What should i buy to purify my water?

[megs_clark]

Hi, Im in need of advice again. lol. I noticed im getting some green hair algae on my crushed corol. I want to fix this before it gets out of controll. I have just a little right now. My tanks a few months old, 30 Gallon. I do 10% water change a week but am using tap water which i have prepared 7 days before each change. I only have live rock and a couple clowns, a brittle star, 2 turbo snails and 2 hermit crabs. SO im thinking i need to do something about the tap water. Im looking on JL Aquatics and my question. Should i buy the $50 water purafier (im thinking no) and if i need a more expencive one which brand, Aqua Fx or the Kent Brand. And do i need a R/O or should i just buck up the little extra and get the R/O D/I. Im planing on just ordering online since i live to far away from their so i cant go in and ask for advice. Any help on this would be great!! I check my water regulary with the saltwater master kit my api and my Nitrate Nitrite Amonia and Ph looks fine. I have not checked any thing else yet.

[golf nut]

Probably hundreds of ways to purify it, best results are obtained by taking a 5 gallon pail to the confessional.

[ElGuappo]

at this point i would really reccomend a dechlorinater. when i used tap water i used "safe" to dechlor. it is also a de nitrifiyer. i switched to a rodi from red coral and do notice a significant difference in quality, even just to the eye.

[megs_clark]

Iv been using Aqua Plus tap water condition to remove the chlorine, Is that the same thing? After i do a water change i fill the container up get the salt right, put in my Aqua Plus tap water conditioner, I was also adding cycle but didnt for my last couple water changes, and then i let that airate for 7 days till my next water change. I think i need to do more though, Im going to try to find a TDS so i can check my water but have a feeling ill have to order that in to.

[megs_clark]

I just realized you said that "safe" stuff is also a de nitrifiyer. Ill try to find that and try switching. Sounds like that does more then the Aqua Pluse tap water conditioner

[mark]

Thought the lower mainland water was rather good right from the tap (treated for chlorine). The crushed coral might be contributing to your problems as well as the amounts your feeding.

[wickedfrags]

Best thing to do is get an inexpensive RO/DI unit, Aquasafe brand comes to mind (eBay...what I use). No need to purchase the really exspensive RO/DIunits, and honestly RO water is essentially required for a successful saltwater tank (and the RO unit can also serve other purposes around the home, drinking water, ice-maker etc.). Go with an RO/DI unit of some sort, you will not regret it.


Hi, Im in need of advice again. lol. I noticed im getting some green hair algae on my crushed corol. I want to fix this before it gets out of controll. I have just a little right now. My tanks a few months old, 30 Gallon. I do 10% water change a week but am using tap water which i have prepared 7 days before each change. I only have live rock and a couple clowns, a brittle star, 2 turbo snails and 2 hermit crabs. SO im thinking i need to do something about the tap water. Im looking on JL Aquatics and my question. Should i buy the $50 water purafier (im thinking no) and if i need a more expencive one which brand, Aqua Fx or the Kent Brand. And do i need a R/O or should i just buck up the little extra and get the R/O D/I. Im planing on just ordering online since i live to far away from their so i cant go in and ask for advice. Any help on this would be great!! I check my water regulary with the saltwater master kit my api and my Nitrate Nitrite Amonia and Ph looks fine. I have not checked any thing else yet.

[hillegom]

best thing to do is get an inexpensive ro/di unit, aquasafe brand comes to mind (ebay...what i use). No need to purchase the really exspensive ro/diunits, and honestly ro water is essentially required for a successful saltwater tank (and the ro unit can also serve other purposes around the home, drinking water, ice-maker etc.). Go with an ro/di unit of some sort, you will not regret it.

+1

[sphelps]

Your needs will depend on the quality of your tap water. Here in Stoon I get a TDS of about 180ppm from the tap so I use a full 6 stage RO/DI to bring this down to the range of 0-4ppm. I've talked a few people down in BC who get a reading as low as 20-30ppm so they can usually just use a dual or triple stage (no ro or di) and get similar results as me.

