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RO water

Dosing EI does not automatically add components like Calcium, although you could include Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) or Calcium Sulphate (CaSO4). You could also use GH booster. As far as I can recall anything in these mineralizers can be reproduced so it's not that big of a deal. It's easier and cheaper though to adjust the RO with tap instead of buying more things to remineralize it with (unless your tap is very soft). An advantage of using the commercial products is that the bottle tells you exactly how much product to add to achieve a particular hardness whereas the homegrown stuff has be figured out. This is an advantage if you have a specific kH/GH target for fish, but otherwise there is no need for accuracy, a pinch of this or that will do.

Cheers,
 
The only reason why I don't want to add anything from my tap water to RO water is because I'm afraid there might be some chemical in there that is potentially hazardous to my shrimp. I had bought some crystal red shrimp in the past and they had all died. Initially I thought it was my tank generating too much ammonia due to the amount of organic in the tank so I setup a new tank with matured filter from the previous tank and just akadama for substrate and yet all the shrimp died. So I concluded that there must be something in the water that is causing the shrimp to die. the only one that managed to survived are the japonica. Haven't tried cherry but I think they will survive in this water too.
 
I use pure RO for my tanks as I've had issues with my tap water in the past. I use a mix of RO Right and Equilibrium as I had some issues with stunting when using Equilibrium on its own (of course it may not have been the cause but coincidence!). I would re-minerlise with something as you need to add the Calcium and Magnesium somehow so why not do it by adding it when doing water changes?
 
If you are dosing with EI and you've got a supply of magnesium sulphate, calcium sulphate, potassium nitrate, potassium sulphate and trace element, that should pretty much cover everything that is in the commercial product isn't it? I don't know what's wrong at the moment but I'm blaming my water for all my dead shrimp atm as everything else is thriving.
 
I use RO cut with tap at 1:4. Remineralising salts were costing me a fortune and I see little need.

I keep meaning to switch to rainwater, but want to fix up an outside plug first so can run an internal in the water butt packed with carbon to reduce impurities/pollutants, etc, just haven't got around to it.

FYI - I've just added a second RO membrane to my unit. So the waste water gets put through again. Should increase water producting massively and also reduce water waste, its the worst thing with RO, the waste. Thank goodness this is a wet country! (Well most of the time ;))

Sam
 
Is there any other way of connecting RO unit besides making a hole in the incoming water supply tube? I'm renting at the moment and I don't think my landlord will be please to see me drilling a hole and causing flood.
 
daniel19831123 said:
If you are dosing with EI and you've got a supply of magnesium sulphate, calcium sulphate, potassium nitrate, potassium sulphate and trace element, that should pretty much cover everything that is in the commercial product isn't it? I don't know what's wrong at the moment but I'm blaming my water for all my dead shrimp atm as everything else is thriving.

But the point is that most people won't be dosing Calcium and Magnesium unless they are adding it to the standard EI mix - it isn't there as most people will get enough Calcium at least through their tap water. The GH boosters are mainly Ca and MgSO4 (with a good whack of K2SO4 and other trace minerals such as Iron and various others) So if you add the Calcium and Magnesium to the EI mix then you are basically adding your own version of the GH booster! As you said the other things are being added by your EI mix. I think you can safely leave the K2SO4 out as you will get lots of K from the KNO3 and KPO4.

You can sometimes get tap fittings to screw onto taps to fit the RO unit but the saddle valves pierce a small whole in the pipe and if you put it somewhere out the way it'd be hard to notice...
 
daniel19831123 said:
Is there any other way of connecting RO unit besides making a hole in the incoming water supply tube? I'm renting at the moment and I don't think my landlord will be please to see me drilling a hole and causing flood.

I connect mine up to the outside tap using a hozeloc connector. I wasn't to keen on putting a hope in my pipes either.

Sam
 
So I'm assuming that if you are moving house, you just leave the saddle piercing kit on the tube and screw it off and just take the RO unit with you? Do I need to switch off the main prior to connecting? I came across this webpage which shows the step by step installation.

http://www.melevsreef.com/rodi_install.html

this guy has obviously shut his main supply off as he took the piercing kit off the pipe after piercing it. Can I connect all the required tubing prior to piercing and just pierced it and run the whole thing through? I'm very tempted to just do that if it's that's small and un-noticeable. My faucet doesn't really comply to the norm and I see no way of connecting it to an adaptor.

