RO water

[josephavela]

I don't if this is posted in the rite section but I see people talk bout ro water I'm not to familar with ro water or have ever used it what exactly is it? Where can I get it? Can it be made using a home system? Sorry for my stupidity but any advice will be appreciated.
Thanks

[cichlid1409]

RO = reverse osmosis
DI = deionization

sometimes you also see this as RO/DI water when both are used together, like for a reef tank. RO is a filtration method that forces water across a membrane (osmosis) to filter out impurities. This is generally acompanied by several small pore size (< 10 microns) filters to filter out particulates and a DI cartridge to remove minerals. Typically, you can get both at Local Fish Stores (LFS) or even places like walmart or HEB. yes you can get a home filter check out www.airwaterice.com.

[josephavela]

So basically its just like drinking water you buy by the gallon and I never heard bout DI water which one is netted if used separate n ok up ckeck it thanks

[cichlid1409]

yes like the water you buy by the gallon, but some of that stuff is only filtered by carbon and micron filters while other is RO and more (ozonation, UV, etc.).

sorry but I dont understand your question in your last post.

[josephavela]

oh ok n I'm sorry my question was are ro water and di water two djffrent water and if so which one is better?

[cichlid1409]

DI is an additional filtration performed after RO and micron filtration which removes positively and negatively charged minerals (magnesium, sodium, residual chlorine, iron, copper) from your water that the others do not.
you will not see only DI water but either RO water or RO/DI water. using a DI only would exhaust the resin too fast to be useful for long.

From what I hear you should not drink RO/DI water because of its lack of trace minerals so if thats the purpose only RO is better.

If your using for a reef tank RO/DI is better because the salt has all trace minerals and everything. If RO/DI is used on a freshwater tank solely then you may need to add trace minerals for longterm fish health.

[josephavela]

Oh ok understandable n hey sorry for all the ques. But just two more when is the best time to use ro water? Can you set up a tank using just ro water?

[cichlid1409]

typically in freshwater the use of RO water is to acquire a lower, more acidic pH while trying to keep a fish that thrives in more acidic water like discus or even plants under the same circumstances. not sure if there are any other uses for freshwater but if so maybe someone else will chime in.

wouldn't hurt anything to set up a tank using RO but it will lower the pH of the water so if your keeping fish that like a higher pH like african cichlids I wouldn't use it.

Saltwater creatures are more tempermental to water quality and there are few that wouldnt suggest using only RO/DI water for setup and water changes.

[josephavela]

ok I get it now n hey thanks for all your advicé and time much appreciated cichlid1409