RO units are very wasteful and I don't believe you should use one unless you need to.

[Aquattro]

As an oposing view, I think everyone should use RO for a reef, it eliminates any questions on quality of source water. If water waste is an issue, there are several options for reclaimation, from laundry use to gardening.

[Ron99]

I would spend a bit more on the Vertex RO/DI unit. It is 100GPD and has a built in booster pump and inline TDS meter. It is electronically controlled and automatically back flushes to clean the filter etc. every 15 minutes. It only produces about 1 to 1.5 gallons of waste for each gallon of RO so it is very efficient. And the price is good if you consider the price of adding a TDS meter, back flush kit and booster pump to a cheaper unit. I am fairly certain this is very similar to the unit I saw at a commercial water purification store where their only added step afterward was to UV sterilize the water after RO/DI.

[scherzo]

Your needs will depend on the quality of your tap water. Here in Stoon I get a TDS of about 180ppm from the tap so I use a full 6 stage RO/DI to bring this down to the range of 0-4ppm. I've talked a few people down in BC who get a reading as low as 20-30ppm so they can usually just use a dual or triple stage (no ro or di) and get similar results as me.

RO units are very wasteful and I don't believe you should use one unless you need to.

I'm not sure where Chilliwack gets their water from.. but here in Coquitlam (about 1 hour away from Chilliwack) I get 12ppm on ym TDS meter right from the tap. I just use a DI unit. Works for me and many other local reefers.

[sphelps]

As an oposing view, I think everyone should use RO for a reef, it eliminates any questions on quality of source water. If water waste is an issue, there are several options for reclaimation, from laundry use to gardening.
This is true but often very difficult and impractical to implement. Measuring your tap water TDS is as simple as measuring your tank salinity. All you need is a very inexpensive TDS meter. Better safe than sorry is not an excuse for wasting valuable resources.

[megs_clark]

As soon as i find a tds reader ill post my reading and then mabe i can get a better idea of what i need to buy. Thanks for the opinions so far :O) so many options makes this all confusing sometimes,
I can say to a earlier post i really dont think im over feading. I take the frozen food, a tiny bit, put salt water in it to defreeze it, dump out the water and use a tooth pick to pick the food out and put in the water. The fish pritty much eat it almost before it hits the water, and i watch to see if any sink and it never does. Then i turn on the pumps. I do use a medicine dropper 2 times a week to squirt the brittle star so i guess that might be contamanating the water a little, but i use so little i thought he must be munching it all up right away?

[scherzo]

Here is something interesting but also something that I suspected.

Chilliwack gets its water from an aquifer (ground water). It is much more susceptible to contamination (from what I have heard.. I am not an expert).

Have you checked your source for nitrate or phosphates? (right out of the tap)

You can find more info RE: your water here:

http://www.gov.chilliwack.bc.ca/main/page.cfm?id=1249

I forgot to say.. I have a Lawnmower Blenny that keeps my green algaes in check.

[megs_clark]

Soooo I made it out to JL aquatics, already cant wait to go back. I bought a tds meter when i was their, and it says my tap water is 065 ppm. Thats pritty good isnt it? And if so should i just buy a R/O Or should i still just buck up and buy a RO/DI?

[scherzo]

65ppm isn't bad.. I get 14ppm out of my tap.

I guess if you're really concerned then you may as well get the full RO/DI until.. I think J&L has one for $200 or so.

You could just get the Aquarium Pharma DI filter for about $60. It really depends on the size of your tank. With about 65ppm the filter will last you a while if your tank isn't big. And if you're patient.

[Piscez]

This works nicely if your lucky enough to live in an area where your PPM is reasonably low:

http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/ro-aptwp/Aquarium+Pharmaceuticals+Tap+Water+Filter.html

[Canadian]

Obviously there are seasonal variations in tapwater TDS but lately I've been contemplating just removing my RO membrane from my RO/DI unit. Our TDS is around 20 ppm on average at worst here in Victoria. I'm considering going with a 5 micron then 1 micron prefilter and two consecutive carbon blocks then my DI. This way I won't have the rejection water and I doubt I'll have any problems with exhausting my DI too quickly.

