Who owns RO units?

[Dead Can Dance]

In the near future, if I start to get CRS, etc. i'd like to know how you all do it. Do you guys use RO units or just lucky enough to have good tap water ?

If you have a RO unit, what type / for how many tanks and how much did it cost ?

Is salty shrimp necessary to bring wp up to par ?

Thanks!

[CNgo2006]

In the near future' date=' if I start to get CRS, etc. i'd like to know how you all do it. Do you guys use RO units or just lucky enough to have good tap water ?

If you have a RO unit, what type / for how many tanks and how much did it cost ?

Is salty shrimp necessary to bring wp up to par ?

Thanks![/quote']

Depending on the quality of your tap water (which may not always be stable) I would recommend using RO water as many of the members would also. As you can always be sure that it is the right WP for your shrimp but because all The TDS will be removed once out from the RO you will need to add salty shrimp to make it perfect for the shrimp.

RO units are quite affordable now look on eBay, you can get the aquarium RO units for around $100 or so, I think it is for 35 gallons per day or pay a bit more for unit that does more per day if required.

[DG17]

Hi Mate,

Im no pro at it but i went out and got a DI/RO unit off the bat all the research i have done has lead me to it, and i personally wouldnt use anything else other than salty shrimp based on the fact every onr swears by it.

i paid 200 (roughly) for my DI/RO unit and it does roughly 180 litres a day. this is not a drinkable water unit and is for my aquarium. i got it from FSA www.filtersystemsaustralia.com

Like i said im no pro just going off what im hearing and reading but Dean from Boss aquaria will be able to help you with alot of the shrimp products you need for them to thrive, and heaps of knowledge on this forum. ive only been here a couple of months and ive forgotten more that knew when first joining the forum

:)

[Dead Can Dance]

I just remembered we have a water filter on our sink. We never use it. But if I used it, would it effect any of our normal wp ?

It was already when we bought the house. http://www.sinkwarehouse.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Aquila-100.pdf

[CNgo2006]

That looks as if it is just a filter for drinking water not an RO/DI system, it removes chemicals and bad odours/tastes but not minerals, also it will not make the water PH neutral.

[BlueBolts]

That's just a water filter...really need a RO/DI unit, especially since you're living NOR. Tap water TDS is 350+. RO/Di unit & salty shrimp is the way to go.

[Dead Can Dance]

BB, I know you have a lot of tanks to care for so need more RO water. What would you recommend for me who only has a total on ~100 litres of water to care for? :)

That's just a water filter...really need a RO/DI unit, especially since you're living NOR. Tap water TDS is 350+. RO/Di unit & salty shrimp is the way to go.

[Dead Can Dance]

Hope this is okay to post...

But is something like this (when in stock), okay ?

http://thereefshop.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11&products_id=2204&zenid=e98087fa2903f3864f7173c7791daf85

[CNgo2006]

Something like this is fine, I have something similar, have been using it for months now and has been great. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-S-35GPD-Aquarium-Reverse-Osmosis-Water-Filters-DI-Resin-Filter-Fish-Tanks-/120959533775?pt=AU_Pet_Supplies&hash=item1c29c002cf

[Dead Can Dance]

Another question, what are you using to test tds ?*sigh* I love all the new toys/accessories to buy but my wife hates it!

Something like this is fine, I have something similar, have been using it for months now and has been great. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-S-35GPD-Aquarium-Reverse-Osmosis-Water-Filters-DI-Resin-Filter-Fish-Tanks-/120959533775?pt=AU_Pet_Supplies&hash=item1c29c002cf

[Robert]

Im luck enough to have good water, not saying that RO isnt great (which it is) but it isnt necessary. one to two years ago we didnt use RO nor did we have salty shrimp. We went with what came from the tap, used indian almond leaves and ada soil/up aqua soil to buffer our ph and it worked fine.

