Need advice on RO or RO/DI purchase

[down and outman]

I got the 4 stage and 1 DI canister. I'm on a good well so it's works for me. No chlorine to filter out. My incoming TDS is around 85. I tested my water at the plant, iron and manganese were low, good turbidity and a hardness of 20. So not a lot to remove. I see you're from my old state of Illinois (used to live in Greenville, an hour out of St. Louis). You may want more filtration for all the hardness up there. I don't miss all the lime scale at all, or the snow.

I recently saw a post where someone used an additional stage and DI cartridge, and put in crushed coral to add Alk and Calcium back into the water for top offs.

[lordofthereef]

I have the Typhoon III Elite from Air, Water, and Ice. I am happy with it, but I also got a super good deal. I probably wouldn't have paid retail with it. If you look at RO systems you will see that most of the "name brands" are setup similarly and use the same components. For all intents and purposes you could buy these parts and build one yourself. That is essentially what they do. Really, any of the above recommendations would be just fine IMO for what you need, and I doubt one would see much variance in performance between these units.

[radicaltimes]

I bought one off of ebay. It was a waste of money. I spent more money changing things on it trying to get the TDS down to a low number than it was worth. I just bought a new 75 gpd from Bulkreefsupply. My TDS is 2 before the Di canster. I don't think you will go wrong if you buy from Bulk Reef Supply. They also have an option of build your own. If cash is tight you can all ways add the pressure guages later. I would go with a dual TDS meter if possible

[rayn]

Not to throw anyone off of buying a ro/di if they really want. I was looking into one and almost ordered the 75 gpd from brs, but days went by and I had to run down to my lfs to get water again. Talking to him about one and the crap water we have, there is no way I could ever compete with the water I buy from him. Runs through a water softner, then through 3 membrane, 2 carbon block, then through 2 di. No way I'll ever come close to that and he says he still has a tds of around 3! Maybe check around and find out the tds of incoming and see what it is going to take to get it down to where we need it.

[dwd5813]

rayn, do you know what the tds of your water at home is? to be honest, it sounds like you were dealing with someone who didn't want to lose the repeating sale. a home unit will ultimately be cheaper over time. 3 membranes, 2 carbon blocks and 2 di chambers and he ends with a tds of 3? has he ever changed a thing in that system, and can you see through this source water at all?

[rayn]

LFS, sells water all the time and has multiple tanks setup for fish, corals, and anemones. He uses a bunch and sells a bunch, so he goes through more then I would true. I don't think he just wants to sell me water as he said he would order me any ro or ro/di I wanted and try to beat any price I found at a competitor. I generally bounce things off this forum and my two local and one not so local lfs. This guy in particullar has always been right on track with things stated here, so I trust his judgement and answers jsut like I do here. I agree that a home unit in time will pay for itself, but at what upkeep for me if I have to run that type of filter setup to get clean pure water? I get 20 gal from him for $13 and I know it's good pure water. Why should I downgrade my water?

[dwd5813]

just throwing thoughts out there and if what you're doing ain't broke, no real need to fix.
i wouldn't view it as a downgrade at all. the upkeep for you is basically twice yearly changing of prefilters carbon and di resin (depending on usage; test to know when to change) and a disinfecting every other change or so. for that you have 24/7 access to pure water. i guess i was mistaken about the lfs guy's attitude but i still like the idea of having my own home unit over buying water from the lfs. a 200g box of reef crystals at drs. foster and smith current advertised cost (not factoring shipping) works out to .25 per gallon, add that to whatever the cost per gallon is for the rodi through a home unit and i would bet dollars to empty salt buckets that the 1.54 per gallon it costs at the lfs is more.

[rayn]

I like the idea of my own unit too, just the possible upkeep might be a problem. Maybe ill change in time.

[drstratton]

I want to thank everyone for the great input I have received so far. I'm sorry I haven't posted, the weekend came and I went to work outside with my husband. I have ordered a TDS meter and a phosphate meter. Right now I am having some red colored algae growing on the glass and the rocks. My Ph 8.2, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 20. Will the 20 ppm nitrates cause this algae growth? I have also had some bubble algae or cyano bacteria (are they the same thing?). I have shortened the length of time I leave the lights on. This has seemed to help. I am anxious to get my phosphate meter so I can see what those levels are. I'm curious to know if the problem is nitrate or phosphate related or if it is both combined. What else should I be checking? I definitely have alot to learn. Thanks again.

[Jachael]

Originally Posted by drstratton

I have ordered a TDS meter and a phosphate meter. Right now I am having some red colored algae growing on the glass and the rocks. My Ph 8.2, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 20. Will the 20 ppm nitrates cause this algae growth? I have also had some bubble algae or cyano bacteria (are they the same thing?). I have shortened the length of time I leave the lights on. This has seemed to help. I am anxious to get my phosphate meter so I can see what those levels are. I'm curious to know if the problem is nitrate or phosphate related or if it is both combined. What else should I be checking? I definitely have alot to learn. Thanks again.

