Success rate with out RO water?

Shell231 · Post by **Shell231** » Thu Jul 07, 2005 4:00 pm

Has anyone managed to breed them without using RO water? i ask this as i dont have one and am wondering if it is worth buying one for this process?

Has anyone had any really quick results after adding new tank mates?

KenW · Post by **KenW** » Thu Jul 07, 2005 5:32 pm

Hi Shell,

I believe there are a few members who have breed them in hard alkaline water. Long term success rate/hatch rate maybe better with softer water. The need for an RO all depends on the hardness of your mains water. I try to keep my water at around 200ppm total hardness or less and I do use a RO unit. My mains water is around 300ppm to 400ppm and it fluctuates through out the year.

Ken

smithrc · Post by **smithrc** » Thu Jul 07, 2005 5:37 pm

just to add a question - what about rain water (clean, non city rain water)?

Shell231 · Post by **Shell231** » Thu Jul 07, 2005 6:08 pm

Is it fatal if i dont have 1?

Des · Post by **Des** » Thu Jul 07, 2005 8:46 pm

Hi Shell231,

For keeping zebras hard water is ok, for breeding, soft water will give better results.
If your water out of the tap, is soft, then you do not need an RO unit.
If your water is hard , it is preferable.
Have you measured your tap water? what is the GH and KH?
The easiest way of testing is using test strips as made by ESha or Tetra etc. Each strip is able to test 5 parameters i.e. ph,gh,kh, nitrite and nitrate, all in one go without the need to do individual tests.

Regards,
Des.

Shell231 · Post by **Shell231** » Thu Jul 07, 2005 9:39 pm

Ok just tested the water in the zeb tank with the " Tetra test 5 in 1 " and the KH was 6 d ( sorry for crap description if u have the strips u may know what i am talking about ) and the GH is 10 d

Does this help you des to know what i have got? my PH is 7.0/7.2

Shell231 · Post by **Shell231** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 7:41 pm

I have seen a few RO units on ebay are these any good?
http://search.ebay.co.uk/RO-UNIT_W0QQfkrZ1QQfromZR8

Could one of you people please tell me which one u would buy?

How do you use RO units? sorry to sound thick but could someone please explain it for me thank you.

smithrc · Post by **smithrc** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 11:02 pm

Basicly an RO unit is a very fine filter
The water is actually pushed through a membrane (reverse osmosis - osmosis is where it is is sucked through the other way)

The water ends up really clean.

The down side to them is that the supply needs to be under presure - and there is a ratio of filtered to 'waste' water that can be quite high (5:1) so for every 1 gallon of RO water - they is 5gallons that isnt filtered and contains the extracted particals... If your on a meter - it could get quite expensive.

Did that make sence?

I'm looking to try pumping our rain water through an RO so we dont pay for the wasted water.

Des · Post by **Des** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 11:13 pm

Hi Shell231,

Here is a link for some info on how a RO unit works:
http://www.ro-man.com/ro-facts.html

Regards,
Des.

Shell231 · Post by **Shell231** » Sat Jul 09, 2005 7:58 am

Well that has confused the life out of me!

Does anyone have a pic of there set up so i can get a better idea?
If i brought a new unit would it have all the instructions i need? sorry to be a pain guys but i am very new to the world of RO

Tom2600 · Post by **Tom2600** » Sat Jul 09, 2005 2:03 pm

In simple terms RO water is produced by forcing normal tap water through a membrane that is so fine that even oxygen is removed from the water, along with almost ALL other elements in water. You are then left with essentially 'pure' water. This is why you must oxygenate and add minerals and salts abck to RO water before adding to your tank.

IMO RO water os only really essential if you are keeping marines and or discus.

BUT all other types of fish will prefer RO water as you can basically alter it by adding back salts to create the water your fish most desire. HOWEVER, from your readings I would personally not bother with RO for zebs. Just make regular small water changes, have plenty of current in the tank and most of all get those cave dimensions right. Sometimes use fish keepers can mess around with our tanks too much. Sometimes less can be more.

Cheers

Shell231 · Post by **Shell231** » Sat Jul 09, 2005 3:39 pm

Can u fill up RO units without plumbing them i visited a LFS and he said to get the best out of it " plumb it in "

I have no where to plumb it in at all is there another way
will they breed without RO i know i asked this already but i need to way up the odds to see if it is worth buying.

Shell231 · Post by **Shell231** » Sat Jul 09, 2005 3:44 pm

I am looking at getting a powerhead for extra circulation, do they filter s well or just circulate? would i put it on the same side as i have the filter as to have the water flowing around the tank in one direction.

Should i put the head top or middle of the tank which is the best place to put it?

Tom2600 · Post by **Tom2600** » Sat Jul 09, 2005 6:13 pm

You need to plumb them in as you need mains pressure for the RO process to occur. You will also need a drainage point to take the waste water.

As far as breeding, who knows, Des and I have answered your questions. Zebs appear to breed in most conditons. Concentrate on the following:

1) cave size
2) General water quality
3) good quality varied foods
4) getting more zebs...good luck with this one!

As far as current in your tank, a powerhead will provide this, just place is at one end in the corner of your tank. I would personally advise added a sponge unit to the powerhead as this will not only increase your biological filteration potential but also prevent any fish getting sucked into it.

Shell231 · Post by **Shell231** » Sat Jul 09, 2005 9:01 pm

Ok cheers for the advise, sorry to be a pain i am very anxious now i have a chance at actually gettin some more zebs i wanna do everything to the book, but as i learn more about these fish there isn't actually a strict code to follow, so i am very gratful you guys are patient with me