IMG_0693.jpg


All the adaptor I found online have mentioned about male or female thread. As far as I can tell there is no thread on this one. It's so old and there was so much calcification in there that I can't feel a thing. (It felt disgusting too!)

http://www.ro-man.com/shop/product_info ... cts_id/300

I found this adaptor on Ro-man webpage but don't think it will fit to mine even using the jubilee type clip as my faucet is squarish and I'm pretty sure there'll be plenty of leakage around. Will be heading into the local homebase or focus tomorrow and see if I can find any adaptor to suit this faucet.
 
And I've also came across another question while debating within myself if I should get a remineraliser. What happen to the carbonate in the tap water when it goes through RO? I assumed that it will be removed from the water and hence the soft water. Assuming that one is remineralising using different salt as if he/she is dosing for a planted tank, would the water ph be stable when CO2 is injected in it? There will no longer be any carbonate in the water to buffer the system. One might be adding Calcium to the water but if it's calcium sulphate, it will only add the the gH and not the kH. Am I right in saying this?
 
Dan,
As you say, carbonates don't have anything to do with the water being hard, although high carbonates often accompany hard water. Carbonates affect the alkalinity of the water, or it's buffering ability. The hardness in water is due to the Calcium and Magnesium. An RO filter can be though of as than a filter with a "mesh" size more or less the same size as a water molecule. All molecules or particles the same size or smaller get through the mesh. All particles of larger size get trapped in the net. If you have a target kH you can just add baking soda to raise the kH, or you can add a small amount of tap water back in. I don't think it's necessary though. When you start adding CO2 the pH will fall as it does normally but the final ph value will be low compared to if you were injecting into tap water. So the ph in a CO2 injected tank is not stable anyway as the gas goes on and off. This is not really a big deal.

Cheers,
 
I fitted my saddle valve with the water still turned on and there was no problem at all. Like you say, when you leave then you'd leave the saddle valve (or needle clamp) in place and simply get another one.

The other fittings would screw onto a tap like an outside garden tap, not a domestic one. I think you'll be best with the needle or saddle valve.

As to KH, as Clive says, isn't really that big a deal. I run my tanks at home on pure RO water remineralised with a small amount (1 teaspoon per 25 litres) of RO Right or Equilibirum which means I end up with about 3dGH and 0dKH. I've never had a "ph crash" (if such a thing really happens) and lost fish. And I really don't think I've been lucky. pH swings with addition or lack of CO2 and the fish carry on breeding and swimming happily (I do keep exclusively soft water loving fish though).
 
Just bought an 50GPD 3 stage RO unit from RO-man. Decided to use the needle clamp. I sure hope it work out as what I have plan in my head. It would be a nightmare if it starts leaking as I have no idea where the main shut off in this house is. I've tried looking.
 
daniel19831123 said:
Just bought an 50GPD 3 stage RO unit from RO-man. Decided to use the needle clamp. I sure hope it work out as what I have plan in my head. It would be a nightmare if it starts leaking as I have no idea where the main shut off in this house is. I've tried looking.

Good choice. That's the unit I have. I would locate your shut off first though, just in case! There is usually a tap in the kitchen not far from the sink or if you have a garage nearby it may be there. It'll just be a small stopcock tap, easy to overlook!
 
I'll be using it my room as there is a sink here. Been looking inside and outside and even in storage room. There is a few boxes that's lock and one of them had 2 pipes coming out of it. I'm pretty darn sure that's where the shut off is. hacking into that box would be the last thing I want to do.

Edit : Found the freaking tap turn off! Who would have guess it's hidden right behind the toilet seat in the toilet downstairs! I swear that's why my water taste funny.... nauseaus now.....
 
Just a quick comment about remineralising the RO. Use tap, the remineralising things are expensive and I found the Kent one was way off when I followed the guide. It gave me a completely different TDS from that stated. Use tap water instead, it adds all the good things back in and its dirt cheap.

Sam
 
Well when you keep CRS with your tap water and you ended up lossing nearly thousands of pound.... I think you wouoldn't want to add anything in your tap into your RO. :D I think I will stick to remineralising with my salts
 
bought 18 SS/SSS grade CRS and 40 A grade CRS. Plonk them in the tank thinking it's matured and I'm keeping up with my tank maintenence and it should be alright. Within 1 day I lose 50% of it. by the end of 2 weeks I'm left with 1 A grade. well you go work the maths. It kills me to think about the figures
 
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