[Zoaelite]

As an oposing view, I think everyone should use RO for a reef, it eliminates any questions on quality of source water. If water waste is an issue, there are several options for reclaimation, from laundry use to gardening.

Sorry SP, have to go with Brad on this one. For such an expensive hobby its just not worth the risk to introduce phosphates, Chlorine or any dissolved solids. You don't buy a brand new BMW sports car and then fill it with regular gas so why would you put unpurified water into a reef system? Besides, it doesn't "destroy" or make the waste water unusable so there are many applications for RO waste.
Levi

[sphelps]

Sorry SP, have to go with Brad on this one. For such an expensive hobby its just not worth the risk to introduce phosphates, Chlorine or any dissolved solids. You don't buy a brand new BMW sports car and then fill it with regular gas so why would you put unpurified water into a reef system? Besides, it doesn't "destroy" or make the waste water unusable so there are many applications for RO waste.
Levi
That's kind of a weird comparison wouldn't you say? A sports car may need premium fuel to work properly and maintain it's warranty. Fuel is consistent through out the country, tap water is not. And by your reasoning you should fill every car with premium because cars are expensive and reading the manual is time consuming, best just put the good stuff in there to be safe :lol:

All I was saying is it would be smart to measure your TDS to decide on your filtration requirements, if you're only getting around 20ppm like many people in BC you're better off using a simple 3 or 4 stage filter with DI if necessary, RO would be wasteful and unnecessary. But 65 could benefit from an RO unit, you can skip the DI as you won't really benefit from its addition.

Yes this is an expensive hobby so all the more reason to save where you can, not the opposite. Also would you like to explain how you would practically go about reusing the waste water from an RO??

[Aquattro]

Also would you like to explain how you would practically go about reusing the waste water from an RO??

My drain goes out kitchen to rain barrel for garden use. Many people can hook up the unit in the laundry room and fill the washer with the waste water. You can fill jugs and use it to water plants. If you care enough, it's no big deal. It's as difficult as washing that tin can and going all the way across the kitchen to put it in the recycle bin.

[Zoaelite]

SP it was a weird comparison but think of the concept behind it. For a reef tank that has $1000's of dollars invested in livestock you wouldn't want to cheap out and put something that could potentially kill that live stock. Same with a BMW or any luxury car, use of a higher end fuel reduces the chance of damage/ wear and tare on the unit. You do have a good point, people should be measuring there TDS before deciding what RO to purchase. In the end though a RO also removes chlorine and other impurities in the water that could be entering your system.
I would never put tap water in my tank, as it just spells hair algae for me :\.

[fkshiu]

It's a common misconception that "premium" gas is somehow "better" than regular unleaded. All the octane numbers refer to resistance to premature detonation. Higher end cars require greater resistance to detontation because they generally run at higher compression ratios. The bottom line is always use what is recommended by the manufacturer - if the owner's manual says use regular then putting in "premium" will not give any measurable advantage in terms of either performance or fuel efficiency for a properly maintained engine.

Anyhooooo, that aside I do agree that you should run RO/DI even in the GVRD not because you have to (you don't) for water QUALITY but for CONSISTENCY. Several times crews have been mucking around outside or there's been a large rainstorm runoff and the TDS has shot up dramatically for short periods of time. With RO/DI you have those extra layers of protection as it were to maintain a consistent end product.

As Aquattro mentioned, there are a myriad of uses for rejected RO water - my wife uses ours to water her garden.

