Re: [Killietalk] RO

[LeeH920226 at aol_com]

A few details about hot water and RO units are useful to keep in mind. Hot 
water heaters have a sacrificial zinc rod which adds zinc ions to the water. 
These ions can be toxic to fish if excessive. If you use an RO unit, the "RO" 
water will be free of those metal ions, but the waste water will be enriched 
(slightly) with metal ions. Calcium and Magnesium ions are generally good for 
fish, Zinc, Iron, Copper, Manganese are not, at least in significant amounts. So, 
if you utilize the "waste" water for your harder water fish, beware of using 
water from your hot water heater. In my water changing system, I use the 
"waste" water from my RO unit but run it through a carbon filter to remove the 
chlorine/chloramine and through a 50 foot coil of tubing immersed in a heated (in 
the winter) 50 gallon barrel where I store "conditioned" water for manual water 
replacements. That water is heated by a 250 watt Titanium aquarium heater and 
can be dipped or pumped as needed. It is filled manually via a bypass to my 
tank distribution system. When rainfall is adequate, I prefer rain water to RO 
water, for reasons I don't understand, so I cannot explain it.

Lee Harper
Media PA
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