Freshwater question

[L0b0sa08]

I know this is a reefing community but my friend had a good question and wanted to ask here and see what people think. He has a freshwater tank and we were wondering if he could use RO DI water for water changes? Thanks everyone.

 

[ziggy2]

What kind of fish?

 

[bdunn12]

I don't see why not.

 

[L0b0sa08]

He's got a beta and some neon tetras. Oh and an albino catfish.

 

[OllieNZ]

It will need remineralising.

 

[CarrieB]

I would think that RO DI water would be very soft (no minerals in it). Some FW fish like that and some prefer hard water. I think the tetras generally like soft.


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[billdogg]

Tee it off before the Di cartridge. As mentioned above, the DI will only take things out that you would need to add back into the water. We do that by mixing salt into the water.

hth

 

[Argo747]

Could he just use the waste water from an RODI, or does that have too much junk in it?

 

[heathlindner25]

I have fresh and saltwater tanks ,I also have a ro di unit. I fill up a Brute trash can at least 10 times a month, my water bill remains around $30 a month. So I have a unit ,and my water bill is low,and I still don't use it on my freshwater systems. They like tap water dechlorinated

 

[Frostyfishman]

Just use tap water with prime

 

[ScienceRulez]

Just use tap water with prime

If you want to use filtered water because of worries about pesticides, fluoride, etc, tap directly off the membrane, don't use the resin. The only time you could get away with using RODI is topping up the tank with fresh water fish.

Using prime is well worth it however, its very good.

 

[cincyjim]

I use my RODI for my freshwater tank all the time and never had any issues. The tank is a cichlid tank and the fish and tank are just fine.

 

[eastlake]

There's no problem at all using RO/DI water especially for the fish you've mentioned as they'll enjoy soft water, the female neon tetras can actually build up calcium in their egg tubes if kept for a prolonged period of time in tap water decimating their lifespan. The only thing they'll need to do is mix in some RO right or a similar product. It replenishes the trace elements that were stripped from the water during the RO/DI process.

 

[Lfunnyfarm]

Jim,
Are they African cichlids or South Americans? As you probably know, Africans like hard water and high pH. South Americans like low pH and moderate to low hardness. So Africans would probably not thrive in a consistent environment of RODI water whereas South Americans might be okay.

 

[disc1]

When I used to keep African cichlids, I topped off my tank with the waste water from my RODI. It's already been dechlorinated by the carbon stage, and the calcium and alkalinity was boosted a little from what the tap water was to begin with.

 

[turbogarrett]

I also use my rodi waste water for my freshwater tank without issue. I have mostly large sa cichlids.