[sphelps]

My drain goes out kitchen to rain barrel for garden use. Many people can hook up the unit in the laundry room and fill the washer with the waste water. You can fill jugs and use it to water plants. If you care enough, it's no big deal. It's as difficult as washing that tin can and going all the way across the kitchen to put it in the recycle bin.
That's fine if you can do that but not all of us have the ability to run a new water line outside and some of us have 8 months of below freezing winter. For indoor use you would have to setup a large storage tank with float and bypass system, then you would have to rig up some kind of way to use the stored water in things like laundry (but only the wash cycle not rinse). Reusing the waste water simply isn't always as practical as some of you make it out to be, 99% of the people using RO send the waste water down the drain and for good reason.

[sphelps]

SP it was a weird comparison but think of the concept behind it. For a reef tank that has $1000's of dollars invested in livestock you wouldn't want to cheap out and put something that could potentially kill that live stock. Same with a BMW or any luxury car, use of a higher end fuel reduces the chance of damage/ wear and tare on the unit. You do have a good point, people should be measuring there TDS before deciding what RO to purchase. In the end though a RO also removes chlorine and other impurities in the water that could be entering your system.
I would never put tap water in my tank, as it just spells hair algae for me :\.
Still don't see the comparison, it's not the same. If one gas station sells premium fuel for a standard price and another sells the same fuel for double because it's traveled further to get there, where would you buy from? If you've got a low TDS like 20ppm and can filter it down to 0ppm without an RO, why use and RO? You pay more for the filter and introduce a waste ratio of at least 3:1 compared to 0:1. It's still filtered water not direct tap water and it's not going to damage your tank, it's the exact same thing without the extra waste.

You also don't need an RO to remove contaminants like chlorine, and using the proper filter for the proper application will produce consistent results. Any stirred up sediment or heavy containment from city maintenance will be easily filtered out by a sediment and micron filter, you don't need an RO for this. We could also all use 12 stage filters with triple RO membranes but that of course would be silly, or would it? Or maybe we should ll adjust our RO membranes to waste 10:1 so we get a little more pure water and we're more on the safe side. Where do you draw the line? I simply say you draw it based on your tap water TDS and therefore your specific requirements.

[Zoaelite]

Still don't see the comparison, it's not the same. If one gas station sells premium fuel for a standard price and another sells the same fuel for double because it's traveled further to get there, where would you buy from? If you've got a low TDS like 20ppm and can filter it down to 0ppm without an RO, why use and RO? You pay more for the filter and introduce a waste ratio of at least 3:1 compared to 0:1. It's still filtered water not direct tap water and it's not going to damage your tank, it's the exact same thing without the extra waste.

You also don't need an RO to remove contaminants like chlorine, and using the proper filter for the proper application will produce consistent results. We could also all use 12 stage filters with triple RO membranes but that of course would be silly, or would it? Where do you draw the line? I simply say you draw it where it should be, based on your tap water TDS.

I agree with you 100%, where applicable the best suited RO system should be used but I believe some sort of RO system as a safe guard to your tank is a great investment.

We have gotten way to complicated with my comparison, the point I was trying to get across is you get what you pay for. Perhaps my lack of knowledge behind cars and fuel has made this hard for you to see, if so my bad :sad:.

[sphelps]

I agree with you 100%, where applicable the best suited RO system should be used but I believe some sort of RO system as a safe guard to your tank is a great investment.

We have gotten way to complicated with my comparison, the point I was trying to get across is you get what you pay for. Perhaps my lack of knowledge behind cars and fuel has made this hard for you to see, if so my bad :sad:.
Well that's fine, I'm not saying anyone's opinion isn't perfectly valid but validating your own by obscurely trying to cut someone else down with a completely irrelevant comparison isn't really necessary so please excuse me if I was a little defensive and blunt.

Also keep in mind RO membranes can fail, they require more maintenance and they are more complicated and as a result are often hocked up wrong. I once examined a tank after a complete crash. The problem sourced back to new RO unit that wasn't connected properly.