Personally i use water straight from the tap into my tank which is often frown upon but it works great for me. One step better would be to age the water in tubs with an air stone and a few indian almond leaves. I however dont endorse the use of dechlorinators, if tds is your thing then check out the results of before and after adding seachem prime to your water. My water starts at roughly 120-150tds which is low then i add 4 different type of vitamins and minerals straight into my tank (again frown upon but it works for me.)

As they say; If it aint broke...

[CNgo2006]

Another question' date=' what are you using to test tds ?

*sigh* I love all the new toys/accessories to buy but my wife hates it![/quote']

There are plenty of TDS pens on the market...

[CNgo2006]

Im luck enough to have good water' date=' not saying that RO isnt great (which it is) but it isnt necessary. one to two years ago we didnt use RO nor did we have salty shrimp. We went with what came from the tap, used indian almond leaves and ada soil/up aqua soil to buffer our ph and it worked fine.

Personally i use water straight from the tap into my tank which is often frown upon but it works great for me. One step better would be to age the water in tubs with an air stone and a few indian almond leaves. I however dont endorse the use of dechlorinators, if tds is your thing then check out the results of before and after adding seachem prime to your water. My water starts at roughly 120-150tds which is low then i add 4 different type of vitamins and minerals straight into my tank (again frown upon but it works for me.)

As they say; If it aint broke...[/quote']

Yeah but you don't know when the water will come out bad it only takes one day to wipe out all your shrimp, Not long ago we had a burst mains pipe and the water was coming out brown, lets just say not fit for consumption or aquarium use. So for around $100 you have the security and peace of mind.

[Robert]

Yeah but you don't know when the water will come out bad it only takes one day to wipe out all your shrimp' date=' Not long ago we had a burst mains pipe and the water was coming out brown, lets just say not fit for consumption or aquarium use. So for around $100 you have the security and peace of mind.[/quote']

Ill take my chances, Like i said, ive been doing it for two years the same old way and others have too. The philosophy for me is not to complicate things as it'll leave a greater room for error. Sure RO will give you low ph and low tds water but then you start mixing all different chemicals into it. Ive had a friend lose thousands of dollars worth of shrimp by trying the salty shrimp range. Its not the water that wiped out the shrimp because it was RO but the salty shrimp additive. Not saying it is a bad product because all the positive reviews outweigh the negative reviews but it only takes one bad batch. Probability of a bad batch coming for a million dollar warehouse versus the probability that there will be pipe works with water coming from a multi billion dollar supplier. Each there own.

[planted]

been using just tap water since CRS first became available in Aus and never had any problems at all with shrimp deaths, they also breed very well too.

i just age the water for around 2 weeks in a 220ltr barrel with a sponge filter to move the water around,which is bought up to tank temp before it gets pumped into the tank.

prime added just in case.

last i checked "couple of years ago" water was around 7.6 - 7.8 pH and Adelaide water is renowned for being very hard.

wouldn't have a clue on water specifics now though as i never test anymore ?

the only problem i did have though was when i used to keep discus, that the eggs just wouldn't hatch as the water was just too hard for them to hatch.

even used to keep wild discus in the Adelaide water too with no problems at all and they used to lay eggs too ;)

saying that though i was one of the first if not the first in Adelaide to breed thorichthys ellioti and plenty of them in straight Adelaide water :)

[MrShrimp]

If you decide to use shrimp soil and add tap water, then the soil will have to work hard to lower the ph from 7.6 to around 6-6.5. But if you use RO with shrimp soil them soil does not have to work as hard which means the buffering of the soil would last longer. For example ADA soil has a life span around 18 month of buffering if RO water is used but if tap water is use the the soil wouldn't last that long.i think tap or RO water can breed shrimps with positive and negative effect but one thing for sure is you would have to change shrimp soil more often if tap water is added. Just my opinion :)

[BlueBolts]

Something like this is fine' date=' I have something similar, have been using it for months now and has been great. [url']http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-S-35GPD-Aquarium-Reverse-Osmosis-Water-Filters-DI-Resin-Filter-Fish-Tanks-/120959533775?pt=AU_Pet_Supplies&hash=item1c29c002cf

My total water volume of ALl my tanks is ONLy 600lt, and I use a similar unit Cngo2006 recommended above. Work great, portable and compact, and takes 2-3 hours to fill 2 x 20 lt drums. I re-fill the drums 1-2 times a week.

