Remineralisation salts for RO water

[michaelg210]

I came across this awesome thread in google. I am a novice but positive I have come to the right place, this thread was talking about home-made-remineralization...... I understood enough to know finally someone can answer my question.

Are Seachem's Equilibruim and Kent Marine's R/O Right, virtually identical products? (I wanted Seachem, but no one sells it in my area, so had to go with Kent Marine's).

Kent tech support won't tell me anything beyond the MSDS and Seachem Claims "other" products, (i.e. Kent Marine's) use sodium chloride.

Kent also tells me that R/O Right has all necessary trace/mineral elements needed for a planted tank.

My question is basically, if using R/O water, and Kent Marine's R/O Right, is that all I need or should I be adding some other elements / minerals / etc.

Sorry for the bother, but I could learn a lot here, or at least what little I need to know.

Thanks

mjg

PS small tank, 10G has 2 crypts, 2 java ferns, 1 anubia, 1 Betta, 1 Dwarf Pleco, an AC 20 filter, and a heater, using 2x 10W, 6500K Zoo Med's Sun Lights. (in case that matters)

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
The problem is that very few companies will tell you what their products actually contain.

If you want to go DIY there is a very good site in the UK (James' Planted Tank) with all the details for cheaper versions of many of the products sold by Kent etc.

Have a look here: <http://www.jsctech.co.uk/theplantedtank/RO.htm>

cheers Darrel

 

[Mike Wise]

I personally never understood the need to add minerals to R/O water. Unless you have particularly nasty tap water, why not just add some tap back to the R/O? Freshwater fishes are designed to keep water and associated minerals out of their bodies, so minor quantities of minerals in the water don't affect the fish. Proper feeding is much more valuable. Plants on the other hand ...

 

[ed seeley]

I've used both products for my RO water (I use them instead of tap water as my tap water is really quite rubbish and a simple teaspoon of salts in each container is very easy for me to manage rather than mixing back with tap water).

Seachem's product takes longer to dissolve and I had issues with plant growth when using that (though they may not be related as there are so many other variables in a planted tank).

Kent's dissolved much more rapidly and also I never had plant growth issues with it.

Both products are supposed to be broadly the same chemical composition but they do appear different (Seachem's is more powdery whereas Kent's is more crystalline in appearance). Seachem do list the chemical composition of their products online which is a big plus to Seachem to my mind!

Both only raise GH.

RO Right says it includes major salts of sodium, magnesium, calcium and potassium with all the necessary minor and trace elements.

Equilibrium is derived from potassium sulphate, calcium sulphate, magnesium sulphate, ferric sulphate and manganese sulphate.

 

[strohl71]

I have used both the Kent product and the Seachem product for my planted tank.

I live on a private well and water is very high in iron and is not suitable for my tank. Therefore I use RO water and would never add my own tap back in for remineralization purposes.

The Seachem product claims to be more ideal for the planted tank because it does not use sodium chloride. However, I think my tank actually does better when I use Kent RO Right. It dissolves faster and I do not see any evidence of my plants suffering. I want my water to remain on the soft side so I really do not add much anyway. My apisto's and tetras seem happy enough.

By the way, you mention using Kent Marine RO right. There is actually a separate plain Kent RO Right. If you tank is freshwater, then I would stick with the regular Kent RO Right.

 

[viejo]

By the way, you mention using Kent Marine RO right. There is actually a separate plain Kent RO Right. If you tank is freshwater, then I would stick with the regular Kent RO Right.

I would suspect that the marine version is merely more concentrated & using a lesser amount would perhaps produce the same results more econonomically.