All very valid cm
.....strong statement Nath, most likely for most down to affordability or simply not the need to use RO. Most fish are hugely adaptable and many species thrive in tap water of all chemistries. More sensitive species will benefit from matching more closely their natural waters, but that's then down to researching your purchase, or choosing species suited to your tanks/local authority water. I think for most simply implementing good tank husbandry is more important in keeping healthy fish.Whitey89 said:Why allow your beloved fish or shrimp to merely survive, when you could allow them to thrive?
That is the question.
Ady34 said:.....strong statement Nath, most likely for most down to affordability or simply not the need to use RO. Most fish are hugely adaptable and many species thrive in tap water of all chemistries. More sensitive species will benefit from matching more closely their natural waters, but that's then down to researching your purchase, or choosing species suited to your tanks/local authority water. I think for most simply implementing good tank husbandry is more important in keeping healthy fish.Whitey89 said:Why allow your beloved fish or shrimp to merely survive, when you could allow them to thrive?
That is the question.
RO is an extension of the hobby much like co2, which is considered by some but not all. I think saying that your fish/shrimp merely survive in non RO water is a bit ott....some species may require it, but most do not and then it's down to the hobbyist and retailers to ensure the correct fauna is put into our tanks.
Cheerio,
Ady
Well I dont know the answer to that but, you certainly dont need RO water to achieve that!Whitey89 said:Why allow your beloved fish or shrimp to merely survive, when you could allow them to thrive?
That is the question.
Yeah I appreciate this, for those who want more sensitive species its a no brainer when tap doesn't suit. For others they choose species which will live happily in their tap water perametersWhitey89 said:Hey mate,
It's not merely a claim about Fauna. If I used my regular tap water, my CRS would not be anywhere near as happy as they are currently.
You have a luxury in that your tap water is around 80 TDS straight out the tap, so you do not require an RO unit whatsoever. Which is bliss. But my tap readings can come out between 250-300. Which in terms of breeding CRS doesn't work.
I was speaking very specifically, in a sense as my tap water doesn't suit my needs. And that's having happy, breeding CRS.
Cheers,
foxfish said:Fish keepers have been using RO units for as long as I can remember, I was selling the Purity on Tap range 30 years ago so certainly nothing new there!
The problems I have with using them revolves around the extremely high amount of waste water they produce, the high maintenance, the really slow production of the desired pure water & the cost of a decent sized unit!
I don't have a problem with this. As already stated, our domestic water consumption for aquariums is negligible to the billions of gallons of water used in industry, or even compared to the massive waste allowed to occur by water supply companies who do nothing about the endless leaks on the mains supply.
You really need a decent sized carbon pre filter as well & you really need very good mains water pressure.
A booster pump can make all the difference to the ROs performance & reduce the waste considerably but again more maintenance & hassle.
Most domestic pressure is suitable, but as you say a booster pump will help and they are not that expensive.
The small pores in the membrane of a reverse osmosis plant cannot block dangerous chemicals like pesticides, herbicides, and chlorine!
So in order to remove them a carbon filter has to be used & regularly maintained.
Another disadvantage of reverse osmosis is that it ends up removing the healthy, naturally occurring minerals meaning you need to add minerals back to the pure water!
In comparison to the other water treatment options, reverse osmosis is a very slow option but it does produce very pure water - especially if used with a large carbon filter & booster pump.
Finely ... how do you know if the filter is working at it best potential?
How can you accurately test the outflow to check the unit is doing its job without taking a sample to a test lab?
Performance would be pretty much guaranteed when new but, even units fitted with a flow meter & by using the manufacturer guideline about changing the Carbon & RO membrane wont guarantee the purity of the outflow after a certain amount of use?
Every type of filter diminishes in effectiveness as time passes by. It doesn't mean we should not use them though, just that like everything else, we must maintain them accordingly. You can test TDS with a TDS pen that costs £15.
Having said all of that I would still advise RO water for certain applications especially in reef keeping & breeding certain fish.
They are part of our hobby, everyone should try one out but I doubt many will keep up their prolonged use unless you are very dedicated!
NatureBoy said:RO units should come under the hosepipe ban regulations....
NatureBoy said:RO units should come under the hosepipe ban regulations....
Antipofish said:NatureBoy said:RO units should come under the hosepipe ban regulations....
Don''t you think that would be a bit disastrous ?? All of a sudden you go from keeping your fish in tip top water to keeping them in parameters totally different to what they are used to ? For marine tanks it could wipe them out, and most fish would not be happy. I don't think you have thought that through. People might lose £1000's worth of fish and livestock.
NatureBoy said:Antipofish said:NatureBoy said:RO units should come under the hosepipe ban regulations....
Don''t you think that would be a bit disastrous ?? All of a sudden you go from keeping your fish in tip top water to keeping them in parameters totally different to what they are used to ? For marine tanks it could wipe them out, and most fish would not be happy. I don't think you have thought that through. People might lose £1000's worth of fish and livestock.
It's a contentious point, but perhaps it needs to be made, particularly when weighing up the choice to go with RO. I like Darrel's approach - a massive storage of rainwater. Gardeners face the same worries I'm sure with the plants they may lose in their gardens should a hose pipe ban be enforced. I've thought it through enough to have made my mind up to never keep marine, or buy an RO unit but to live within the parameters that come out the tap.
Clifford said:If you have a decent sized tank you'd need truly epic amounts of storage.
Considering the size of the OP's tank and assuming "standard" 50% weekly changes and an optimistic 5:1 rejection rate he'd need to find storage for over 700l a week.
If you had that much storage you'd be better off harvesting rainwater.
I'm by no means anti RO but unless you're running a Nano or a commercial car wash you are putting an awful lot of clean, fresh water straight down the drain.