New to the hobby, Billings, MT

michaelkittrell · 08/26/2010, 10:34 AM

I've read the forums off and on for a couple years, mostly looking at how people setup their systems and DIY type stuff, but I recently jumped in the fire when my father in law sold me his 125 gallon setup.

My current setup is 150 gallon rubber maid with all my rock (150-200 lbs) and fish (tang, 2 clowns, chromis) in it. No filtration, 2 200w heaters keeping the tank about 81 degrees. SG on the high end of the dunk and fill tester (I'm not at home, but its on the high end of the "good" bracketed range) ammonia is near 0. Move was pretty fast and I moved 80% of the original water and added about 50 gallons of freshly mixed ro/di. I didn't get any detectable ammonia spike (as of today 3 weeks later). Each week I've been adding about 5 gallons of RO/DI water to combat evaporation, but I'm probably goign to need to start water changes within another week or two.

So where I am now is I need ro/di water to fill up the original 125, reintroduce the dsb and clean / recure it before I plumb the sump/refugium in and move the rock/fish. Gonna need a lot of water.

I'm looking for a ro/di unit. I'm on well water with about 350 ppm "relatively clean" water. It is hard and I do have a softener. I'm a little too techy for my own good so I need help balancing my desire to buy the "best" without getting sold on the gimmicks. I'm also about efficiency in spending my $$ and my time. I like to get the biggest bang for the buck and buy in bulk or reusable even if the initial cost is more. Low maintenance / simple to maintain / bullet proof system is good too. Also, I really hate replacing stuff; I prefer to buy something that will last.

so... any thoughts on whether I should buy a 6 stage deluxe ro/di from BRS for about 280 or a 5 stage standard? I'd like to buy a knock off on ebay, but I figure any money saved would immediately be spent replacing poorer quality filters. Would that be a fair assumption? Also, the 7,8,9 stage ro/di units on ebay are probably gimmicky? Are the oil filled gauges and the "commercial" tds meter and the fm2 filter monitor worth going with the 6 stage deluxe over the 5 stage standard? Once I have more experience with salt water, I'm probably going to move towards more corals and keep fish minimal. Probably lps... not sure I'll ever go for SPS due to the difficulty and expense.

Next concern is on a gfo/carbon system... I just started reading about this stuff, its completely new to me, but if I buy a ro/di system from BRS I want to probably buy this too at the same time so I apologize in advance for asking questions that I'm sure have been answered.

How do I attach a gfo/carbon system to my setup. I plan for my water to go from display -> combined sump/refugium -> tank (skimmer in the sump). I'm considering separating out my sump/refugium and going display->refugium -> sump. Should I put the gfo/carbon between the sump and the display tank? Should I even bother with the gfo/carbon? My father in law never ran carbon filters at all or a protein skimmer for that matter.

thegrun · 08/26/2010, 11:15 AM

Regarding the question of 5 or 6 stage ro/di filter I think you are right on the edge of a 5 stage working for you. My tap TDS is around 420 and a single stage DI filter would not bring my TDS down any lower than 12. I had to add a second DI filter in series to get my TDS to zero. I think you are likely to experience the same thing. I would spend a little more up front and then not need to worry about adding another filter later. When your TDS starts to climb you replace the first in line DI filter with the final DI filter and then install the new filter in the last filter location.

stevek480 · 08/26/2010, 11:23 AM

And definitely stay away from the cheap knock-off systems from ebay. I did that and I've been slowly replacing the stages with new filters from BRS. The DI portion of the cheap ebay system didn't even do anything to lower TDS, so I replaced that with a BRS DI unit and it works great.

I have a BRS carbon reactor plumbed into my return pump and it just returns water into the sump. I found it necessary because I noticed my tank water was yellow after a while. You could also just stick a MJ1200 in your sump and pump that to the reactor.

michaelkittrell · 08/26/2010, 12:09 PM

One of my concerns with the gfo/carbon thing is I don't want to filter out all the pods and stuff... Does the gfo/carbon filter cause any problem with pods getting into the main tank?

btw thanks for the replies

thegrun · 08/26/2010, 02:18 PM

Try to arrange any filtration before the refugium (where you pods will living) so that the pods will be sucked up by the return pump and not caught in a filter.

michaelkittrell · 08/26/2010, 02:34 PM

but if i hook up the filter before the refugium then the waste from the tank doesn't go to feeding the refugium... that means I have to feed the refugium which basically leaves waste from teh refugium going into the display tank...

Sounds like it needs to operate directly into and out to the main display tank... I was hoping someone would say pods get through the filter so I didn't have to have more crap in the display tank.

