To RO or not to RO .... that is the question!

[BIG_CICHLID]

Andrew,

Thanks again for your expedient reply. You'd be horrified if you tested some of these aquatics shops water. I know I was.

So, 100% RO, float a bag, give 'em a touch of tank water in their beg then let those babies go! That's exactly what I do. Don't know why the viejitas are having problems. Probably nothing to do with water quality. Perhaps it's something they came with. FISHGEEK my viejitas are Czeck stock. Were/are yours?

BC

 

[a.d.wood]

Hi BC,

Make sure you run the RO through peat before sticking it near the fish, it just needs that little something it gets from the peat.

Andrew

 

[BIG_CICHLID]

Hi BC,

Make sure you run the RO through peat before sticking it near the fish, it just needs that little something it gets from the peat.

Andrew

Andrew,

I'll tell you my setup and perhaps you can suggest a way to incorporate peat!

The tank is at work! I'm the senior engineer at a large transport company and I've managed to talk the bosses into buying an RO/DI unit to make our own water for forktruck batteries. HEE HEE! The RO fills a water butt (50G / 227 liters) and it is on a stand being 1.3 meters off the floor. This is the height of the top of my tank as well . There's a valve on the water butt with a hoselock QD on it. I connect a short hose to refill de-ionised water jugs and a longer hose is connected to the tank. When I do water changes I start filling the tank with RO to purge the air then remove the hose from the butt and put it in the sink to syphon off 20-25%. Then when the syphon stops (because the hose was put 20-25% in from the top) I simply reconnect the hose to the butt and open the valve filling the aquarium with straight RO! Now, obvioulsy I cannot put peat in the butt, because I need to make forktruck battery water. SO, How would you go about this? How much peat, where can I buy, how long before it needs changng??????????

BC

 

[BIG_CICHLID]

While I've got your attention, which of these would make a good show tank species in a group of 5-7? I don't limit what I can have to the list below which is what my LFS can get from Holland:

Apisto agassizii Rem (medium) 9.99 per pair
Apisto Cacatuioides Red Red (3-4cm) 9.25 per pair
Apisto Cacatuioides Red Red (ML) 9.99 per pair
Apisto Cacatuioides Orange (ML) 10.99 per pair
Apisto Borelli Yello (L) 9.99 per pair
Apisto Hongsloi F1 (L) 19.99 per pair
Apisto Trifasciatum (ML) 16.99 per pair
Apisto Nijsseni (M) 14.99 per pair
Apisto Linkei (3-4cm) 17.99 per pair
Apisto Viejita (F1) (M) 13.99 per pair
Nannacara anomala (M) 7.99 per pair

They would be going in with my double red Aggies and a few remaining viejita.

BC

 

[a.d.wood]

Hi BC,

I'm not sure there is a simple way to treat the RO with peat before it goes into the tank with this setup. It might be easiest to have an additional filter on the tank that is just loaded with peat (the good old irish moss peat compact bale you get in the garden centres).

I have seen 1 set-up where the RO water was just allowed to soak through a 100 litre drum, and a tap on the bottom collected the 'treated water' (single pass, no recirculating and not left to soak either), and this was effective.

As to which species, then everyones personal choice will probably give you something different.

My own favourites tend to centre on the nijsseni complex (panduro, baenschi etc), bitaeniata and eremnopyge also rank up here as well. There are others such as elizabethae, diplotaenia that are more on the wish list as these fish just don't come into the UK.

Myself and Pete (Lovett) have a shipment coming in from Brazil/Peru next Tuesday, give it a week to let things settle down and I'll fire over a list that should include a few weird and wonderful apistogramma.

Andrew

 

[BIG_CICHLID]

Sounds great Andrew, I've been considering adding on a Fluval 404 or Eheim equivalent. Perhaps I can have some filter floss and peat moss in there. Would this be ample? How long could it run in there for before requiring changing?

BC