15 Alk too high?

[GpixL_]

That is what I would do too. Just do the water and stick with the hob for now.

you will also need clean water for topping off the tank every day, so the rodi is a good investment.

You will get about 100-200 gallons (maybe more) out of the DI resin, then you replace that. The resin can be bought in a bag and you refill it yourself or you can buy a replacement prefilled cartridge. You change it when it changes from blue to brown. Here is a link to the prefilled cartridge:
Aquatic Life DI Color Changing Mixed Bed Resin Cartridge
To drain the tank, you can just run a hose to a drain and suck on it to start a siphon. Or get a little pump And tubing:
SICCE MICRAPLUS Compact Aquarium Pump, 158 GPH, for submerged use in freshwater and saltwater

Ok thanks for that. So with the unit that I linked at that cartrige it will give 100-200g every day? Even though it says 50g?

 

[Jon's Reef]

Because I have to run back and forth every time the bucket fills up. But if it does 50 gallons in 24 hours... I cant really do that

You don’t have to fill the bucket then move it to the tank. Just buy 50-100 ft of 1/4” RODI tubing (like $10-20). Then the RODI output goes right in the tank! When you are done, roll it up. Then when you have to top it off (or fill a top off tank) just unroll the rodi tubing vs lugging around buckets.

 

[GpixL_]

You don’t have to fill the bucket then move it to the tank. Just buy 50-100 ft of 1/4” RODI tubing (like $10-20). Then the RODI output goes right in the tank! When you are done, roll it up. Then when you have to top it off (or fill a top off tank) just unroll the rodi tubing vs lugging around buckets.

You are so smart holy

 

[Jon's Reef]

Ok thanks for that. So with the unit that I linked at that cartrige it will give 100-200g every day? Even though it says 50g?

50 gallons per day. The clear part in the front filled with blue beads is called the DI resin. This gets used up as it cleans the water. As it is used up, it will change from blue to brown. When all of the beads are brown, they no longer clean the water. You then replace those blue beads. You can dump out the old and fill with new or replace with a prefilled cartridge. Filling yourself will cost ~$10-$15 vs a prefilled is $22.
In my system I get about 100-200 gallons before I have to replace the DI resin, it depends on your water source.

 

[GpixL_]

50 gallons per day. The clear part in the front filled with blue beads is called the DI resin. This gets used up as it cleans the water. As it is used up, it will change from blue to brown. When all of the beads are brown, they no longer clean the water. You then replace those blue beads. You can dump out the old and fill with new or replace with a prefilled cartridge. Filling yourself will cost ~$10-$15 vs a prefilled is $22.
In my system I get about 100-200 gallons before I have to replace the DI resin, it depends on your water source.

Oh I get it thanks

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

So should I test alk and mag and see if I can do something about it? Or spend the money and restart

Neither. Just move forward.

 

[GpixL_]

Neither. Just move forward.

Yup getting the RODI unit

 

[Jon's Reef]

Oh I get it thanks

One other thing, if you want faster water production… it has more to do with the “reverse osmosis membrane”. 50 is just fine for your tank, but if you want faster this one does 75 gallon per day:

AQUATICLIFE Twist-in 4-Stage Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration Deionization System, RO/DI Filter Unit 75 GPD

 

[GpixL_]

One other thing, if you want faster water production… it has more to do with the “reverse osmosis membrane”. 50 is just fine for your tank, but if you want faster this one does 75 gallon per day:

AQUATICLIFE Twist-in 4-Stage Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration Deionization System, RO/DI Filter Unit 75 GPD

Yeah should be fine. Ill just turn it off at night

 

[GpixL_]

You don’t have to fill the bucket then move it to the tank. Just buy 50-100 ft of 1/4” RODI tubing (like $10-20). Then the RODI output goes right in the tank! When you are done, roll it up. Then when you have to top it off (or fill a top off tank) just unroll the rodi tubing vs lugging around buckets.

