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mixing with rodi water

4K views 18 replies 4 participants last post by  Quagulator 
#1 ·
im sure this has been answered many times so i do apologize. i have looked up and read some other posts, where is was some info i was looking for but not straight up enough for me i guess haha. i am new to planted freshwater tanks, i have had a reef tank going for the last 5 years. i have started with just dechlorinated tap water but i'm just wanting to cut everything out and put quality water in the tank. i live in socal where our water is very hard and has all kinds of stuff in it. i was wanting to reconstitute my rodi water to be fit for the planted tank but was unsure what to use. i have seem more than a few different things from brightwell. neo tiger KH+/GH+, and about 3 or 4 other products they have that are GH+ or KH+, not both. so i am confused on what i would need, i understand the alkalinity and everything but just not sure what products to use and how. i have a 20g long with some plants already and some rasboras. im using flourite substrate, wasnt sure if the gravel would make it to where i need another product or not either. i was hoping for a straight answer of a produst to use and mix to what amount. another question i had was do i mix my top off water too? or do i use pure rodi like i would for my reef since elements dont evap?


any help with be very appreciated

-Tim
 
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#2 ·
Quick answer - Absolutely RO remineralized is worth it for an ex-reefer.

Quick reference:

Per 1 US Gallon:
0.386 Grams CaSO4 - 30ppm Ca, 4.2 degrees gH
0.384 Grams MgSO4 - 10ppm Mg, 2.3 degrees gH
0.135 Grams KHCO3 - 14ppm K, 1.0 degrees kH

Get to know this website / calculator, it will be your new best friend:

https://rotalabutterfly.com/nutrient-calculator.php
 
#4 ·
Top-off with pure RO (no need for DI in planted tanks really, it doesn't hurt anything just not needed)

You can buy those things on GLA, Amazon or any other planted tank online store, brewing supply stores as well.

EDIT: You'll want a jewelry scale accurate up to 0.001 grams and comes with a calibration weight / ability to be calibrated to accuretly measure these things out.
 
#6 ·
thank you again!!!
The numbers I threw out in my earlier post are ballpark numbers that most of us running RO water are "close to"

Some are a little higher, others a little lower.

We typically like to see Ca:Mg ratios being 4:1 or 3:1, some cases 2:1 will work.

Ca anywhere from 20 - 40 ppm
Mg anywhere from 5 - 15 ppm

So the numbers I spat out are kind of right in the middle of those ranges.

Remember to mix your RO water to these levels prior to adding the water to the tank. you can upset osmotic pressure if you do a large water change with pure RO and then dump these things in. It's best to work to these numbers slowly if the tank is already set up with live stock. Once you're at your target Ca / Mg / kH levels, simply match the new water and then perform a water change.

Start up a journal on here, everyone loves following along with new tank builds.
 
#7 · (Edited by Moderator)
thanks man. i really appreciate it. god to know the target values get get things close. ya was was going to do a series of small water changes over a week or so to get things on the right track and not just change all the water all at once. trust me, with having a reef tank i know how plants/ coral hate sudden changes. almost have had a whole colony of a coral die from adding too much mag in at one time. i'll try to start a journal, i'm pretty horrible about keeping up on posts and that stuff tho lol. the tank is a work in progress though. i had the tank for some clowns that were breeding but they stopped so they are in the main display again. i didnt tear the tank down because i liked hearing the water at night in the bedrrom. the wife suggested to make it a fresh water tank and throw some fish in there..... little did she know how much a fresh tank can snowball hahaha. she just rolls he eyes. she does like the tank though and our 2 year old loves them

So now that I have visited the gla website, now what style of ferts do most do? Do I need specific test kits to know my values? Or is there a write up about all this already? I feel like a total noob again coming to freshwater haha. I have the reef dialed in, I’m sure it’s just a matter of learning it all. Some more help or direction would help a lot. Thank you again!!
 
#8 ·
I want to make sure I’m thinking about this right... so I have ordered the chemicals that were listed earlier. Those are just for mixing new tank water, correct? The are not the ferts needed correct? I ordered the NPK and M ferts pack from gla also. I mix these dry in the ratios I come up with on the calculator website and dose these during the week? Mix N P and K for one day and M will be the alternated day right? Sorry I’m thinking out loud but want to make sure I’m thinking about it correctly. Thank you again for all the help

-tim
 
#9 ·
Yes, Ca, Mg and potassium bicarbonate are for reconstituting RO waters minerals/KH. You can also add a touch of sodium bicarbonate if you want to raise PH/KH a touch more.

