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Using RO water
Hi Killinuts!
I might as well jump in the Reverse Osmosis debate
with my two cents worth.
For me it has been the best improvement in killie
keeping and breeding since I started in the Hobby. I
lived in San Diego for many years and the water was
very, very hard. Most Aphyosemions will not breed
in water that hard. I struggled for many years using
resin beds, distilled water by the gallon. any method
that I could find to lower the water hardness. Much
of the time I only had limited success. It was very
frustrating to not be able to breed numerous killies.
When the price of RO units dropped I purchased
one from Ron Harlan. It was the best purchase I have
ever made concerning breeding fish. I did not use the
RO directly as it was about 10 ppm, and a tank would
crash if you overfed BBS or other food. Not enough
buffering ability left in the water ( I know, I tried to
use RO straight at first, and learned quickly when I
lost some fish.)
After some trial and error I came up with a water
mixture that worked extremely well. I added small
amounts of tap water to the RO until it measured
between 30 and 50 ppm hardness. I adjusted the ph
to 6.4. I have been able to breed over 90% of plant
spawners in quantity with this water mixture. This
does not apply to Nothos however.
I have continued to the present time using this
mixture. If your local water is so good that you do
not have to treat it, consider yourself very lucky.
However, many locales have nasty water where an
RO unit and a little knowledge can save the day.
I have been a serious breeder for a long time of
all types of tropical fish, not just killies, and I only
use
what works, be it food, water, temperature or anything
else. The RO unit is a necessity in my fish breeding
efforts. I recommend it to all.
Whew! Thats my two cents worth. :+}
Monty
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