This?

 

[GpixL_]

Btw I put Fritz turbostart yesterday. Is taking out the water gonna take all that away? Like should I fill it up, and put ammonia or something else too?

 

[Jon's Reef]

This?

Yup. I use blue for clean water.

Btw I put Fritz turbostart yesterday. Is taking out the water gonna take all that away? Like should I fill it up, and put ammonia or something else too?

Maybe, maybe not. The nitrifying bacteria (ammonia to nitrite to nitrate) live on surfaces not in the water. So a good number probably made it into the sand.

If someone had mentioned giving you some bioballs or a filter from a nice tank, that will do a lot better at seeding the bacteria.

You can spend a lot of money on bottled bacteria and it won’t make it go faster. It will take 1-2 weeks to see the ammonia go down then another 1-2 weeks for the nitrite. Do not overdose the ammonia, 2 ppm only. Also do not test nitrate before nitrite is 0 as nitrite will give false high nitrate.

For cycling, I like the API tests. They are cheap, easy to do and many pet stores have them (petco, petsmart, etc).

 

[jesse88]

Buy couple cheap fish and take it slow for the first year

 

[GpixL_]

Yup. I use blue for clean water.



Maybe, maybe not. The nitrifying bacteria (ammonia to nitrite to nitrate) live on surfaces not in the water. So a good number probably made it into the sand.

If someone had mentioned giving you some bioballs or a filter from a nice tank, that will do a lot better at seeding the bacteria.

You can spend a lot of money on bottled bacteria and it won’t make it go faster. It will take 1-2 weeks to see the ammonia go down then another 1-2 weeks for the nitrite. Do not overdose the ammonia, 2 ppm only. Also do not test nitrate before nitrite is 0 as nitrite will give false high nitrate.

For cycling, I like the API tests. They are cheap, easy to do and many pet stores have them (petco, petsmart, etc).

Ok. I cant really do the tube tho. Im upstairs and the faucet is downstairs so it wont really work. (with 2 gallons per hour)

 

[Dbichler]

Not to be rude but this is the most I can’t thread I’ve seen. This hobby is full of difficult to manage scenarios not necessarily a hobby for the I cants.

 

[GpixL_]

Not to be rude but this is the most I can’t thread I’ve seen. This hobby is full of difficult to manage scenarios not necessarily a hobby for the I cants.

Bruh. Its not possible to use tubes for this. Im using buckets.
Tell me, how can I get water from a RODI unit that takes out 2 gallons of water an hour UPWARDS to the second story and into the tank? You cant. So buckets it is.

 

[GpixL_]

.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Bruh. Its not possible to use tubes for this. Im using buckets.
Tell me, how can I get water from a RODI unit that takes out 2 gallons of water an hour UPWARDS to the second story and into the tank? You cant. So buckets it is.

I used a diaphragm pump to send water from downstairs to my tank using an ATO.

 

[GpixL_]

I used a diaphragm pump to send water from downstairs to my tank using an ATO.

It think thats just to hard/expensive Ill just go simple.

 

[Jon's Reef]

Bruh. Its not possible to use tubes for this. Im using buckets.
Tell me, how can I get water from a RODI unit that takes out 2 gallons of water an hour UPWARDS to the second story and into the tank? You cant. So buckets it is.

If you have 60 psi water pressure (typical) and the tube is 1/4" OD (~1/8" ID), pushing the water at a rate of 2 gph up 20 ft is not a problem. It will be an inconvenience for a day to have the tubing running through the house, but you will have no issue slowing down the water production. Just tell everyone in the house "Don't touch the tube!!" and use a clamp to hold it in the tank (or it will inevitably flip out of the tank).

For emptying I would get that Sicce micra plus pump and some 1/2" vinyl tubing. Run it to the nearest drain (bathroom, kitchen, etc) will take about 20 min to empty the tank.

So much easier than buckets... and so much less of a mess!