Is my tapwater hardness too high?

[john6]

I am looking to reduce costs of di resin for my ro unit, i need it for my reef tank but wondering if i can get away with tap water for my freshwater tank.
ive always used ro/di for my Discus but now its planted im looking at the tapwater, Kh is 12 dkh and GH is 25 dgh, is that too high for my tank to use as straight tapwater?

 

[eminor]

I am looking to reduce costs of di resin for my ro unit, i need it for my reef tank but wondering if i can get away with tap water for my freshwater tank.
ive always used ro/di for my Discus but now its planted im looking at the tapwater, Kh is 12 dkh and GH is 25 dgh, is that too high for my tank to use as straight tapwater?

You can grow almost all plant exept sensitive one like myriophyllum tuberculatum, macandra, didiplis, to day i learned that walichii can also grow in hard water, so 95% of plants will grow in that water if you have perfect co2

 

[Null Zero]

There is no doubt its easier to grow many plants in soft water. Hygrophila Pinnatifida, for example, grows like a weed in soft water if you use pressurised Co2 and dose adequately. In hard water, it withers and dies usually, at least in my experience.

Similarly, Toninas, Syngonanthus, Eriocaulons etc are extremely hard if not impossible to grow in really hard water.

I have extremely hard water where i live presently, so i stick to plants that do well in such conditions.

Hygrophila corymbosa grows like a wild weed in hard water for some reason. For a plant that only grows occasionally fully submerged in nature, it grows insanely fast and big in my tank under bright lights but no pressurised Co2. I literally throw bunches of it away every week. i suspect it is able to meet much of its CO2 requirements from the sediment, the way it grows in hard water.

Choose the right plants and you will have no issues. A majority of the plants available in the hobby can be grown in hard water.

 

[mort]

Can I ask a couple of questions? Are you wanting to breed the discus at all? and do you know where they came from/were bred?

Tbh I'd be more interested in making the water suitable for the discus than I would the plants and you will find plants that work in most situations. Ideally to breed discus you would want soft water and you remineralise ro to achieve this if you live in a hard water area. Some discus are fine to be kept in quite hard water and Stendker discus will live in your tap water (and probably breed) but some other sources might not thrive. You could always reduce the costs a little by mixing tap water with ro and slowly upping the mix ratio every few water changes to see how the plants and fish adapt, you might find that straight tap then becomes an option.

 

[john6]

Can I ask a couple of questions? Are you wanting to breed the discus at all? and do you know where they came from/were bred?

Tbh I'd be more interested in making the water suitable for the discus than I would the plants and you will find plants that work in most situations. Ideally to breed discus you would want soft water and you remineralise ro to achieve this if you live in a hard water area. Some discus are fine to be kept in quite hard water and Stendker discus will live in your tap water (and probably breed) but some other sources might not thrive. You could always reduce the costs a little by mixing tap water with ro and slowly upping the mix ratio every few water changes to see how the plants and fish adapt, you might find that straight tap then becomes an option.

The Discus will always be my priority, ive kept Discus for 20 years. I do breed Discus but that is in a totally different tank and set up. I change 300 litres every fortnight with 50% tap and 50% ro/di, my plan was every water change to up the tap water by 5% and keep an eye on the Discus, if they cope with hard water then all well and good, if not then i would get back to 50/50 but i only asked as i was unsure about the plants as this is my first foray into planted tanks so a complete noob when it comes to plants.

 

[mort]

In that case I wouldn't worry to much about the plants, most will be fine in your water. Hard water isn't optimal for all species but most do just fine in. You read lots and lots about how plants need soft water but a few really respected people just use hard tap water. I'm not sure about the exact water parameters but aquarium gardens use tap in their tanks and they are stunning.

 

[john6]

In that case I wouldn't worry to much about the plants, most will be fine in your water. Hard water isn't optimal for all species but most do just fine in. You read lots and lots about how plants need soft water but a few really respected people just use hard tap water. I'm not sure about the exact water parameters but aquarium gardens use tap in their tanks and they are stunning.

Seems to be the general consensus, thank you.