Can You Use Distilled Water In A Saltwater Fish Tank
You should not use distilled water for water changes in your fish tank.
Can you use distilled water in a saltwater fish tank. Although you will need much more. They possess a selectively permeable membrane which may lead to a trauma caused by osmosis when placed in distilled water. The reason for that is the distilled water s lack of minerals. You will find that over time a ro di unit will pay for itself and make life easier for you.
Fish need ions or charged particles present in salts for transmitting signals through their nervous system. The only downside to distilled water is that it s not practical for larger tanks. A good example of fish that is highly susceptible to such trauma is the betta fish. While distilled water is darn cheap you ll need an awful lot of it to fill a 50 gallon tank.
Another reason why you shouldn t solely use distilled water in your saltwater aquarium is that it affects your fish s neural health. Fish need water that s rich in these vital elements for optimal health. Funny that they only have 3 gallons yes you can use distilled water. When i say minerals i mean mainly magnesium calcium and iron among many others.
Just like with the previous pure water sources you must remineralize distilled water before adding it to your tank. You can but personally i would really recommend rodi there was a post on here a while back where a guy did a direct comparison between distilled and rodi and the distilled tank was covered with brown algae in 3 days and when compared with rodi he had barely any algae after 7 days. Never use only distilled water in your fish tank as this would harm the fish. Or even ro water in the gallon jugs at walmart or some other store.
You can even use the supplements in saltwater tanks. Fish can adapt to gradual changes in ph but fluctuating levels can be detrimental for them.