# RO Water



## Wilksy (27 Feb 2020)

I wonder if I could trouble you for a bit of advise regarding the use of RO water in my tank, I have access to as much RO water as I need as we make it for a process at my factory.  I have a Purite Select and the water produced is 100% pure as we use it for silvering glass.

My question is regarding the addition of minerals I should put back in, I am currently using Aquavitro Mineralize and wonder if this is correct or is there a better/easier obtainable product I should be using, preferably in liquid form.


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## GHNelson (27 Feb 2020)

Hi
The easiest process is to add dechlorinated tapwater!
75% RO 25% Tapwater.
hoggie


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## lazybones51 (27 Feb 2020)

I live in a hard water area and mix 50% RO with 50% tap. Since moving from 100% tap water to this 50/50 mix the plants are growing better than ever. As @hogan53 said it's the most straightforward way to remineralise RO water.


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## Wilksy (27 Feb 2020)

Thanks some times you just don't see the wood for the trees


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## Witcher (27 Feb 2020)

@Wilksy it's also worth of checking the Mg content in your tap, in UK it's usually too low (in relation to other nutrients) even when you'll use 100% tap water so you may want to add some Mg to your RO/tap mix. MgSO4 (epsom salts) is the easiest (and probably cheapest) available source of Mg.


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## Wilksy (27 Feb 2020)

According to my Anglian Drinking Water Quality Report my Mg has an average of 17.5 mg/l


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## jaypeecee (27 Feb 2020)

Wilksy said:


> According to my Anglian Drinking Water Quality Report my Mg has an average of 17.5 mg/l



Hi @Wilksy 

OK, that's a useful figure. A magnesium level of around 10 mg/l seems to be recommended by the likes of JBL, Aquasabi and Aqua Rebell. So, doing a 50:50 mix with tap water may be the way to go. I also suggest that you keep an eye on recent threads discussing the optimum ratio for Ca:Mg:K. I use RO water remineralized using Tropic Marin _Re-Mineral Tropic_ but I'm beginning to wonder if the mix of elements is optimized for planted tanks. I think it may contain too much potassium.

Must dash now. Back later.

JPC


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## Chris PP (11 Jun 2020)

Sorry for jumping in on the thread, just starting with freshwater and coming from a marine background intended to start with all RO water but looking at the comments this could cause me issues ? Am I better using the tap water and then use chemical additives to get the balance in the first instance right? Sorry if this is a bit of a stupid question ? Thanks Chris


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## sparkyweasel (11 Jun 2020)

Or mix RO and tap 50/50, 60/40, or whatever to get a suitable mineral content. 
You can get a tapwater report from your supplier's website so you know what your starting point is. If you post it (maybe start your own thread) with an idea of what plants you want  to grow, and what livestock you are thinking of, you should get some more specific advice.


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## hypnogogia (11 Jun 2020)

jaypeecee said:


> I think it may contain too much potassium.


Did you ever get to the bottom of this?  I also use it in my RO water, so wondering.


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## jaypeecee (11 Jun 2020)

Hi @hypnogogia 


hypnogogia said:


> Did you ever get to the bottom of this? I also use it in my RO water, so wondering.



Yes, I did. It would appear that the potassium content of Tropic Marin _Re-Mineral Tropic_ is fine as far as plants are concerned. But, I would suggest keeping an eye on this as it can reach 90ppm over time dependent on water change frequency, plant stocking density, etc. Left unchecked it could become a risk to your fish and, perhaps, other tank inhabitants. I use the JBL Potassium Test Kit to monitor potassium level.

JPC


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## hypnogogia (11 Jun 2020)

@jaypeecee, that’s helpful, thank you.


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## hypnogogia (12 Jun 2020)

@jaypeecee i actually used to change 50% of my water weekly using RO and remineral.  More recently I’ve started using rainwater cut with tap, but the rainwater from my butt is quite cloudy and a pain for 24 hours after water change.  Going to start filtering it over carbon before I use it to see if that makes a difference.  Have even considered attaching a filter to the water butt (it’s 400L).


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## jaypeecee (12 Jun 2020)

Hi @hypnogogia


hypnogogia said:


> ...the rainwater from my butt is quite cloudy and a pain for 24 hours after water change.  Going to start filtering it over carbon before I use it to see if that makes a difference.  Have even considered attaching a filter to the water butt (it’s 400L).



Any idea what's causing the cloudiness? Particles and/or bacteria? Filtering through activated carbon may answer this question. Please keep us updated.

JPC


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## hypnogogia (12 Jun 2020)

jaypeecee said:


> Hi @hypnogogia
> 
> 
> Any idea what's causing the cloudiness? Particles and/or bacteria? Filtering through activated carbon may answer this question. Please keep us updated.
> ...


Not sure.  I started filtering about 100L over activated carbon for over 12 hours and that didn’t make a difference.  Have now added Purigen to the mix, and the water seems to be clearing up.  
How would I check if it’s bacterial?


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## jaypeecee (12 Jun 2020)

hypnogogia said:


> Have now added Purigen to the mix, and the water seems to be clearing up. How would I check if it’s bacterial?



If the water is clearing through _Purigen_, that suggests organics of some description, doesn't it? @dw1305 uses rainwater. He may be able to shed some light on the cloudiness. I asked about this because I don't like unknowns entering my fish tanks. I'm sure it's possible to filter out any nasties. So, we'd be looking at bacteria and parasites, for example. There are test labs that will be able to analyze your rain water but such tests come at a price - in excess of £100. But, I do have the names of some labs, if you're interested. And @dw1305 probably knows of some, too.

JPC


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## dw1305 (12 Jun 2020)

Hi all, 





jaypeecee said:


> He may be able to shed some light on the cloudiness.


I don't often have cloudy rain water, but it isn't always gin clear and I don't change a huge volume of water every day. If the conductivity ( TDS) <"is in range"> and there are <"swimming _Daphnia__ ">_ I don't worry too much.

cheers Darrel


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