You do get what you pay for but why pay for something you don't need or even use? The main point I was making is that if you can get the same results without an RO why use one? Safety? Maybe I guess but what about people like me who use an RO to it's maximum potential, should I get another RO unit and waste twice as much water for the extra safety even though I've never had a problem? It's just like anything else, things can fail and go wrong with any piece of equipment.

[Zoaelite]

Well that's fine, I'm not saying anyone's opinion isn't perfectly valid but validating your own by obscurely trying to cut someone else down with a completely irrelevant comparison isn't really necessary so please excuse me if I was a little defensive and blunt.

My post wasn't intended to destroy your argument or cut you down it was merely my opinion on the matter. My comparison was simply trying to represent this. SP do you let your water sit out before you add it to the tank or do you use a dechlorinator?
Levi

[sphelps]

My post wasn't intended to destroy your argument or cut you down it was merely my opinion on the matter. My comparison was simply trying to represent this. SP do you let your water sit out before you add it to the tank or do you use a dechlorinator?
Levi
Maybe but I find it strange that you used that particular example for a comparison, especially since you admit to having very little knowledge about the subject. I think I know what you were going for and maybe you think I'm contradicting myself as you feel I'm wasteful and do the unnecessary but either way I don't think it was necessary.

I use an RO-DI unit to bring my tap water TDS down from around 200ppm to about 2-3ppm. The filtered water is feed directly to the tank.

[Zoaelite]

Maybe but I find it strange that you used that particular example for a comparison, especially since you admit to having very little knowledge about the subject. I think I know what you were going for and maybe you think I'm contradicting myself as you feel I'm wasteful and do the unnecessary but either way I don't think it was necessary.

Sorry you have me a little confused, why would I think that your wasteful? If anything out of the conversation I appear wasteful with advocating the use of a RO system.

I use an RO-DI unit to bring my tap water TDS down from around 200ppm to about 2-3ppm. The filtered water is feed directly to the tank.
Seems you have the same problem as me, In Calgary we have pretty bad TDS and a whack load of chlorine in our tap water so an RO system is very useful. Maybe its just me (and perhaps because I have lived in Calgary for 19 years) but it scares me to put tap water strait into my tank as I don't know for a 100% fact what's in that water. Even with people that naturally have tap water with low TDS, adding only R/O water to tank is just one more step for protection of our mini oceans. What happens if that person with 20 ppm TDS has a crazy amount of run off in there area and for some reason it jumps to 200 PPM?
Levi

[scherzo]

1) I'm not sure if this is where it was stated before but isn't a DI unit more effective (when used properly) than a RO unit?

2) If people are going from 200ppm down to 2-3 ppm with a full blown RO/DI unit.. and I can go from 14ppm ~ 65ppm down to 0ppm... isn't my water cleaner than yours? And I only spent (or spend) a fraction on filters and startup?


I'm new to this hobby and decided to go with the $60 Aquarium Pharmaceuticals DI unit because of some experienced local reefers experiences. Worked for them for years...

Analogy time.. I have a lot invested in the lives of my family.. but I can't afford a Volvo or two to protect them. I can only afford a Honda or a Mazda... We're doing the best with what I can afford (insurance aside)..

I know.. I know.. probably open to flaming.. human life.. not the same as fishy life..

Anyway.. I don't know what is better.. but I can tell you in my experience and some people that I know locally.. going from 14ppm ~ 70ppm out of the tap... the DI unit we(I use) lasts at least a year. Since you have a TDS meter.. just check it all the time.. simple.. cheap.. you mix your water ahead of time right?... why not make sure that you have enough water ahead of time just in case of a storm or a water main break or something..absolute worst case.. go to a purified water store for that short period of time and buy your water.. (I've never had to do it.. nor has anyone that I know that uses the simple DI filter)

Now having said all of this.. in a long winded post.. one of my friends who ran the DI unit for a long time.. just upgraded to an RO/DI unit... for.. well his reasoning.. why not?.. I guess he had the cash.. and then he went for the upgrade.

(phew.. I'm sweating from all of this typing.. must be the heat..)