You need to find fert dosage amount of those in relation to your planting density and type of plants, lighting and co2 systems. Doesn’t sound like you have co2 system and you haven’t mentioned what light and plants you have. A pic of tank would help immensely, it’s very, very hard to recommend dosing if you don’t know what your dosing for. To much ferts and light you’ll have a algae farm, to little and plants won’t have enough food, growth will stall and algae will again have upper hand because plants can’t outcompete the algae when their starving. It’s all about finding balance between light, carbon availability, fert dosing plus maintenance and water change routines.

Go to rotalabutterfly site, figure those amounts for you tank and do both EI low light weekly and full EI dosing and read those instructions. Your dosing rate will be somewhere in between those amounts. I myself would rather mix ferts up in a liquid solutions do dose with that. It’s a 2 bottle system, one for macro (NPK) and other bottle for micros.

NilocG dosing page has some premix solution formulas for EI dosing as well as for doing PPS Pro dosing. Do the 5ml per 20gal solution, 2 500ml bottles, one for NPK, one for micro mix.

https://www.nilocg.com/dosing-information/

Now remember that will give you a 5ml per 20gal EI dosing solution for tanks that have good light, co2 injection and fast growing stem plants, you’ll dose that 5ml amounts 2-4x a week.

Now if your tank is med light, no co2 injection and a bunch of easy low demand type plants you can cut that amount to 1/3 or maybe 1/2 and only dose 2-3x a week.

It’s about finding that balance, making sure that plants always have the 12+ nutrients they need to fluorish in solution but also not dosing in gross excess. Don’t go reading what someone on here doses for their mega lighted, co2 super charged system and try applying it to your tank unless it fits those parameters.
 
#10 ·
Shoot I forgot to say what I have. 20 gallon long. It’s on CO2 now. I have an AI prime light since I already had it. Adjusted the light to a program I found on here a few weeks ago. Not sure if it’s bright enough yet. I don’t have a par meter so I have slowly brightened it over time. I’m using Flourite substrate. I honestly forget the names of the plants I have haha. But here’s a picture
 

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#11 ·
Are you monitoring the co2 in anyway? How much water are you changing a week.

I would do that 5ml/20gal formula above but start your tank at 4ml 2x a week, then measure nitrate and phosphate buildup at end of week right before water change. Mainly because your plants are very easy plants and planting density low. 4ml will dose 5.62ppm of nitrate on each dose, with EI style dosing you want see your nutrient levels slowly rise throughout the week and then you do 50% +- water change at end of week to reset levels. If you see nitrate and phosphate have dropped at end of week go to 3x a week for both macro and micros, you want keep same ratios of those the same.

Your light is also going to be very center weighted with a lot of fall off towards the ends on that long a tank. Keep doing what your doing raising light levels but know as you raise that the uptake of nutrients of plants will also increase so you will probably need to adjust your dosage up also.

If you do see unwanted algae popping up just back off on light and dosing slightly and give it a couple weeks fade away.

Once you zero in on your tanks needs it gets easier, almost on autopilot. Give tank this much light, this much co2, dose this much and especially get a set routine of water change/pruning/cleaning. Only thing that upsets that balance is usually you. Add a bunch more plants, fert needs will go up. Slack off on water changes and/or let plants get way overgrown from lack of pruning and then come along and mow the whole tank down the plants uptake will also slow down for a few days.

Get plants what they need and have steady parameters and they will fluorish, when they fluorish their the best biofilter in your tank and subsequently your fish will also fluorish and thrive.
 
#12 ·
I have a drop checker. It’s on the opposite side of the tank. It hasn’t changed to green. The bubble counter is doing about 1 bubble per second. I’ve slowly been bumping it up. Ya I figured that light would lack intensity on the ends but I already had the light so I figured I’d use it. One of these days I’ll get a different light or get a second ai prime.

Ya making the solutions sound like the easier route to dose the tank. Thank you for all the input. It has helped me a lot. I’ll give an update in a couple weeks to show how things are doing. Thanks again!!
 
#13 ·
I have a drop checker. It’s on the opposite side of the tank. It hasn’t changed to green. The bubble counter is doing about 1 bubble per second.!
You'll be at 3-4 bubbles per second to get that drop checker lime green i'd think.

Ensure CO2 is dropping the pH of the tank water a full 1.0 – 1.2. To do this, measure the pH of tank water with no CO2 dissolved in it, and then measure again 2-3 hours after CO2 has been running. Ensure the drop in pH is a full 1.0-1.2. If the drop is not there yet, slowly up CO2 over a few weeks until at least a 1.0 drop is achieved, and watch fish / livestock carefully. Adjust CO2 down if you notice fish gasping at the surface and consider running an airstone at night when pushing a 1.2 or greater drop. For example, a tank water pH of 7.5 with no CO2 dissolved in it, should reach a pH of 6.5 – 6.3 for CO2 to really shine, and for maximum plant health.
Consistency in CO2 levels is key to plant health. Keep CO2 levels as stable as possible once a desirable level has been reached during the entirety of the photoperiod.
 
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