The use of tap water is really dependable upon area's. In your case living NOR, our water hear is terrible, and inconsistence, with high TDS, so for the more demanding shrimps etc.....definitely RO/DI water, cherries will be OK with tap water.

The main issue with tap water for me is the unexplained death. You just never know whether it was the water, something I did, pollutants ...etc, which used to really really bug me. Now with RO/DI, I can eliminate the water issues straight away, and over the years, I've grown my knowledge base, as I'm able to learnt from MY mistakes, and not just say "perhaps its the water ? ....etc. I often here hobbyist blame products, soil etc....but once you dissect their actions, the truth is quickly revealed, that they may have accidentally and/or not realised that they have contributed to the issue of cleaning their filter too well, using too much peroxide, adding coral chips, dosing no planaria etc..... or weeks later, the wife admitting to using mortein around the tanks to kill the ants !

Really depends on the hobbyist...I hate not to know, and although I'm naturally a risk taker, there's really no room for that once you are dealing with $$$$ shrimps, as you'll quickly realise precaution is the ONLY way to go ! Just my 2 cents !

[Dead Can Dance]

I get one answer and makes me think of 3+ questions. :)

1. I put Indian almond leads in the water container, I've had 2 in my container for 3 weeks. Should I replace them once a ..... ?

2. Where to buy salty shrimp ? Cheapest online ?

3. I haven't clean my eheim aquacorner filter for 1 month. How often should I ?

[BlueBolts]

Really depends on volume of water etc..... BUT do put 1+ in your tanks as the shrimps love to graze on them. I don't use IAL in my RO storage drums, but have seen others do it.... probably a good idea, presume once they start breaking down, just dependable upon frequency etc...

Salty shrimp can be purchased from Boss Aquaria, or LFS - Aquotix, both forum sponsor.

I clean/rinse my filter every 6-8 weeks.

[al4n]

Will be interesting to see what our water will be like when WA recycled water program is in full swing.

Water corp had mention the waters pH will be around 9 out of the tap.

[jacet]

ph of 9 out of the tap can not be good for humans over a long period of time....

Things i am getting are a TDS and RO unit when cash is freed up a bit so I just keep on doing the same as a lot of people it looks like straight from the tap with some prime.. yep it works for me but i do stress fro a couple of days after the water change being in qld and all the flooding we have had there has to be stuff in there that is not good so yes it works for me not by choice but by good luck... i just need my luck to last 4 more weeks...

[Squiggle]

Wow, pretty much everything they said, I have RO/DI & salty & wouldn't change a thing, as BB said, knowing the water is always perfect is just piece of mind knowing if something happens :encouragement:

[Dead Can Dance]

Looking at bossaquaria for salty shrimp;

http://www.bossaquaria.com.au/saltyshrimp-minerals/

What's the difference between Bee and Sulawesi ? And how long does a pack last on average ?

[MrShrimp]

From what I know, bee mix doesn't change the ph and Sulawesi will raise your ph to 7.5. Sulawesi mix is good if you want to keep cherries at high ph from RO water. What you want is the bee mix but please ask Dean to get the correct answer.

[al4n]

Looking at bossaquaria for salty shrimp;

http://www.bossaquaria.com.au/saltyshrimp-minerals/

What's the difference between Bee and Sulawesi ? And how long does a pack last on average ?

I bought the 1000g pack, been using it for awhile and it still looks like i havent used it. Pack says good for 6000+ litres.