RO/DI for Malawi's

[Madhatter]

Hi All,

My tap water's Ph. ranges from 7.6-8 normally. I was concerned about "other" factors in my water. It's also fairly hard. I don't recall the exact measurment. Maybe 150-200ppm. I was going to use an RO/DI system to remove "other" factors in the water I can't test for. I'm looking for consistancy. Am I being too cautious? I'm of course going to use arganite base substrate to keep the Ph up and the water hardness. Options?

Thanks!

 

[dogofwar]

Yes - too cautious.

Malawi cichlids are tough fish. Your tap water + aragonite (or the like) sound great for them.

RO/DI will just make doing large, frequent water changes that much more complicated...

As an aside, some people who use RO/DI for making water for soft-water fish use the waste water for Rift lake Species...

Matt

 

[verbal]

As an aside, some people who use RO/DI for making water for soft-water fish use the waste water for Rift lake Species...

Any good links for that? I was thinking of going that route, since I have a big Rift Lake tank and few small softwater tanks.

 

[Nathan]

I use my waste water for everything thats not getting the ro water. I think there was a discus talk last year at pvas where the guy said he uses just the waste water for all his fry. I dont remember what his name was though. Someone from Texas.

 

[Madhatter]

www.bulkreefsupply.com has good pricing for the RO/DI systems.

 

[dogofwar]

Why not just use tap?

Matt

 

[Madhatter]

Why not just use tap?

Matt

Some area's of the country have very hard water. Not the best for softwater fish, ie Discus. Its almost impossible to get hard water to become "soft" without the physical process of Reverse Osmosis.

 

[dogofwar]

But aren't you planning to keep Malawi cichlids (i.e. hard water fish)?

Matt

 

[Madhatter]

I guess I'm just concerned about consistency and unknown chemicals & "bugs" in the water

Sent from my ADR6400L using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[mscichlid]

Check with your local water company. They have water reports that are published on their site.

Your biggest concerns from the tap are:
PH
kH
GH

If your watershed is in farming country, run off is a concern.

The greatest fluctuations in your tap water consistency occurs when the seasons change as the water company and nature affect the pH, kH and gH; i.e. rain amounts, snow amounts, drought, etc.

For Malawi cichlids, research the nominal requirements for kH and gH for your species. Adding buffers to your tap may be necessary if those parameters are below what is required.

 

[Madhatter]

Check with your local water company. They have water reports that are published on their site.

Your biggest concerns from the tap are:
PH
kH
GH

If your watershed is in farming country, run off is a concern.

The greatest fluctuations in your tap water consistency occurs when the seasons change as the water company and nature affect the pH, kH and gH; i.e. rain amounts, snow amounts, drought, etc.

For Malawi cichlids, research the nominal requirements for kH and gH for your species. Adding buffers to your tap may be necessary if those parameters are below what is required.

Thanks Franny much appreciated