Using RO Water in a Planted Aquarium

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Most popular comments
for Using RO Water in a Planted Aquarium

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Alpha Aquarium - 7 years ago

Say, I know this is an older video, but do you also use an alkaline buffer to raise kh? I want a little bit of kh because my tank has close to zero. I’m also getting pressurized co2 soon and my substrate buffers the ph down below 7 and I’m afraid that with the ro water I’m putting in and the co2 being introduced that it’s just going to make my ph go down dangerously low.

Ian 419 - 7 years ago

Will the equilibrium bring up the pH in the water or do you have to add something to bring it to a desired pH

J. Puetz. - 7 years ago

nice shirt

Robert Ryerson - 7 years ago

I am unclear how to use the calculator on the Seachem web page. Not sure what my Current GH meq/L is or how to measure, got any ideas or suggestions please?

gamer64 - 7 years ago

I am trying to grow algae can I add phosphate.

CraziePeerson - 7 years ago

do all ro water filter system be puted in a sink directly with an adapter? I dont want to fiddle with the pipes at home and im not allowed to do so lol

brans - 7 years ago

hello what kind of R O water filtration system do you recommend for a 300 gl aquarium?

lilblingking1491 - 7 years ago

That tank is beautiful!

HorseGirlb - 7 years ago

I've never used equilibrium, and I'm more of a fan of the liquid supplements which don't cloud or take time to settle like powders do. When I want to raise GH, I use Replenish. I add Fresh Trace for my fish - do I need anything else?

10. comment for Using RO Water in a Planted Aquarium

Julia Bennett - 7 years ago

so for asking this on something so old but is equilibrium the only one that introduces what the plants need ? or will continuum and salty shrimp do it as well? the equilibrium seems like it isn't as fine a powder as salty shrimp, does anyone know if the will have an effect on inverts? I am trying to decide which product is best for me with multiple tanks and multiple species.

FlatPulse Racing - 7 years ago

my tap water is reverse osmosis ..............

garrisonmsmith4321 - 7 years ago

I'm excited to buy plants from you because they are grown in Southern California and the plants dont have to cross a continent

Jonathan Richards - 8 years ago

If I am using rodi water and want to use equilibrium what about the KH??? It says it only fixes the gh. But wouldn't you have 0 KH and a ph disaster incoming???

Vladimir Stojanovic - 7 years ago

And I also want to know what is with KH.

TwistedPilot - 7 years ago

Bicarbonate of soda...

M K Ultra - 7 years ago

Jonathan Richards that's a very good question. Jacob??!

Jake Scot - 8 years ago

don't you mean ro / ...DI water ??

alex 805 - 8 years ago

if you add equilibrium does it make youre water hard that it leaves calcium stains in youre tank?

ss ss - 8 years ago

Equilibrium increases the dGH of the water by a few degrees, and if added to an already hard water aquarium (pointless of course) then it would increase the amount of carbonate deposits on the glass.

What he's doing here is taking near pure water with no hardness at all to begin with, then he's adding the hardness back to it. The benefit of that is you know how much is in there of calcium and magnesium.

My water here is 14GH and is comprised of mostly calcium, but has trace magnesium - which isn't good. You can does epsom salts (MGSO4) to get the ratio right, however, this also raises your overall GH.

10pmgotosleep - 8 years ago

Hi Jacob, one question. Whats the GH, KH of the water after adding the equilibrium?

ss ss - 8 years ago

This is what I was thinking. He didn't talk of the KH at all which is a bit worrying.

Given a few big water changes like this over the months without checking could see the KH drop out and the PH crash.

Syed Abdullah - 8 years ago

can you add in some part of the waste water back into the RO water?

ss ss - 8 years ago

Nope - it would clog the membrane and reduce the life of the unit 4 fold.

As an example, my tap water has a TDS of 250, the unit filters water down to below 10 TDS, so you need to consider how much TDS is being washed out the waste - A LOT!

