RO/ salted RO, how long....

[nosm]

I want to set up a 1.5 gal pico, in fact I've bought it already.

 

I don't want the hassle of using an RO unit, plus for such little weekly water changes it's not worth the £££.

 

My Lfs sells RO at £5 for 25litres and salted £6 for 25litres, I've worked out that this will last atleast 4 months.

 

This will be much less hassle, How long can I keep RO and salted RO if I run air pumps.

 

Thanks.

[naw707]

RO water can last a long time in a sealed container, that includes salt mixed.

 

I did same thing for awhile, buying water from the LFS.

 

That being said, I eventually wanted total control of my tank. I wanted to determine my own salinity and such. Also it is easier to have it all here when im ready instead of making trips to LFS just for water.

[nosm]

Cheers for the reply.

 

As water changes will only be 10-15% per week is heating the water essential? The temp drop in the display tank will be minimal/zero if I add it slowly over an hour.

 

... When you say sealed do you mean air tight, will I not need a pump?

[Pickle010]

Cheers for the reply.

 

As water changes will only be 10-15% per week is heating the water essential? The temp drop in the display tank will be minimal/zero if I add it slowly over an hour.

 

 

I guess that would depend on the difference in temps - in a small tank it can really swing your temps by adding water that is much colder then your display.

 

I agree with the above poster - prior to purchasing my own Ro/Di unit I purchased water from my LFS both fresh and salt mixed. Those where stored up to a month prior to use.

[nosm]

What about upto 4-6 months?

[paneubert]

What about upto 4-6 months?

 

Sure, why not? I do not see what would suddenly go bad. I suppose if there were some sort of dissolved solids for bacteria to consume then you might have some algae. But in a sealed container that is not sitting in sunlight, I would think you would be fine.

 

Maybe be sure to shake up the container every time to do a water change. Make sure nothing separates out of solution.

[myjohnson]

Mine last at least 3 months.

[under the sea]

on such a small tank i would watch the parameters very closely. depending on the bio load and filtration you might need to do bigger weekly changes like 30% or more. don't you have any of those water vending machines at food markets?