Could be nitrate or phosphate, but most likely both. Nitrates 20 is high, but I would anticipate that your phosphates are high as well, even without having the real number. Shorter photoperiod will help. Also, RO/DI water changes will help with dilution of N/P once you get that system in place. Also from the sounds of a 29g "temp" tank you may have an incomplete cycle (hence the high nitrates). Would need to know more about your system. -- HTH

[drstratton]

Originally Posted by Jachael

Could be nitrate or phosphate, but most likely both. Nitrates 20 is high, but I would anticipate that your phosphates are high as well, even without having the real number. Shorter photoperiod will help. Also, RO/DI water changes will help with dilution of N/P once you get that system in place. Also from the sounds of a 29g "temp" tank you may have an incomplete cycle (hence the high nitrates). Would need to know more about your system. -- HTH

Thanks for answering, but I'm sorry what is N/P? I live an hour from the closest FS and I don't have the RO/DI unit yet, I am still trying to decide which way to go with that. The nitrates from my well water start out at 20ppm. Also do I need to worry about the cycle if it is incomplete and if so how do I get it to finish. I have checked my levels 4 times since I first set it up and they have been the same each time. Thanks again!!!

PH 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20

[down and outman]

First to answer Rayn. If you're happy with getting water at the LFS, do it. I can now draw off a few gallons for top offs instead of hauling 5 gal jugs from the store. Saves the back.

Next to drstratton. 20 ppm is not too terrible for a new tank. N/P is Nitrates and Phosphates. Your cycle is done when the Nitrites are zero. These have been converted to Nitates by the bacteria. Now you get to figure out how to get rid of the Nitrates. You will go thru several stages of algae growth as your tank matures over the first year. Feel free to ask questions on this forum as we all have been there and done that, really. Phosphates are easily controlled with a phosban reactor and either Granular Ferric Oxide or Phosphate remover. Both work well. Nitrates are trickier to control. Best is thru good skimming, a refugium with cheato (spagetti) algae to eat it up, a deep sand bed, or many other methods to get rid of it. Part of reefing is learning to control problems and the satisfaction after you have won the battle.

I recommend Bulk Reef Supply for RO/DI, but there are a lot of good systems by others like the filter guys. So shop around. Good luck.

[down and outman]

An easy way to get rid of algae is lights out for 3 days. Even put black paper on outside of tank to block light. If you don't have corals yet, you don't need lights, except to look at it, so I wouldn't be too quick to fire up the lights too soon.

[Schoeny]

Got mine from Buckeye Field Supply.

Came in 2 days, their email response to the sale was literally immeadiate.

Easy instructions to follow, only thing I needed that it didn't come with was a Self-tapping needle valve, but that was $6 at Lowes.

I would definitely recommend them.

[drstratton]

Originally Posted by down and outman

First to answer Rayn. If you're happy with getting water at the LFS, do it. I can now draw off a few gallons for top offs instead of hauling 5 gal jugs from the store. Saves the back.

Next to drstratton. 20 ppm is not too terrible for a new tank. N/P is Nitrates and Phosphates. Your cycle is done when the Nitrites are zero. These have been converted to Nitates by the bacteria. Now you get to figure out how to get rid of the Nitrates. You will go thru several stages of algae growth as your tank matures over the first year. Feel free to ask questions on this forum as we all have been there and done that, really. Phosphates are easily controlled with a phosban reactor and either Granular Ferric Oxide or Phosphate remover. Both work well. Nitrates are trickier to control. Best is thru good skimming, a refugium with cheato (spagetti) algae to eat it up, a deep sand bed, or many other methods to get rid of it. Part of reefing is learning to control problems and the satisfaction after you have won the battle.

I recommend Bulk Reef Supply for RO/DI, but there are a lot of good systems by others like the filter guys. So shop around. Good luck.

Thanks for the good information. I will not be able to have a sump until I can get my 75g tank set up. So I will just deal with any algae growth by less light time. I wanted a tank so bad that I couldn't pass up the deal I got on this used system, I am now asking myself if I should have waited.

I now have a new problem. My fish have ich. The move must have really stressed them out. My lfs did not have exactly what I needed to get rid of it so I had to order my supplies online. In the interim I am doing 50% water changes and administering Ich Attack. When I get my formulin I will dip each of my fish, and I will continue to do the w/ch and use the Ich Attack in my tank. I am thinking of pulling out my live rock and putting it into a container with an airstone (and keep it there for the length of time required for Ich to die off), I will then continue to use my 29g as a hospital tank clean it daily, 50% water change and hope that I can eradicate this completely from my system. Wish me luck and any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[down and outman]

There you go, you've got a hospital tank ready to go. Probably the best cure is to keep the fish in a good environment. Garlic is supposed to help as well. Mince some up, they will devour it.

Also if you can throw in a powerhead with the rock for water flow. It should be fine once you get the other tank set up. Good luck.

[drstratton]

Originally Posted by down and outman

There you go, you've got a hospital tank ready to go. Probably the best cure is to keep the fish in a good environment. Garlic is supposed to help as well. Mince some up, they will devour it.

Also if you can throw in a powerhead with the rock for water flow. It should be fine once you get the other tank set up. Good luck.

Thanks again. I really appreciate your help!!!