RODI Waste Water for African Cichlids

[kados]

I have a 200g FOWLR and 100g Softie systems. So RODI water production creates as you all know a ton of waste water. I was thinking of eventually setting up an African Cichlid tank (it's what started this hobby for me many moons ago).

I've done online searches but still not clear if there is harm in using the RODI waste water for an African Cichlid tank. I'm not sure if waste water is worse than tap water. I figure it's already been filtered to a degree but does it contain more concentrated elements that would not be good for reusing w/ livestock.

Interested in actual experience.

 

[lapin]

Well I use the waste water for plants. It really depends on whats in the source water.
The RO produces clean, purified water free of any harmful substances, including pesticides, trace metals and chemical residues that may have health concerns attached.
Since that gets flushed out as waste in higher concentrations it might or might not be good for a tank. You could run waste thru a carbon canister to catch some of the bad stuff.

 

[kados]

Thank you. The concentration of elements is exactly my concern. Good point on the source. I get city water and TDS in the high 300s at first input. I'm assuming since city water is already treated to a degree at least contaminates may be less as far as toxins.

 

[jurgenph]

waste water already went through sediment and carbon. so should be safe to use. unless there are some serious other contaminants in your tap water.

most freshwater folks just use straight tap water with some prime.

if you would use your tap water to put in your fresh tank, you can use the waste as well.

depending on the hardness your waste water is, you may need to cut it back down with some RODI. but i think those african cichlids need liquid rock anyway


J.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

I tried this for about a month on my fry and grow out tank. Immediate issues with algae and started losing fish at a faster rate (not exactly sure why but just had a bunch die off).

I wouldn't suggest it unless you know your incoming water isn't terrible.

 

[kados]

waste water already went through sediment and carbon. so should be safe to use. unless there are some serious other contaminants in your tap water.

most freshwater folks just use straight tap water with some prime.

if you would use your tap water to put in your fresh tank, you can use the waste as well.

depending on the hardness your waste water is, you may need to cut it back down with some RODI. but i think those african cichlids need liquid rock anyway


J.

Right. Prime is what I have used to treat freshwater tanks in the past. PH buffer would also be used. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[kados]

I tried this for about a month on my fry and grow out tank. Immediate issues with algae and started losing fish at a faster rate (not exactly sure why but just had a bunch die off).

I wouldn't suggest it unless you know your incoming water isn't terrible.

Thanks for sharing your experience. This was with African Cichlids?

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Thanks for sharing your experience. This was with African Cichlids?

Yup! Mbuna and peacocks

Again, not sure if I know the deaths were related or if the fry were just poorly extracted and cared for but they happened at the same time. Algae def spiked on the glass and bottom of the tank.

 

[LacViet]

Depends on the TDS of your tap water. If it is low (like 100TDS) then it should be ok as waste water has more concentrate dissolved thus will have higher TDS than tap water. If your tap has something like mine with 300+ TDS, then you need to mix waste water (it could probably has somewhere up to 500 TDS in waste water) with either RODI water to lower TDS for cichlids.

 

[kados]

Depends on the TDS of your tap water. If it is low (like 100TDS) then it should be ok as waste water has more concentrate dissolved thus will have higher TDS than tap water. If your tap has something like mine with 300+ TDS, then you need to mix waste water (it could probably has somewhere up to 500 TDS in waste water) with either RODI water to lower TDS for cichlids

Depends on the TDS of your tap water. If it is low (like 100TDS) then it should be ok as waste water has more concentrate dissolved thus will have higher TDS than tap water. If your tap has something like mine with 300+ TDS, then you need to mix waste water (it could probably has somewhere up to 500 TDS in waste water) with either RODI water to lower TDS for cichlids.

Thanks. This is what my concern was also. More concentrated TDS. Mixing RODI would makes sense to lower TDS but then create more waste water again. I'm in the same boat as you 300 plus TDS.

 

[kados]

Thanks all for your input. Seems like more cons than pros. I figured if I went through with the cichlids tank at least I could try to use that waste water but will likely not use the water.

 

[BLB]

My sulpher heads just had babies. I had an old male but bought a new one that was a lot smaller. The seller gave me two females and they both were holding from the larger male. I had to quarantine the young male then I stripped the females and left the eggs and fry in a tumbler for a few weeks until they could swim. Once they had nearly no egg sack left I moved them to a small tank and placed media into the filter that had been seeded from the large tank. The water was straight from the tap with no added chemicals at all. I did set up the tumbler in the new tank to let them slowly mix new water with the water in the tumbler. I’m really lucky with the tap water I have here it must be straight from a spring and I’ve never had any issues (touch wood). I lost 3 when stripping and had another 6 unfertilized eggs but the rest are fine. I started seeding the media when I noticed them holding. When they reached about 1cm I started feeding them with mosquito larva, before was just crushed up sinking pellets that I feed the adults.

 

[iMi]

I have a 200g FOWLR and 100g Softie systems. So RODI water production creates as you all know a ton of waste water. I was thinking of eventually setting up an African Cichlid tank (it's what started this hobby for me many moons ago).

I've done online searches but still not clear if there is harm in using the RODI waste water for an African Cichlid tank. I'm not sure if waste water is worse than tap water. I figure it's already been filtered to a degree but does it contain more concentrated elements that would not be good for reusing w/ livestock.

Interested in actual experience.

I realize this is an older thread. The answer is that you should be using RODI water in the cichlid tank, especially if you aim to replicate natural environment by adding salts, and not the waste water. In fact, the instructions state you should start with RODI water...

I admire your desire to conserve water but I don’t think it’s worth the problems it will likely create.

 

[Jeffcb]

African Cichlids like hard water. I would not use RODI in a cichlid tank. Tap would be better.

 

[kados]

Thanks guys. Both tanks are now saltwater FOWLRs and happy with going this route instead.