Ro/di water

[custommike]

So after deciding that there is no way to have a healthy tank without using RO/DI water i will no longer be using anything but. The question that remains is, is it still necessary to use a water conditioner like "seachem prime" when using RO/DI?

[kau_cinta_ku]

no need to add anything to RODI water except salt. the rodi system should take out everything the prime does.

[demonsp]

No it isnt. Also adding any additive should always be a last resort. In many cases problems can be solves by changing water source , flow , water changes , overfeeding , overstocking , ect...
But this isnt in all cases.

[custommike]

well i switched to ro/di after an ammonia problem came up, come to find out that the water changes that i had been doing had the same levels of ammonia that my tank did. so its ro/di from here on out thanks for the help!

[demonsp]

Not 100% sure but i dont think water has amonia or enough to shoo any readings. This usaully from overfeeding , overstocking , underskimming , or incorrect water changes.

[custommike]

well my tank was reading at .25ppm. the reason this became a problem was because this tank has been up for quite some time with no change in feeding, and a relatively low stock of fish. so yesterday i made up a batch of water to do a change and that water tested at the same level of .25ppm i was very surprised to find that also. other than the city adding it for some reason, i have no idea why ammonia would have been present.

[AZDesertRat]

.25 in the tap water or the RO water? In the tap it can be from chloramines being added as a residual disinfectant by the water provider. If its in the RO water you have problems.

[Duff Man]

What are you using to test? Test strips are not the best. If using a test kit and you are getting these readings, try taking a sample to your LFS to see what they get as a result. I know that they'll do it for free around me, and I think that's pretty standard at many locations.

[custommike]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11092722#post11092722 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AZDesertRat
.25 in the tap water or the RO water? In the tap it can be from chloramines being added as a residual disinfectant by the water provider. If its in the RO water you have problems. thanks, i think that is the case. my water was coming from the tap. i'm not a chemist but i am pretty sure that i am doing the test right, with a kit that was recommended at an LFS. i am going to bring in a sample to an LFS tomorrow, i have thought that that would be a good idea for a while.