GuppyLog || Comments || Water Softner (rainsoft) with Reverse Osmoesis

New to Guppylog?
Immediate Help

Conversions and Calculator
Conversions and Tank volume calculator

Add yourself to our guppylog map
Guppylog Members

* Change as much water as often as you can! *
Inkmaker

Front Page · Everything · News · Ask Guppylog · Diaries

Water Softner (rainsoft) with Reverse Osmoesis | 28 comments (28 topical, 0 hidden)

Re: Run off when talking about an R.O. unit is (none / 0) (#21)
by wwtinksk9 on Wed Mar 02, 2005 at 10:57:42 AM PST

Ok I read this over and reread again LOL

going to try the half and half (half of the well water from h E double hockey stick and half water from faucet which is the soft water and none of the R.O .)

do I have this right or do I need to go back and read again LOL

and guppygirl please let me know how that works....

going to goto petco saturday and get a tester ...
maybe half&half will be to much maybe 3 parts well water to 1 part soft? LOL

I get to play scientist muhahahaha

by the way I think this subject would go nice in the quick links......seriously its subject not talked about on the net and not knowing the right key words dummies like me need alittle direction?LOL

[ Parent ]

Re: Water Pillow Results. (none / 0) (#27)
by guppygirl on Fri Mar 04, 2005 at 03:52:53 PM PST

Hi gang,

Thought I'd share with you my results from the tests after running the Pillow for 48hrs.

Well it dropped the GH by about 6 degrees, or roughly 100 ppm. The KH remained between 3 and 4 degrees. I forgot to check that before adding the pillow, but didn't think this would become an experiment, DOH!

I believe that my KH is about that anyway, so it didn't seem as if it had changed that variable much.

It performed actually BETTER than what was stated on the package, as far as mineral removal in ppm.

I'm recharging it now, and then I will run another set of tests on GH, KH, and pH before and after.

My pH reading came out at 7.4 after using it which is high for that tank for it usually never budges from 7.0. However, if you were to ask me if I tested the pH beforehand? My answer would have to be No. (Another DOH!!)

Also, whenever I've filtered water with a Brita type filter, the pH always drops, not rises.

So I'm just a bit curious and am asking myself, "What's in this guys?"

I might post this information as a new post when I run the second set of tests, as this thread is getting a little long.

Hope this was some help to someone.
I found it interesting.

gg
:o)

[ Parent ]

Re: go nice in the quick links (none / 0) (#24)
by miskairal on Wed Mar 02, 2005 at 01:59:44 PM PST

Done!
It's in the QuickLinks under the New tank/cycling/setting up/water changing section.

A while back I posted a question I think titled Rainwater. If you type in rain or creek you might get some hits on past discussions about water quality. This one is way more comprehensive in answers though.

Cheers
miskairal
--
Repeat after me,
I will read the Immediate Help
[ Parent ]

Find out the hardness of your tap water. If it (none / 0) (#22)
by unclescott on Wed Mar 02, 2005 at 11:23:18 AM PST

is less mineral laden than your well water and affordable, forget the well water when it comes to aquariums. If your tap water is from a local well too, it may still have to be cut with demineralized water. Ask you water supplier for a water analysis.

While chemistry in terms of the mineral content is not discussed as much as it should be on aquatic Net sites as a whole, there are mailing lists and forums where it is a constant preoccupation. It takes a little digging and a vocabulary more familiar with nitrogen cycle, DH, KH, RO, and all that to find what your need.

A lot of time, in a number of endeavors, the hardest thing is not finding answers, it is just in knowing what questions to ask. Then of course, there are those several questions which will arise from that one answer. ;)

All the best!
unc;e

[ Parent ]

Re: Find out the hardness of your tap water. If it (none / 0) (#23)
by wwtinksk9 on Wed Mar 02, 2005 at 11:42:29 AM PST

My tap water is my water from the water softener and the water softener gets its water from the well .......... so basically all my water is from the well (no city water here) and is filtered thru the water softener to my faucets (tap) and again thru the reverse osmoesis to another smaller tap for drinking only. (which by the way my well water tasted yummy and now I have a hard time drinking it from the R.O (reverse osmoesis) that is the only plus to the well water it is the best tasting around but considering what it does to ones tub makes ya wonder what it does to your insides lol)

now I understand why I was getting confused lol when you say tap you are thinking its from somewhere else.

[ Parent ]

Re: Find out the hardness of your tap water. If it (none / 0) (#28)
by wwtinksk9 on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 04:45:07 PM PST

Ok this is what we came up with after testing and testing again (petco)
Half well water half Reverse Osmoesis water and it comes out to 7.6 ph with a high Kh she didn't say what but said my ph will be moveable if I need to move it up or down where I wouldn't be able to with the straight well water(place was busy) Oh and with the 1/2 and 1/2 mixture I get a 11dgh hardness

but get this went to a place a very nice pet store I might add with beautiful fish that looked well cared for, and told him about my situation ....guess what ! all his tanks are from water that cycles through a water softener and he swears by it ....his fish looked great and happy...now I'm more confused then ever :(

[ Parent ]

Water softeners usually don't take out all of the (none / 0) (#29)
by unclescott on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 05:53:19 PM PST

calcium/magnesium. There is a fair amount of sodium in the water though.

Our municipality has basically a village-wide-basement-water-softener. I'm grateful to them for removing the iron and sulfur, which have always been hated presences in other suburbs with wells south of Chicago. However the sodium in the water is hard on houseplants and the blood pressure of older residents.

Desertification in the planter is not a happy scene.

Lots of killies, which reproduced like weeds, stopped leaving viable eggs when we moved here. (The water tasted so good I though they had "Chicago" or Lake Michigan water.) When rainwater was added to some of the tap water,some fish began laying fertile eggs. When the RO was completely remade, more began leaving good eggs. King's Tetra fry began appearing with the folks - that was a pretty cool surprise even if they are an "easy" tetra to spawn.

Of course many North American killies, the livebearers (actually there are a couple of soft water South American livebearers) and the small Rift Lake Cichlids thrived in the hard, salty, alkaline tap water. If I had more of them, I would have piped the RO outflow to them. Hummmm...

Speaking of plants, does your LFS display any plants other than the salt tolerant Vals, hornwort, Java fern, sags, maybe the Java moss and Najas and not too much else? There are a lot of plants, which will survive slightly saline water for a while, but not for years.

This is a little off topic, but it has been a while since houseplants and bog plants offered for sale as aquarium plants have been mentioned. Most of them will live for a couple of months under water. By then they are in someone's home and the local aquarist mistakenly thinks that they just can't keep plants alive.

Bullwinkle! It has to do with those palms, Sandrianas, prayer plants, and marsh plants (which legitimately are submerged annually for a couple of months) being sold. It is a clever ploy.

Asked a friend who used to have a shop, why in the world he would stock Sandriana. He replied," I tried not to. The customers yelled at me!" I guess if "we" as consumers demand or at least buy these things, we should expect them to continue in shops.

All the best!
unc;e

[ Parent ]

Water Softner (rainsoft) with Reverse Osmoesis | 28 comments (28 topical, 0 hidden)

Display: Sort:

Menu

· create account

· F.A.Q. For Newbies!

· Immediate Help For Newbies!

· search

· Scoop Info

· Our Tanks

Login

Make a new account

Username:

Password:

create account | faq | search