My waste water from the unit has a TDS of over 380. Imagine running that back through the filter. It now has to give you <10TDS pure water, but has to get that from what is effectively now liquid rock.

Like he said, this water is toxic to drink, or give to pets. I'm not so convinced it can't be used on the garden, because I do and my geraniums are exploding. Probably helped by the fact I rinse my filter mediums in that water.

AlwaysChangingMind - 8 years ago

Will Salty Shrimp be good for a planted shrimp tank?

protopigeon - 8 years ago

This was very informative, thanks :)

20. comment for Using RO Water in a Planted Aquarium

Samuel Cabrera - 8 years ago

Do you have to control the ph if using ro water?

ss ss - 8 years ago

I cut 70% RO/DI with 30% treated tap water. It brings my PH down from 7.8 to 7ph.

IIRC my RO on its own is around 6.0PH.

I then inject pressurised CO2 which drops it to 6.6 - 6.4ph.

If you are cutting with tap water, there shouldn't be any problems. If you are using straight RO water and reminerlising then the KH/GH would be far more important to consider than the PH.

mati dc ccc - 9 years ago

Also algae using desttiled water, but ro water help a lot in aquarium tank !

Beyond Aquatic Design - 9 years ago

jacob HOW ABOUT DOING AN UPDATE ON HOW YOUR RO WATER EXPERIENCE DO!!! THANK YOU IN ADVANCE

Beyond Aquatic Design - 9 years ago

thank you I am really REALLY interested in the results this will make me take CRUCIAL decisions the only problem I see with tap is that it doesn't match with aqua soils!... I thought you weren't gonna answer jejej glad I was wrong .. last thing that I know of, you live in L.A . CA and I went last month I wanted to hit you up but plans changed ok thanx

JacobsAquarium - 9 years ago

+Beyond Aquatic Design Hi, sure I will! Thanks for the recommendation :)

Richard Valerio - 9 years ago

what is your tds in the tank

Duc Ly - 9 years ago

RO is nice to have if you live in an area that doesn't have pure water store in the neighborhood. But where I live, I pay a 40.00 membership for 270 gallons at pure water store. It saves time and money

Starkiller -86 - 7 years ago

Duc Ly ro unit is cheaper in the long run,it pays for itself and only cost £20 a year to replace Di resin and membrane,so people who go out and pay for water are spending more money

Jose Davila - 9 years ago

Hi Jacob, Since your using Seachem Equilibrium you don't mention how you adjust for GH? Can you please do a video how to adjust for GH and KH for Co2 usage thank you. also I have question regarding S. Repens I have it covering the foreground and looks great but all of the sudden in a certain spot the leaves became transparent and melted away or died off but in some areas there is small new growth but all the other plants are fine. Great videos very informative thank you in advanced

punchmau - 9 years ago

Hello Jacob,
How about the KH? How can I obtain good levels of KH with RO water. It seems the Equilibrium Seachem item, only takes care of the GH....(?) Please advise.
-Mauricio

ss ss - 8 years ago

Bicarbonate of soda - it's only what commercial products have in them anyway. Obviously they won't tell you this because effectively they are just selling you water.

BrentoftheUTube - 9 years ago

+punchmau you need to use Alkaline Buffer for KH

RoboNarples2929 - 9 years ago

I use RO water because I already have one for my reef!

John Bacon - 9 years ago

Just ordered a Dolphin! Awesome video. Quick question, what size pump do you use to transfer the RO to your bucket then to the tank?

Mario Aguilera - 9 years ago

Hey Jacob I have a question for you. I used to use replenish in my tank on my ro buddie but found out it was bad for plants, so I switched to equilibrium however using it clouds up my tank for days. In fact it's still cloudy :/ I dilute the solution before adding it in, and I don't even add it directly I add it to the replacement water I'm about to put on. Please help, it's really been a stressful situation ;);)

30. comment for Using RO Water in a Planted Aquarium

Dominick Valiulis - 9 years ago

Exactly what I needed to hear! Thanks a bunch!

