RODI system for freshwater

[JeremyAllen]

Hi all, I am interested in keeping different fish than live bearers and actually have them breed. However, my water is hard like (300 ppm) and high ph 8. I’m not 100% sure, but have heard some species like panda corydoras and a lot of fish that prefer lower ph will live in hard water with high ph, but if they ever do spawn the eggs will be no good. And as I have researched a lot of fish I want to keep like a Apistogramma and rams prefer neutral to softer water. So my solution or potential would be to get a RODI system and mix with my water so that I could have a ton of success with other fish. Is this simply the most efficient route to go about my water? Or am I overlooking something simple.

[Andy's Fish Den]

I have well water, TDS of 300-350 and my pH come out of tap at around 8 but after a day settles to 7.6-7.8. I have bred most of the common corydoras, including the panda that you mention in my normal tap water, and have had eggs hatch. Most of the common cory species have been bred in captivity for several generations, so they have acclimated to aquarium conditions well and will spawn and hatch eggs.

I do however add oak leaves to my cory tanks, and most of my tanks, it will help lower the pH some, add some tannins to the water and the micro-organisms that grow on them are food for the newly hatched fry. I do have some wild caught cory, plecos, discus and angels that I mix RO/DI water into when I'm working with them to try and get them to spawn, and I just got a couple 55 gallon food grade barrels that I am going to set up to catch rain water to be able to use as well for bredding and when I get fish imported in to acclimate.

[Magnus919]

Jeremy, if you live in a house (as opposed to an apartment), have you considered adding rain barrels to your downspouts? Collected rainwater will likely be all you need for most fish who prefer more neutral water. And it can be easily amended for softness & lower pH. 

[ForestJenn]

On 8/30/2020 at 11:25 AM, Magnus919 said:

Jeremy, if you live in a house (as opposed to an apartment), have you considered adding rain barrels to your downspouts? Collected rainwater will likely be all you need for most fish who prefer more neutral water. And it can be easily amended for softness & lower pH. 

Do you have to worry about leaching from the roof?  I haven't done any research on this and I know a lot of people use rain barrels to collect water for gardening, but I worry about leaching.  I may be preoccupied with this concern because we had a torch down roof for so long before we switched to PVC. (Very low slope roof)

[Daniel]

I have had an RO system for 10 years and I like it. It has given me soft de-mineralized water that apistos and discus like. Even though it was spendy, in retrospect I would do it again.

But in the 40 years of keeping fish prior to the RO system, I also bred discus and apistos. But I bred Jack Wattley discus that were acclimated to harder water and apistos that could breed in harder water. Fish keeping was just as much fun prior to having RO, so having it isn't absolutely necessary.

It comes down to money really. If money is an issue, just keep the fish that work for the water you have now. It will be just as much fun. If you have some money, get the RO. Side projects like RO can be entertaining in themselves and then you can keep all the soft-water fish you have been dreaming about.