Being the frugal aquarist I am I was wondering if my RODI waste water could be used for my freshwater aquariums (I have 10 and it would definitely be a convenient use of waste water). So I did some water quality tests to compare it to my tapwater (which I typically dechlorinate and use). Here are the results:
The ranges were because I couldn't really tell the exact results, in hindsight it might've been a good idea to post pictures of test results. I only ran 1 test for each parameter except for TDS and phosphate where I took an average of 3 tests.
So I have heard people say NOT to use RODI waste water as it has high nitrates and phosphates, but I did not see a real difference in nitrates. The phosphate was doubled, but most freshwater fish have a pretty wide range of tolerability when it comes to water cleanliness and all my tanks are pretty heavily planted or at least have a bunch of hornwort/java moss to absorb excess nutrients. Admittedly before doing a search I did add some waste water to 2 of my aquariums and didn't really notice a difference in my fish;s behavior I think I had some cloudiness but that disappeared pretty quick.
I guess my question is what are your RODI waste water parameters? Anyone ever use it in freshwater aquaria? I think I'm leaning towards using it for freshwater maybe diluted with dechlorinated tap water. I would love to know if i missed something or what your opinions are.
| Water Parameter | Tap-Water | RODI Waste Water |
|---|---|---|
| TDS | 153 ppm | 175 ppm |
| pH (API) | 7.8 | 7-7.2 |
| Ammonia (API) | 0 ppm | 0 ppm |
| Nitrate (API) | 0-5 ppm | 0-5 ppm |
| Nitrite (API) | 0- 0.25 ppm | 0- 0.25 ppm |
| Phosphate (Seachem) | .70 | 1.5 ppm |
| kH (Readsea) | ~5.3 dKH | ~5.3 dKH |
The ranges were because I couldn't really tell the exact results, in hindsight it might've been a good idea to post pictures of test results. I only ran 1 test for each parameter except for TDS and phosphate where I took an average of 3 tests.
So I have heard people say NOT to use RODI waste water as it has high nitrates and phosphates, but I did not see a real difference in nitrates. The phosphate was doubled, but most freshwater fish have a pretty wide range of tolerability when it comes to water cleanliness and all my tanks are pretty heavily planted or at least have a bunch of hornwort/java moss to absorb excess nutrients. Admittedly before doing a search I did add some waste water to 2 of my aquariums and didn't really notice a difference in my fish;s behavior I think I had some cloudiness but that disappeared pretty quick.
I guess my question is what are your RODI waste water parameters? Anyone ever use it in freshwater aquaria? I think I'm leaning towards using it for freshwater maybe diluted with dechlorinated tap water. I would love to know if i missed something or what your opinions are.
