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RO vs Well water

Joined
Dec 4, 2008
Messages
505
I am getting a new 65 gallon aquarium and i realized it is going to be really hard to get that much water with out an RO machine. Our well water is considered better then tap water. It does have minerals and stuff like that in there. Does RO completely get all the "minerals and stuff" out? Also has any one ever gotten RO and well tested then compared. I am just trying to find another way to get water instead of making 10 trips to my water store to get water.
 
The DI (Deionization) part of an RO/DI system (usually final stage in aquarium water filtering) is a special resin that removes the minerals and metals but not the "stuff". I believe Thales uses (or did) extra DI filtering but no RO (Reverse Osmosis) for his water at home. Some ground water systems(wells) add chlorine to reduce bacteria and you will need to remove this (either with a nutralizer of by letting it aerate) if added. As for testing for the other "stuff" I can't offer any help. Our water is so full of mud (I am at the end of a water line) that even two sets of particulate filters before the RO/DI unit leaves mud for the unit to remove.
 
Well i started doing some research on our well. The minerals that are added are all natural. Now my only question is isnt salt a mineral. So if the minerals are all natural doesnt that mean they could easily be found in our tanks or the ocean? I am not disagreeing on any thing i am just wondering if i could use my water because if you have read above i need to some how get 65 gallons of water to my house.
 
Minerals are all natural but not all desirable. Your salt mix adds back what is desirable for the aquarium. Copper among other metals are found in sea water but the concentration is small for the volume. You must think about the container you are using when you try to rationalize "natural" ingredients. The ocean is a very large body of mostly forgiving (thankfully but possibly getting less so) water, it mixes and dilutes constantly refreshes itself. We can't even begin to emulate it in an aquarium so we remove as much of the harmful ingredients as we can and renew the water supply with water exchanges to keep it livable.
 

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