Michael

nicfo25 · 08/26/2010, 07:39 PM

I live in Columbus, MT. Will be tagging along! I just set up a new 125. I am currently cycling. Good luck

08/26/2010, 10:34 AM	#1
michaelkittrell Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Montana Posts: 77	New to the hobby, Billings, MT I've read the forums off and on for a couple years, mostly looking at how people setup their systems and DIY type stuff, but I recently jumped in the fire when my father in law sold me his 125 gallon setup. My current setup is 150 gallon rubber maid with all my rock (150-200 lbs) and fish (tang, 2 clowns, chromis) in it. No filtration, 2 200w heaters keeping the tank about 81 degrees. SG on the high end of the dunk and fill tester (I'm not at home, but its on the high end of the "good" bracketed range) ammonia is near 0. Move was pretty fast and I moved 80% of the original water and added about 50 gallons of freshly mixed ro/di. I didn't get any detectable ammonia spike (as of today 3 weeks later). Each week I've been adding about 5 gallons of RO/DI water to combat evaporation, but I'm probably goign to need to start water changes within another week or two. So where I am now is I need ro/di water to fill up the original 125, reintroduce the dsb and clean / recure it before I plumb the sump/refugium in and move the rock/fish. Gonna need a lot of water. I'm looking for a ro/di unit. I'm on well water with about 350 ppm "relatively clean" water. It is hard and I do have a softener. I'm a little too techy for my own good so I need help balancing my desire to buy the "best" without getting sold on the gimmicks. I'm also about efficiency in spending my $$ and my time. I like to get the biggest bang for the buck and buy in bulk or reusable even if the initial cost is more. Low maintenance / simple to maintain / bullet proof system is good too. Also, I really hate replacing stuff; I prefer to buy something that will last. so... any thoughts on whether I should buy a 6 stage deluxe ro/di from BRS for about 280 or a 5 stage standard? I'd like to buy a knock off on ebay, but I figure any money saved would immediately be spent replacing poorer quality filters. Would that be a fair assumption? Also, the 7,8,9 stage ro/di units on ebay are probably gimmicky? Are the oil filled gauges and the "commercial" tds meter and the fm2 filter monitor worth going with the 6 stage deluxe over the 5 stage standard? Once I have more experience with salt water, I'm probably going to move towards more corals and keep fish minimal. Probably lps... not sure I'll ever go for SPS due to the difficulty and expense. Next concern is on a gfo/carbon system... I just started reading about this stuff, its completely new to me, but if I buy a ro/di system from BRS I want to probably buy this too at the same time so I apologize in advance for asking questions that I'm sure have been answered. How do I attach a gfo/carbon system to my setup. I plan for my water to go from display -> combined sump/refugium -> tank (skimmer in the sump). I'm considering separating out my sump/refugium and going display->refugium -> sump. Should I put the gfo/carbon between the sump and the display tank? Should I even bother with the gfo/carbon? My father in law never ran carbon filters at all or a protein skimmer for that matter.

08/26/2010, 11:23 AM	#3
stevek480 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Flemington, NJ Posts: 605	And definitely stay away from the cheap knock-off systems from ebay. I did that and I've been slowly replacing the stages with new filters from BRS. The DI portion of the cheap ebay system didn't even do anything to lower TDS, so I replaced that with a BRS DI unit and it works great. I have a BRS carbon reactor plumbed into my return pump and it just returns water into the sump. I found it necessary because I noticed my tank water was yellow after a while. You could also just stick a MJ1200 in your sump and pump that to the reactor. __________________ 125g Mixed Reef w/ 40g Sump. 2x Reef Breeders Photon 32. MSX200 skimmer.

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08/26/2010, 11:15 AM	#2
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	Regarding the question of 5 or 6 stage ro/di filter I think you are right on the edge of a 5 stage working for you. My tap TDS is around 420 and a single stage DI filter would not bring my TDS down any lower than 12. I had to add a second DI filter in series to get my TDS to zero. I think you are likely to experience the same thing. I would spend a little more up front and then not need to worry about adding another filter later. When your TDS starts to climb you replace the first in line DI filter with the final DI filter and then install the new filter in the last filter location.

08/26/2010, 12:09 PM	#4
michaelkittrell Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Montana Posts: 77	One of my concerns with the gfo/carbon thing is I don't want to filter out all the pods and stuff... Does the gfo/carbon filter cause any problem with pods getting into the main tank? btw thanks for the replies

08/26/2010, 02:18 PM	#5
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	Try to arrange any filtration before the refugium (where you pods will living) so that the pods will be sucked up by the return pump and not caught in a filter.

08/26/2010, 02:34 PM	#6
michaelkittrell Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Montana Posts: 77	but if i hook up the filter before the refugium then the waste from the tank doesn't go to feeding the refugium... that means I have to feed the refugium which basically leaves waste from teh refugium going into the display tank... Sounds like it needs to operate directly into and out to the main display tank... I was hoping someone would say pods get through the filter so I didn't have to have more crap in the display tank. Michael

08/26/2010, 07:39 PM	#7
nicfo25 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Montana Posts: 171	I live in Columbus, MT. Will be tagging along! I just set up a new 125. I am currently cycling. Good luck