I live in Ky and we have a really Hard water(limestone)...

Somebody tell me the benefits of RO water as related to planted tanks?

Does anyone else use anything else to help hard water?

Thanks for all info regarding this..

On Mon, 27 Jan 2003 23:21:52 GMT, Greg Dalton
wrote:

I live in Ky and we have a really Hard water(limestone)...

Somebody tell me the benefits of RO water as related to planted tanks?


Hard water just means the water contains more stuff plants need.

At the AGA Convention, Claus Christensen of Tropica showed slides from
a trip to South America. They plants (all the normal South and
Central American ones) were growing amazingly well. And everyone
knows that South American plants grow best in soft water right?
WRONG!!! The substrate in the area Claus went to was pure calcium
carbonate! Very high GH and KH.

The lesson: Plants that do well in soft water are simply the ones
that can best tolerate the soft water. The same plants would do even
better in hard water.

Soft water is empty, no minerals that plants need. Hard water
contains LOTS of the stuff plants need.

So, I'd say stick with your really hard water, and consider yourself
lucky!


Chuck Gadd
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua

Greg Dalton wrote in message ...
I live in Ky and we have a really Hard water(limestone)...

Mummm....... KY joke run wild through my mind. Don't worry, I was born
there in Lexington. The joke is on me.

Somebody tell me the benefits of RO water as related to planted tanks?

Plants don't care as a rule. They care about CO2 content, nutriewnts
and light.

Does anyone else use anything else to help hard water?

Help hard water? Most of the most stable aquatic plant ecosystems are
from hardwater systems. That's where most submerged aquatic plants
live and certainly this is the case in the USA and much of
South/Central America.

Regards,
Tom Barr

Thanks for all info regarding this..

The is a product made by Kent products called RO Right that basically adds
trace elements and other important stuff to the water. It is specifically
made for RO water, and it actually does a good job. I have very soft water
(I have a water softener, and that water goes through my RO system, which
goes into the tank). I use this and basically my plants and fish are doing
great! (I have about 13 different species of plant)

The problem with hard water is that it is much more difficult to control the
pH levels, if you want to run a tropical aquarium with plants, you will need
to establish a healthy calance of pH and hardness.

Oh, by the way, NEVER use a phosphate buffer in a tank that has hard (tap)
water... I tried that once and paid the price.

-Jason

" wrote in message
om...
Greg Dalton wrote in message
...
I live in Ky and we have a really Hard water(limestone)...

Mummm....... KY joke run wild through my mind. Don't worry, I was born
there in Lexington. The joke is on me.

Somebody tell me the benefits of RO water as related to planted tanks?

Plants don't care as a rule. They care about CO2 content, nutriewnts
and light.

Does anyone else use anything else to help hard water?

Help hard water? Most of the most stable aquatic plant ecosystems are
from hardwater systems. That's where most submerged aquatic plants
live and certainly this is the case in the USA and much of
South/Central America.

Regards,
Tom Barr

Thanks for all info regarding this..

The process of reverse osmosis takes almost everything out of the water right down to bacteria level. The advantage of ROwater is that it gives you control over what you feeding your plants. Once you have pure water you can add to it whatever your plants need. Many geen houses use this technique as it stops the build up of salts in the soil, and therfore prolongs the life of the soil (no need to re-pot!). I hope this is of some use.

junepage wrote:
Greg Dalton wrote:
Somebody tell me the benefits of RO water as related to planted
tanks?

None.

Does anyone else use anything else to help hard water?

Hard water is good for plants.

pure water you can add to it whatever your plants need. Many geen
houses use this technique as it stops the build up of salts in the
soil, and therfore prolongs the life of the soil (no need to re-pot!).

Ahhh but that doesn't apply to aquaria, since there's very little precipitate
accumulation.

--
Victor M. Martinez

http://www.che.utexas.edu/~martiv