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RE: Reconstituting RO/DI Water



1) The percentage depends on the target parameters you want. I'm known for going rather soft, and my water is rather hard (15 degrees dH and 15 KH). So I might add from a pint to a gallon of tap per 10 gallons of r/o. And sometimes I just add all r/o. My r/o has a conductivity of about 20µ, and this is ideal for breeding some of my more challenging species.

The formula for knowing how much to add is rather simple. I guess I'll restate it: Multiply the number of gallons times the hardness for each water source, add the two results, and then divide this sum by the total number of gallons. So if my r/o is a half dH and my tap is 15dH, then 10 gallons of r/o plus a gallon of tap sums up to 5 +15 = 20. Divide that by 11 gallons and I see the result is close to 2 dH.

But I also have invested in various "salts": Calcium chloride, Calcium sulfate, Magnesium sulfate, and Potassium chloride. These allow me to mix the right combination of ions -- in case I really, really want to replicate some readings. But for now, I've only done that for experiments when working with challenging tetras.

I guess I should also mention that for my spawning tanks (for black water tetras) I often use straight r/o with black water extract. I think the extract adds a little something while keeping the water quite soft and acidic, but the fish are not stressed.


2) I assume that Instant Ocean is mixed for marine use, and not to mimic Amazonian streams. Read the product's ionic content. Does it sound comparable to what you want? My point is this, while it might be important to add the right amount of hardness back, it is also important to add the right types hardness back.


I would assume that R/O Right would be better than Instant Ocean, especially if you are keeping soft water fishes like most Apistos or tetras.


3) Yeah, I know. I realized the double meaning of "salt" when I wrote my response. As a result I just got winked at ;-) there... got you back ;-)


--Randy


At 10:24 PM 3/23/2002, you wrote:
Randy
1. at what percentage of bypass water or tap water would you recommend
adding?
2. I realize the original question was stated with NaCl. however I use
Instant Ocean as my tank "salt" of choice if and when I add any "salt" at
all. Would this change your recommendation at all.
3. the calcium, magnesium, and sulfate that are in your water are also salts
(Dad was a chemist) So I would say you do recommend adding salt, just not
NaCl. ;)

Erick


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