Questions about using RO/DI water..

[KOsika]

My tap water at my new apartment sucks and I think it played a part in my baby getting sick. Since I already have an ro/di system for my saltwater tank, I thought I might try using it for my axolotl, and I have several questions.

Is Kent Ro Right safe for axolotls? Will it restore the proper minerals for an axolotl?

Will I need to do anything with PH if I switch Steve over to just remineralized RO water? I was reading that RO water can drop your PH fairly quickly.

Right now the tank is 50% crappy tap water and 50% bottled spring water. Can I cut that water with straight RO water or does it always have to be treated with something like Kent Ro Right?



Here are the parameters of my tap water:
ph - 7.6+ (the test kit is darker than 7.6)
high range ph (8.4)
ammonia (1ppm)
nitrite (0-.25ppm, it's hard to tell)
nitrate (either 10 or 20, again, hard to tell)


At the moment, the tank water has .5ppm of ammonia and I'm going to do a 50% water change with more bottled spring water to bring that level down even lower, but if I can eliminate that all together by using treated RO water, I'd rather do that. I'm just not sure how safe it is or how to do it with an axolotl. Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[vagus]

The one time I had access to RO water, we used a different product, but same basic idea. However, what we used also had pH buffer, so you will want to keep that in mind. Reading on their site, RO Right does not include buffer.

Your pH is a little high. I generally aim for it to remain stable anywhere between 7-8. Stability is key. Figure out a process that works for you (before putting the axo in it) and stick with it. Safer for your axolotls and less headache for you.

Ammonia: If you have a filter on any sort, you shouldn't be seeing ammonia. Either way, do larger weekly water changes (or smaller ones daily) to get below the threshold the test even registers.

 

[KOsika]

So the problem is that I get 1ppm of ammonia straight out of the tap. I have a HOB filter but I will admit I did forget to check if my tank had cycled or not when I moved. Big mistake. I just assumed it was fine (my sw tank was fine) but nope. Steve's tank didn't fare as well.

But good to know about the RO buffer. I'll have to pick something up. I'll try to get it to a more suitable level, especially now that I'm going to have to add my own buffer. Thanks for the info!

 

[KOsika]

So if I were to pick up, say, API's Proper PH, that would work for what I need? The tank is definitely trying to cycle again and there's way less ammonia but also a ton of nitrates and I need to do a water change asap to remove all that.

 

[KOsika]

So I posted the same post on my thread about my axolotl's abnormal eating behavior but I'll post it here too.

I tested his water this morning and the ammonia was down but the nitrates were WAY up. I guess the QuickStart is doing it's job. I drained his tank down as low as I could go without going below the filter's intake, and then put in my last gallon of spring water. So he spent most of today with a small amount of water that was 50% gross and 50% fine.

After I got home from work I went ahead and made him all new water with my RO/DI machine. I used Kent RO Right and API Proper PH 7.0 and mixed up 10 gallons of water (and a tad more QuickStart). I've been adding it slowly over the course of the evening and he's already reacting well. He's a bit more alert to me coming near the tank and he's flapping his gills at his normal rate (since he got sick, he hardly moves at all). He still won't eat yet but that's ok. I think the clean water will help, at least for the night. We'll see how his appetite is in the morning.

As of right now, his tank parameters are:

High Range PH - 7.4
pH - 7.0
Ammonia - .25ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 0ppm

Much better than the earlier out-of-tap results! I'm going to cool it with the water changes now that the water levels are safe, and just test throughout the week to make sure everything is still good. And hopefully he'll eat.



((oh and for clarification, I tested the water before putting it in the tank to make sure the ph and gh were stable. And I'm adding the water slowly to help him acclimate. Same method I use on my SW tank and I've never had trouble acclimating a coral or fish)).