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I am setting up a new 55 gallon freshwater aquarium. I live in an area where the supply water has a high degree of hardness. Is it worthwhile for me to invest in a RO water purifier for my aquarium needs? What are some of the things I need to keep in mind in selecting one? What are some good brands?
The aquarium that I am setting up now is for goldfish, but I will be setting up another one for tropical fish soon. So I will be sharing the RO system between the two.

Using RO can be a pain. It takes all the bad elements from the water and all the good ones too. You have to supplement the water before you can use it. Also is is horribly watseful of water resources, it can waster up to 9 gals for every usable gallon of water you get.
Personally I would rather stick to treated tap water.

2006-10-23 09:44:48 by yayu

This is a look into my aquariums sump, the back of the tank and the reverse osmosis (RO) water system.

I wondered if natural spring water I have access to coming from the ground in the country nearby is an alternative ? Is is comparable ?

I would use spring water if I was you. It just sound more natural. I wonder where you live that you can get spring water.. I had a friend living close to the mountains and he could go up there and get spring water from the melting ice in late spring.

2008-10-18 12:09:33 by janpowell01@att.net

I have just brought a reverse osmosis unit from a guy on ebay, im just wondering what is wrong with the so called "waste" water that comes out of the unit????? it has been running for about 2 hrs and it has produced about 3 buckets of waste water and about 1 bucket of pure water.

Reverse osmosis units only produce a small amount of product water (the good stuff) out of the amount of water that goes into the unit. For example for every five gallons of water that is passed through the unit, you will only get about a gallon of pure water, the other four gallons is waste that shouldn't be used in an aquarium. However it would be perfect for watering plants or washing the car.

2008-12-12 11:40:00 by L_H

I am new to aquariums for fresh water and have one big question. I have found out through trial and error that adding straight RO water to my aquarium might not be a hot idea. When I first started, I used hard water from my garage. Trying to be a reponsible newcommer, I stuck to water changes weekly. After about three 15% water changes, I noticed my alkalinity dropped and my ph started to drop. I have since used just treated tap water, but would like to use RO water. My question is...If i want to use RO water, would I have to use and RO buffer or can I achieve the same results using aquarium salts?

The first question I have to ask is why do you want to use RO water?

The vast majority of fish in the US will do fine in your tap water. However if your tap water is high in nitrates or phosphates then I can understand the desire to use RO water IN ADDITION to the tap water.

When I do use RO or distilled water in a tank I typically use a 50% ratio with tap water. This puts back the minerals needed to maintain a proper pH in the tank, but lowers the nitrates in tap water.

Please disregard everything that JR said. Water changes are necessary for the vast majority of tanks, and are a good thing. The beneficial bacteria in a tank will not be negatively affected by your water changes.

2006-12-31 11:14:44 by dklaas2452

my house has an reverse osmosis filter would it be okay to use it for my saltwater aquarium? like mix the salt in with it yall know what i mean plz reply

Water filtered through reverse osmosis is actually pretty good for your tanks. First i would test the water straight out of the tap to be sure its parameters are good but it should good for your tanks.

2008-12-15 14:14:11 by lilro_otto