Tracyp Posted April 8, 2016 Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 So I have given up an getting any semblance of quality water from my well. I've tried pre-treating the water by running through a basic filter and aerating for a week but the KH is 21 dKh and GH about 70-90 ppm no good for my planted tank or cichlid tank. So I'm thinking of getting an RO system as buying bottled water is pricey as is running my distiller 24/7 but as I am a total newbie to RO systems I was hoping for some advice. I have one tank upstairs one downstairs and so lugging buckets of water isn't ideal but I'm not sure how these systems work. Could I run a hose from the RO system to the tank? I'm not looking for anything terribly fancy just functional so what should I be looking for in a system? Any help is much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted April 8, 2016 Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 No good for planted tank? Great water I would suggest. By far Mother Nature provides no zero tds water in any lake, river or stream. If you have issues with a planted tank I'd be happy to look over your water param #'s and give suggestions...one is never to get an ro for a planted tank. When I ran a salt tank I purchased an ro unit from these guys and happy with product and service. http://www.maxwaterflow.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceturf Posted April 9, 2016 Report Share Posted April 9, 2016 I've always looked at the RO systems, all the hoses and the plastic connections bother me in terms of their long term performance, what have owners found? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted April 9, 2016 Report Share Posted April 9, 2016 zero issues with my setup, been 2 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AccidentalAquarist Posted April 9, 2016 Report Share Posted April 9, 2016 Agree, an RO system is unlikely to be the best option. When I lived in Bragg Creek our well water was very hard, and had severe fluctuation throughout the year. I had to use a water softener system, combined with water from rain barrels for WC's. Plants did well in that. I really would advise against using a RO water for planted tanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracyp Posted April 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 Thanks for the info, I didn't realize plants would be ok with the hard water. The KH and GH seem to be too high for most of my fish from what I've heard but I'm new to testing these parameters I usually just keep an eye on the usual ph, nitrate and nitrites. The leaves on my plants are yellowing and just not thriving, I believe they are anubias, and crypts. Not sure if it's due to under fertilizing, I decreased feeding and fertilizing a few months ago as I was having excessive algae growth and a snail population boom. I have a satellite plus LED light that's on about 6 hrs a day (decreased it due to algae etc.) It only has the white and blue spectrum as it was a bit of a DIY fixer upper project when I bought it. Any suggestions on appropriate fertilizing ( use flourish without iron as I have a few ammano shrimp in there), etc would be much appreciated! So should I use the tap water for the planted tank and either distilled or RO for my cichlids? I'm just sketched with this tap water as I can't even drink or cook with it do to the metallic taste, and sulfur smell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AccidentalAquarist Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 Thanks for the info, I didn't realize plants would be ok with the hard water. The KH and GH seem to be too high for most of my fish from what I've heard but I'm new to testing these parameters I usually just keep an eye on the usual ph, nitrate and nitrites. The leaves on my plants are yellowing and just not thriving, I believe they are anubias, and crypts. Not sure if it's due to under fertilizing, I decreased feeding and fertilizing a few months ago as I was having excessive algae growth and a snail population boom. I have a satellite plus LED light that's on about 6 hrs a day (decreased it due to algae etc.) It only has the white and blue spectrum as it was a bit of a DIY fixer upper project when I bought it. Any suggestions on appropriate fertilizing ( use flourish without iron as I have a few ammano shrimp in there), etc would be much appreciated! So should I use the tap water for the planted tank and either distilled or RO for my cichlids? I'm just sketched with this tap water as I can't even drink or cook with it do to the metallic taste, and sulfur smell. The hardness shouldn't be too much of a problem as they adapt relatively quickly. But for the yellowing leaves I would recommend googling the barr report forums there is a comprehensive list of plant symptom/nutrient list there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 If anything for plants the ratio between nitrate and phosphate and having stable conditions is what will provide success. You can have success with 'strange' parameters however you will find little success with fluctuating parameters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicr Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 http://www.miyabi-aqua.com/tips-and-techniques/about-plant-health This is a good guide, if you haven't found one yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biodives Posted August 22, 2016 Report Share Posted August 22, 2016 I just got "Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants" by Peter Hiscock in the mail today. I only had time to skim the content but one section discusses hard vs soft water and the impact on plants specifically. One problem is that hard water is typically basic which converts CO2 to the bicarbonate form that has poor bioavailability for plants. Hard water plants are adapted to handle that but soft water plants can suffer unless combined with CO2 addition. I need to reread that section and will update if needed. On a different note; I visited Aqua Central this weekend and asked if they ever bring in Tonina fluviatilis. The answer was no because it doesn't survive in Edmonton's hard water. http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/plantfinder/details.php?id=88 indicates that hardness should be at least below 5. So there are definately plants that do not like hard water, but if you are flexible with your plant choice then there are also plants that thrive specifically in hard water. So matching the plant to your water may be more effective than matching your water to the plant. On yet another note; I am more concerned about the metallic and sulfurous smell. Sulfur forms a very insoluble salt with many metals including iron. I wonder if your yellow leaves are due to metal deficiency. Even though the metals may be there, the plant may not be able to take them up efficiently. I don't know if it is easy to test for sulfur or if there is an easy way to get rid of it if it is a problem. For what it is worth, I'm running a planted tank in RO water. So far all plants are growing well but the tank has been up for only 4 weeks with the water at 50 ppm only for the last week or two. Time will tell how well this works but I am limiting myself to plants that come from soft acidic low-nutrient clear water streams, so they should be able or even happy with these conditions. Bart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geleen Posted August 23, 2016 Report Share Posted August 23, 2016 I have had good service from these guys ...inexpensive as well https://www.aquasafecanada.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracyp Posted August 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2016 Thank you everyone for the information and so sorry for the delayed response! I've actually decided to get out of the hobby, I just don't have the time these tanks deserve If anyone is interested I'm asking $200 for the 55 gallon community tank -everything including stock . I have a 55 gallon cichlid tank as well that I'm asking $200 for everything included.PIck-up only I'm located in Keoma about 30 mins from Calgary and 25 mins from Airdrie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bradjames13 Posted October 18, 2016 Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 Question I wanna get a RO system but I've been hearing about the portables RO systems that just hook up to the tap, are they good units to invest in ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biodives Posted October 19, 2016 Report Share Posted October 19, 2016 I've got one of the portable systems (RO buddy) but didn't like the way it was supposed to hook onto the tap as it prevented proper use of the tap and I didn't want to (dis)connect it each time I needed it. I now have it connected permanently with a T-valve between the building water source and the faucet, so inside the cabinet below the sink. It has been working well since end of July but in time I may need a bigger unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrosionjerry Posted October 25, 2016 Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 There are many good ro systems that can be purchased on ebay and amazon for around 150 dollars... 3 , 4, and 5 stage that can get your water tds down to zero ppm ... easy to hook up to any water tap and for normal use the membranes last about a year before needing replacement. For many of the tetras and soft water fish breeding success becomes easier in my opinion using 2/3 ro water mixed with about 1/3 city of edm water... or just pure ro water to spawn the fish then doing the mix to raise the fry as they need many of the minerals that exist in untreated water for their normal growth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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