere. If, for example, i were to drink RO water for a week, it would leech all of the beneficial ions out of my system. Not a good thing. I'm sure the same is true of aquarium fish on some level.
The primary reason why RO water is useful in reef aquaria is that the synthetic salts we use in our tanks (at least in theory) provide said ions. So, the benefit of RO in a reef aquarium is that it provides a truly blank slate to mix with the salt we buy.
For fresh water fish, you're probably going to want to add suppliments depending on the type of fish you have.
That's just IMO. I work at a pharma company and we have RO units everywhere. If, for example, i were to drink RO water for a week, it would leech all of the beneficial ions out of my system. Not a good thing. I'm sure the same is true of aquarium fish on some level.
colotl
New member
Great info guys...
He has cichlids in his aquarium. I work in a lab and use the RO/DI system here for my top off and for mixing my own water. This system takes up a room that is 12ftx20ft....huge!! Some guy here drank it for a week and noticed pits in his teeth....
few more question....
You guys are mentioning RO and not RO/DI. Why?
Will RO/DI devoid the water of even more minerals?
What supplements would he use if he went with RO/DI?
Thanks again
He has cichlids in his aquarium. I work in a lab and use the RO/DI system here for my top off and for mixing my own water. This system takes up a room that is 12ftx20ft....huge!! Some guy here drank it for a week and noticed pits in his teeth....
few more question....
You guys are mentioning RO and not RO/DI. Why?
Will RO/DI devoid the water of even more minerals?
What supplements would he use if he went with RO/DI?
Thanks again
. Loachmaniac
New member
RO water is most beneficial for freshwater if you live in an area with hard water and want to breed soft water species.
By mixing tap and RO water, you can adjust your water's hardness downward and make it more "comfortable" for the softwater fish. The drop in hardness can also trigger spawning in some species.
Typical softwater fish are southamerican fish like tetras, south american cichlids and cories, and SE asian fish like loaches.
For african cichlids and most common livebearers, it's a waste since they tend to like hard water.
By mixing tap and RO water, you can adjust your water's hardness downward and make it more "comfortable" for the softwater fish. The drop in hardness can also trigger spawning in some species.
Typical softwater fish are southamerican fish like tetras, south american cichlids and cories, and SE asian fish like loaches.
For african cichlids and most common livebearers, it's a waste since they tend to like hard water.
tkeracer619
New member
I drink RO water all the time, for the last year.... I have no pits and am not void of any ions I need to function.
It's just clean water. If the case were anything different the FDA would not allow all of those millions of bottles full of RO to be sold to the population as drinking water.
I have no idea about using one in FW.
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RO/DI water is not good for you to drink (or to put straight in a F/W tank). The principles behind this are simple....
- RO/DI = 0 ppt salts (Na+, Cl-, K+, Ca++, Mg++)
- Human body = lots o' ppt salts
- This means that salts will leave your body, in favor of the low concentration RO/DI water
I am not sure that this action can remove the molecules from your teeth, but it definitely can screw with your system. Water in bottles is only RO, and has some minerals left...but just using a brita or pur to remove the 'taste' would be the best thing. We need all these ions for our body to function properly (nerve impulse, muscle contractions)....
As for freshwater fish, it will definitely kill them in a short period of time if there is no addition of salts to the water. FW fish have a concentration of ~9ppt salts in their blood, and a low concentration of water.....put them if RO/DI.....and that gradient is even larger! The ions rush out and water rushes in through the gills and skin, resulting in a very unhappy, very dead fish.
If you want hard water just at some of our saltwater salt, ~3g/L (or 3ppt). This will add plenty of ions to help the fish osmoregulate. For African cichlids, you would also need to add some buffers to help simulate their natural water.
Hope that helps.
- RO/DI = 0 ppt salts (Na+, Cl-, K+, Ca++, Mg++)
- Human body = lots o' ppt salts
- This means that salts will leave your body, in favor of the low concentration RO/DI water
I am not sure that this action can remove the molecules from your teeth, but it definitely can screw with your system. Water in bottles is only RO, and has some minerals left...but just using a brita or pur to remove the 'taste' would be the best thing. We need all these ions for our body to function properly (nerve impulse, muscle contractions)....
As for freshwater fish, it will definitely kill them in a short period of time if there is no addition of salts to the water. FW fish have a concentration of ~9ppt salts in their blood, and a low concentration of water.....put them if RO/DI.....and that gradient is even larger! The ions rush out and water rushes in through the gills and skin, resulting in a very unhappy, very dead fish.
If you want hard water just at some of our saltwater salt, ~3g/L (or 3ppt). This will add plenty of ions to help the fish osmoregulate. For African cichlids, you would also need to add some buffers to help simulate their natural water.
Hope that helps.
reefergeorge
New member
I always was told rodi will kill fw fish.
And drinking it will not do you any harm.
And drinking it will not do you any harm.
adambaron
New member
I have Africans and use rodi. I do use the chiclid lake salt and buffer to get ions and keep the ph up. I've been doing this for about a year and the tank hasn't looked better. I do only do it because I have the rodi for the saltwater fish and now I don't have to buy the stuff to take out chlorine.
Also rodi will mess our system up if you drink it. Basically it is like the anti-Gatorade.
Also rodi will mess our system up if you drink it. Basically it is like the anti-Gatorade.
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