OakenGoby

This might be an option for you. You would need an external filter of some sort. Even a small canister would work. http://www.aquario.co.kr/unit/neoMixer.php

I was just thinking this. Going to play chemist this weekend. Draw a cup of both and use the Aquarium Co-Op strips to see where we stand.

I'm doing the bulk of the work already, which is making sure I have the correct minerals depending on the species kept. The base water is either tap at 40 TDS or RO/DI at 0 TDS. Any trace amounts of metal are eliminated by the water conditioner and any chlorine is neutralized, so with the tap I'm left with just a little more TDS in the finished water versus the RO/DI. It's honestly not that difficult to make water, but with my current setup I do need to baby sit to ensure no overflow. I'm not sure I'm going to find the answer posting here, but I think there's plenty of evidence that using tap is sustainable for most people and their fish. I'm not sure I can tell if it's 100% not broke since I've kind of gone back and forth. Having the RO/DI system in place definitely makes me feel like I should be using it. Whether or not I need to use it is another story...but I'm leaning towards no.

I kept reef aquariums in the 90s and through the beginning of the 2000s. I got back into the aquarium hobby with freshwater planted aquariums. I now have 6: (1) 6 gallon Betta (looking for a new inhabitant - Travis passed after his outing with one of my cats; see other thread); (2) 7 gallon shrimp; (3) 10 gallon community that is now more of a plant grow out tank; (4) 10 gallon shallow shelldwellers; (5) 12 gallon long/shallow Male Endler Fraternity tank with cherry shrimp and some yet-to-be-decided bottom dwellers (Cory cats, Hillstream loaches, Clown Pleco); and (6) 17 gallon cube High energy (high light+CO2) planted tank that is in the design phase - thinking pencilfish, apistos, ember tetras, cardinal tetras, and cory cats. A holdover from my reefkeeping days is that RO/DI water is essential. I have a small RO/DI unit that puts out about 50 gpd and returns 0 TDS water. The membranes are long lasting because of the low TDS of the input water. I've gone back and forth between using RO/DI and remineralizing or tap and remineralizing (Seachem Tangayika buffer/salt for shellies, SaltyShrimp GH/KH+ for Endlers and Betta, and SaltyShrimp GH+ for Caridina shrimp and the future 17 gallon). I have not observed any appreciable difference in the health/behavior of the fish and the health of the plants. This leads me to believe that the extra time/effort to make RO/DI water is not worth it for these aquariums. Of course when I do use tap, I dechlorinate with a water conditioner (currently Fritz Complete). I imagine that most users here use tap water unless their tap is notably poor quality. Should I get over this mental block and continue to just use tap, or is RO/DI somehow going to really benefit me in the long run? Thoughts? Feedback? Questions? I appreciate the help! OakenGoby

Update: After about a week in hospital and a round of antibiotics, Travis is back in his home. He looks more like a Plakat now with reduced finnage. He’s a trooper for sure.

48 hours and he’s doing better. He can swim around a bit. Less concerned about swim bladder and more concerned about his fin rot. I’m going to treat with antibiotics.

He’s still alive, but it seems a swim bladder issue persists. He has been at the top of the tank all day. It doesn’t seem he can maintain position at different levels of the aquarium. Any advice?

Thanks everyone. I’m sticking with salt for now.

Hi there, I have a betta named Travis. Last night I noticed one of my cats was carrying something in his mouth. It was rather large for something he might find in the house and he was acting like he had a very prized catch. Eventually he stopped and dropped Travis. I picked him up and immediately got him back into his tank. He was very lethargic, fins ripped, and he was having issues maintaining upright. He eventually started sinking upside down and to my horror his only tank mate (kuhli loach) started attacking him. I imagine this was just instinct to take advantage of a dying fish. I removed Travis and placed in in a specimen container while I setup a hospital aquarium with a filter from one of my other tanks. I added some aquarium salt and Seachem Stress Guard. This was about 9 last night. 12 hours later he is still alive. He’s able to maintain position upright, but he’s clearly still recovering from this traumatic experience. In addition to the salt and stress guard, should I treat him with an antibiotic? Cat’s mouths are extremely dirty. It doesn’t look like Travis suffered any puncture wounds, but I imagine the stress could make him susceptible to a bacterial infection. I have the med trio and Seachem Metroplex and Kanaplex at my disposal. I also have some Tetra LifeGuard. I don’t want the treatment to cause additional stress. Any suggestions? I don’t know if Travis jumped out and the cat found him, in which case the cat probably saved his life by bringing it to my attention, or the cat fished him out in an attempted murder. Travis is known to flare at any cat onlookers, further enticing the cat. Thanks for reading. I greatly appreciate any help you can provide. Best, Jonathan (Travis is already a bit compromised with a growth under one of his eyes)