PlanetCatfish.com

Ive looked through the site and still dont know the answer to a couple of my q's

I was thinking of buying an RO unit

My ph is 7.5 and water is very hard (london, uk)

Ive had a go at breeding corys but had no luck and understand they like softer water.

So should I

- buy RO water from the LFS for my small breeding tank
- buy a Unit and use the water on my community setup as well

I know that RO water needs adding to before using and wastes a lot.

Does RO water benefit plants?. I can keep things like hornwort, vallises, anubis but really struggle with anything like amazon swords or big leafy plants - will soft water help here?

Thanks

Kotty

Kotty,
There are nice advantages to having an RO system and a number of disadvantages. By disadvantges I mean that if you do not have a dedicated fishroom where you can plumb the RO unit to a holding tank, you will find that it is a lot of work to start making RO water every week in the kitchen sink. My suggestion, if what you are really after is breeding Corys, is to just buy RO water at your grocery store. It costs less than a dollar a gallon and in a small 7-10 gallon breeding tank you only need about 4 gallons to get the fish spawning. Keep 2-3 gallon in the fridge over night to cool them, do a water change, and presto. With more difficult fish you may have to this once a week for a couple of weeks or do 2 gallons per day water changes over a week or so. Just make sure that after the spawn, you adjust the water back slowly with water changes of 1/2 RO and 1/2 tap water, then 1/3 RO 2/3 tap, etc. until the water chemistry is pretty much back to normal.
-Shane