water softener and fish tank....?

Question

I am getting a water softener/reverse osmosis installed in my house and i'm worried about my freshwater fish tank. Does anyone know if the osmosis water will be safe for the fish?

Answer 1

The answer mainly depends on the type of fish you want to keep. In general, things hould be fine, although water by way of reverse osmosis is fairly well stripped of any dissolved salts. This makes things a little dicey when it comes to the pH balance of your tank.

First off, there are fish that love soft water -- most South American fish, SE Asian fish love it, and that's where you'll find a huge variety of popular tropical freshwater fish. If you want to keep Central American fish, goldfish/koi, or African fish (the lakes), you will need to take other measures to buffer the water up to a proper level.

With little to no salts dissolved in the water, the pH can move around pretty easily, and this can be distressing to the fish -- think of it like swinging the temperature way up or down. You may want to try some pH neutral buffer salts to add, as these will help prevent such swings.

The breakdown of fish wastes, etc., in the tank tend to release acidic byproducts, so in general, the pH will drop, drop, and drop over time. It will move back up a smidge when you do a water change, and then will drop down again over time. you may not be able to keep up with it and eventually the pH level will get very low.

Either bypass the filtration system for a good 1/4 of the water when filling or doing water changes, or consider the addition of the buffers (you should be able to find them online or at most pet/fish stores).

Hope it helps!

Answer 2

The water will be perfectly safe to use but will be completey devoid of all minerals that we othewise would find in tap water and also of chlorine. Many aquariusts use r/o (reverse osmosis) water in their tanks because it also rids the water of any potentially harmful bacteria. It is safe but I would try to find an additive to replace the essentials. You could with something like Tetra Blackwater extract. It adds vitamins and plant hormones and will also keep the pH stable. Ask someone at your local pet store to recommend something.

Answer 3

Is the r/o going to be set up to both inside and outside water? I know a few people who have it set up just for inside and if thats the case if you are worried about ph and all the other things people have mentioned here you could simply use an outside hose to get water for your tank.Thats presuming you don't have any problems with the water quality your using now and would like to keep it.

Answer 4

RO water is just fine for fish as long as you buffer it with the correct chemicals. Go to a local petstore and inquire about "Acid Buffer" and "Alkaline Buffer," and use them in your water. Adding these buffers will also harden the water.

Answer 5

I'd love to know the connection between the statement and the question. Was he awol for 24 and claiming to be cleaning a tank? If so I suggest you treat him like fungus and flush.