# ro unit?



## sublime guy (Mar 28, 2009)

ok so im looking for something that will make it easy for me to change the ph in my aquariums for optimal conditions. i was thinkin ro unit but then i went to kensfish and saw some other things under that catagory. i saw an api tap water filter wich filters tap water oviously. and i also saw kent ro right. wich is like a chemical that i guess does the same thing as an ro unit idk. im kinda on a budget so any sugestions are appresiated thaks.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Ok, we need more info. change pH from what to what? (optimal depends on which fish). What is your tap water's hardness. What size tank (for little tanks you can just buy water)?


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## sublime guy (Mar 28, 2009)

multiple tanks from 5gals to 20. im starting to breed and i want the most optimal conditions for healthy growth. right now i got guppys who are doing great. but next im trying for some sort of shrimp like crs. my ph is now 7.5 from the tap. im trying to get it closer to 6.5


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Don't. Not for guppies and shrimp. Guppies thrive in alkaline water and catch columnaris and die is soft, acid water. Without enough calcium, shrimp won't molt and guppies get bent spines. What are you using for a reference book (who told you what optimal is)? Is your water soft or hard? Does the pH drift up or down after a few days sitting out? pH is a meaningless number without some measure of dissolved salts. TDS, gH, dH, even specific gravity. Don't even think about changing a tank's pH without knowing something about its hardness.

RO water, like distilled or deionized water has no electrolytes. Its good for blending with extremely hard (lots of minerals) water to soften it for blackwater fish like rams, tetras, cories, & other fish from the amazon basin. Fish that come from limestone basins in Mexico die in soft water. 

The pet chains (and the equipment makers) sell this myth of a "community" tank with "optimal" water and fish from all over the world. It makes it easy for them to have a lot of fish that will survive in a middle sort of water chemistry. But it is a compromise, not optimal for any of the fish. If you really want optimal water, you need to research each individual fish or shrimp and keep it alone or with others from the same place (a biotope tank).


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## sublime guy (Mar 28, 2009)

that last part was my plan with breeding i dont want lil shrimp running around with bigger neons that will just gobble em up. i used planetinverts.com for my shrimp info and they said 6.5 is optimal for breeding crs. my water is 7.5. so what your saying is dont buy anything and just play with my water and give some other tests. let it sit out and test and stuff


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Yes. If you're water is soft to start with, the pH could drift down without you doing anything. If it is only slightly hard you could do it with something like SeaChem's "acid regulator". Even if you decide you want RO, I would buy a coupe gallons from wal-mart and experiment by blending it with your tap water to find what ratio you will need. Once you calculate how much RO water you'd need, you'll have a better idea what size unit to get and whether it would pay vs. just buying water. You could also try rain-water. 

RO units do work, but they are expensive enough you need to be sure you need it. There are often cheap units on e-bay and craigslist, but be careful, replacing the cartridge (ion exchange resin) can be more money than a new unit.


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## sublime guy (Mar 28, 2009)

ok thx. so what test kits would i need . just ph and kh or is there anything else?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I prefer gH or both gH and kH or a nice electronic TDS pen. It won't tell you specific contents of your water, just how much stuff is in it. Bu they are less than $20 at places that sell water filters. It would be nice to get full panel once. If you want live plant & Co2, you will definitely want the kH test also. 

RO is also good for salt tanks. Instead of buying salt-water, you buy salt mix and make your own. 

RO is often physically installed in a house's water supply. So not a good thing for an apartment. I just noticed your age. If you are in/about to go off to college, you should avoid any major expenditures. It really sucks to have a kick-a** aquarium setup and have to break it down because you are only allowed a 10 gallon @ school.


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## sublime guy (Mar 28, 2009)

ha ya that would suck but it dosnt matter because im staying home and going local.but thanks for all of your help


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## lennyboy222 (Jan 14, 2010)

If you really want an RO filter, buy one from eBay. You can get one for $50 which I use because my discus prefer soft acidic water. When you mentioned API tap water filter, it might seem at first cheap but it cost $40 to buy those things and you have to replace the filter about 1 a month for $15. If you buy an RO filter for $50 on eBay, you don't have to change the filter for at least 6 months. Plus, the filters all cost $30 so it is a great deal. And Kent RO right is a chemical to treat RO water. RO water has no mineral and buffering capacity and simply adding RO water straight into the tank is a guarantee failure. You have to use buffering chemical like kent RO right to treat RO water. Another option is to add tap water mixed with RO water to add some buffer to the water. Hope this helps.


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