JacobsAquarium - 9 years ago

+Dominick Valiulis You're welcome. Thanks for watching! :)

Litos 1 - 9 years ago

This is so true, I started using RO water because my plants and fish keeped dyeing, with the tap city water. RO water is very beneficial to the plants and fish. I will never use tap water

Wastro goode - 9 years ago

what type of water pump do you use to put water back in the tank?

David Trinh - 10 years ago

Jacob! Keep dragon betta fish!!!

Kevin Bowman - 10 years ago

Great video - I love the way you explain things. You make it easy to understand. Thank you.

Fonz - 10 years ago

When are you going to have more rotala rotundifolia on your site?

JacobsAquarium - 10 years ago

I'm trying to grow more as fast as I can. We should have some available in a month or so. Thanks for watching :)

Chainsaw Reptiles - 10 years ago

Wow Awesome Product!!!!!!! How Much Did She Cost Ya?

ss ss - 8 years ago

You can find cheaper units from unbranded sources.... like everything, you will always pay extra for the name.

To be fair, it does look like a very nice unit, but meh, it's not there to be looked at really, is it?

Chainsaw Reptiles - 10 years ago

+JacobsAquarium Mmk Wont Be Having One Of Em For A While

JacobsAquarium - 10 years ago

+Chainsaw Reptiles The RO unit was given to me by my sponsor, AquaFX free of charge for the purposes of making this video. They normally cost a little over a hundred dollars. Thanks for watching :)

Michael Thomas - 10 years ago

Jacob- Thanks for posting this video. The timing is perfect for me as I am deciding between RO & Tap as I re-setup my 90 gallon from a reef to freshwater. I have an existing Spectrum RODI unit and you answered the question regarding if I should reuse it. I will. One question though; Should I remove the DI resin before filling up my aquarium? Can I just place another sediment filter in that chamber. Thanks again! -Mike in oHIo

Tony Howerton - 9 years ago

I am doing the exact same thing. Going to freshwater in my 90. my tap water is 150 tds and ph well over 7.8. I am wanting to do angelfish. what are your suggestions?

cicco - 10 years ago

thanks my aquatic plant bro fore all the good tipps, this was a good Review , good work...

Keith's Planted Aquariums - 10 years ago

Great video as usual!:)

the lazy fish keeper - 10 years ago

now this was a good review. gave both the pros & cons of the product. but really an aquarium in the bath room? just kidding by the way do you still have java moss in stock stay well

JacobsAquarium - 10 years ago

Haha thank you my friend! :) yes we have plenty of it in stock. Here is the link http://www.jacobsaquarium.com/aquarium-plants/java-moss

0 - 10 years ago

It makes sense to use equilibrium 2 have balance in the tank ,,when our equilibrium gives us balance so we can walk right ,,,thanks for sharing the R O information,,,very informational information as always,,,,hope your having a good day, ,tank on big thumbs-up broski ttyl

0 - 10 years ago

B4 I even start 2 watch this I must say big thumbs-up on the intro

JacobsAquarium - 10 years ago

Thanks friend! :)

AQUADESIGN by aquamaniac - 10 years ago

Nice video.
The problem of using RO units is the cost effectiveness.
They tend to be a very expensive way to fight algae.
Most of the water gets wasted, in marine tanks this is almost mandatory to to keep your expensive corals alive but you can keep healthy algae free plants without RO water.
Still for he who can afford it there is benefits to it.

Starkiller -86 - 7 years ago

AQUADESIGN by aquamaniac they are not expensive,the membrane only needs replacing every 6-7 months and the replacements are only £20,it costs more to keep buying tap water conditioner,if you can’t justify that then you are in the wrong hobby,

ss ss - 8 years ago

My RO/DI unit costs me about £30 a year to maintain and replace canisters/membranes.

If someone can't justify £2 a month, then I don't think aquariums are the hobby for that person.