ro unit..?

[lobsterboy]

hello everyone, i am not using RO water right now and havent been, and am wondering, is it really worth it, did anyone see crazy results from using it...?

thanks for any input. i am thinking about trying a unit, but am not sure, as the results of my tank so far, have been good, but i am wondering with an RO unit, will this improve colors of SPS.
heres is a pic, this is with no RO water, straight from the tap, and a couple drops of prime.
i guess a side view is better, so you can see color contrast a bit better.
http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr329/lobsterboy1000/IMG_4072.jpg

[Ephraim]

honestly i dont understand how you have so little algae with using tap water.

Using RODI gives you so much control over your chemistry, the only things that go into your tank are what you desire to put in there. It will cut down on that mysterious x factor. Do it, you know you wanna.

[lobsterboy]

true to mystery factor, not sold yet though.

[i have crabs]

calgary uses alot of silicate in the tap water which is a big factor in diatoms, other than that there is a high tds so plenty o gunk in there, using zeo probably counters the alge by using up the bad stuff but im just guessin
i used tap water for years and battled algae and cyano non stop, within weeks of ro/di water it stopped and never happened again,
in a fish only tank i wouldnt stress to much but in a reef i thinks is a bad choice

[mark]

Doesn't look you you have a problem just using tap water. Would say unless you're having a problem with algea or cyano why bother?

[subman]

Doesn't look you you have a problem just using tap water. Would say unless you're having a problem with algea or cyano why bother?

+1 If it ain't broke....

[Myka]

^ My thoughts exactly, and I'm a RO/DI fanatic. What you're doing is working, so don't mess with it! :D

[Kryptic4L]

if it aint broke dont fix it, only half applies here, as you have no control over the citys water facilitys, what leeches into your water in your house ( copper pipes might build up over time ) and if the city decideds to add a new chemical and does not inform you...

but again your tank is doing amazing, so its fine right now. but will the water be the same a year down the road?

[i have crabs]

at least the sps will have very white strong skeletons due to the fluoride and the chlorine will clean out the fish droppings :)

[lobsterboy]

so i am over the fence on the ro idea. so one last ques. is there any sides effects of switching from tap water to ro...? anything i should watch for? any levels, i should test or check?

[Myka]

Make the change slowly...I assume your just going to start doing RO/DI waterchanges? I would make sure you don't do any large ones. Watch the livestock. Just monitor the usual cal, alk, magnesium, and pH. Keep an eye on that for sure. What salt are you using? You're brave...I wouldn't change to RO/DI if I were you. What's the TDS of your tap water? Are you just going straight RO, or RO/DI? If I understand correctly, Calgary water can be really high TDS, so you will want at least one DI cartridge...maybe 2.

[lobsterboy]

now your freakin me out, thanks. :twised:

i do %5 every 2 weeks, using reefer best.

so its like 8 gal change, on a 125gal

[i have crabs]

i think calgary water has high calcium so id watch that but i dont think anything to worry about.

[mike31154]

I changed to RO/DI from tap water two water changes ago. I was on the fence for two years as well. My tap TDS is around 200 and after running the RO/DI (75 gpd membrane) unit for about 5 minutes, the TDS was 0 after the RO, so not sure the DI is doing much. I guess my DI media will last a long time...

I do about a 35% water change every 14 to 21 days and the biggest thing I noticed after starting the use of RO/DI water is the improved clarity of the water in the tank, the light seems to penetrate much better. I also notice less of a cruddy film at the water surface where there is little surface agitation. The inside glass stays free from the dusting of brownish crud longer as well.

I've been battling a bit of an hair algae outbreak, but not sure I would attribute that to my recent switch to RO/DI since that should have the opposite effect. I've also recently started running two 250 watt MH lights for a few hours each day. Prior to that it's been T5HO only, so I suspect the extra strong lighting may be contributing to the algae problem.

I have little doubt switching to RO/DI water for my tank was a wise move. The inside of the plastic tub I used to mix my salt water previously is totally covered with a white residue which is almost impossible to get off. I guess the good thing is, that it's in the tub, not in my tank. This has built up over two years of water changes and maybe the residue is not bad, could be calcium, who knows, but I can just imagine all the other stuff that might be in there. I usually let my mix bubble for at least two days before a water change, so I guess this stuff has plenty of time to precipitate on the the lid and accumulate on the inside of the tub. My source water in Vernon is from Kalamalka Lake. I regularly check the Annual Source Water Quality Reports provided by Greater Vernon Services to get an idea of the water makeup and it didn't seem too bad, but it's obviously fairly hard water judging from the residue in my container.

Just did the second RO/DI water change yesterday and removed much of the hair algae in the process. All of my live rock is from previously owned tanks and I have no idea how they were run with respect to water etc. It may be a while until all the unkown ingredients from previous owners plus my own two years of tap water use is purged. I'll be closely monitoring the hair algae situation to see if it makes a significant comeback and if so, how quickly.