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10/19/2012, 02:02 PM
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#1 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Cheyenne, Wyoming
Posts: 9
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RO/DI water
I read in one place dont use ro/di water because it takes all the good minerals also and the next blog says always use ro/di water.so does anyone the the actual answer for my reef aquarium and also to I need to add extra supliments? I already use reef calcium reef, reef advantage calcium, reef complete,reef plus, and reef builder.
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10/19/2012, 02:05 PM
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#2 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
Posts: 3,561
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You need to be using RO/DI water for the best results. It really depends on what you are keeping in your tank as far as how much you need to dose. Fish don't really need much other than low nitrates where as a full blown SPS reef needs high levels of alk, cal, and mg.
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120 gallon mixed reef |
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10/19/2012, 03:48 PM
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#3 |
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-RT * ln(k)
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Little Rock
Posts: 9,705
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For freshwater tanks, RODI will strip the water too much and you would have to add minerals back. If you go back and re-read that first place I bet it was talking about freshwater tanks.
For saltwater tanks you are already doing that when you add the salt mix. So there's no concern with stripping everything out of the water. Given the bad things that can happen in saltwater tanks from poor water quality, it is best to use the purest water you can get and RODI is the thing to use.
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David Current Tank: Undergoing reconstruction... |
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10/19/2012, 03:50 PM
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#4 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 54
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I have always been told do not dose anything you do not test for. Having said that I must dose alk and calcium. Also I am trying vodka right now to get rid of phosphates.
100 percent use rodi water if you can the salt will add everything else you need |
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10/19/2012, 03:58 PM
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#5 |
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Registered Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 3,907
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Yes, RO/DI takes everything out, including some minerals that the fish/corals can likely use. In addition to taking out some 'good' stuff, the RO/DI takes out a whole lot of potentially bad stuff too. As disc1 said, you add all those back with your salt mix anyway, so it's not really an issue.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 120 gallon, coast to coast overflow w/beananimal overflow. Waveline DC 10000 II return pump, 40 gal sump, Octopus XS200 skimmer, T5 lighting |
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10/19/2012, 05:53 PM
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#6 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Cheyenne, Wyoming
Posts: 9
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Great thanks all! Hoping to start adding corals in a couple months
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10/19/2012, 09:43 PM
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#7 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Springfield, MA
Posts: 125
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Yup ro/di is a must, no matter how clean you think your water is. Eliminates one more thing to check when there is a problem, knowing your water is good too.
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10/20/2012, 08:41 AM
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#8 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 200
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I filled my 180 with tap water when I started. My tap water contains over 10ppm nitrates. So using it for water changes and evaporation would mean I am adding nitrates to the tank. That is the main reason I invested in an ro/di unit. After 2 months of adding ro/di for normal evaporation and 2 water changes with ro/di, my nitrates are less than 5ppm. I still have some green hair algae which I am confident was caused by the tap water.
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Set up on August 20,2012. 180 gallon All Glass 72"x24"x24", drilled from the bottom with dual mega overflows, Current USA Orbit Marine LED, 3 T5HO, Bubble-Magus Curve 7, 35 gallon sump. Current Tank Info: 180 gallon |
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