Do I need DI resin?

[CoralB]

Check out aquafx in winter park Florida . Talk to Jeremy and he will guide you to what you need and they ship plus they have excellent customer service . Prices are fair .

 

[CoralB]

What is the difference between running your DI resin in a filter vessel and in a mesh bag in the ATO container? I am going to get a supplementary stage for my RO system, but I was thinking that if there is no difference I could simply keep the DI resin in the ATO container and keep it always filled with RO water. Any downside from that?

Yes big downside as in a canister it forces water to go through the media . The other way you mentioned could allow water to pass around it and wouldn’t be as effective.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

What is the difference between running your DI resin in a filter vessel and in a mesh bag in the ATO container? I am going to get a supplementary stage for my RO system, but I was thinking that if there is no difference I could simply keep the DI resin in the ATO container and keep it always filled with RO water. Any downside from that?

A mesh bag is not necessarily a good idea. Not all water/ions gets to it, but also CO2 depletes the di and having it open to air will deplete it.

 

[KonradTO]

Finally resin and media container arrived!
Tds from my tapwater is 250, from the RO stages 15 and after DI resin 0-1 (whitin error range). Hopefully my algae problem will benefit from this.

 

[KonradTO]

Well I feel stupid now. Found out I have Amphidinium dinoflagellates and the guideline is to add sodium silicate solution to increase diatoms. How come I had dino already when I was using silicate rich RO? I also never noticed diatom growth.
If say I added 1 liter of water with the ATO every day, I was adding 400 ug/l. For 100 liters of water it would mean 4ppm every day right? I really struggle to understand..

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Well I feel stupid now. Found out I have Amphidinium dinoflagellates and the guideline is to add sodium silicate solution to increase diatoms. How come I had dino already when I was using silicate rich RO? I also never noticed diatom growth.
If say I added 1 liter of water with the ATO every day, I was adding 400 ug/l. For 100 liters of water it would mean 4ppm every day right? I really struggle to understand..

I understand everyone it’s just answering the question that you are asking But I find it strange that no one pointed out to you that your ICP test shows zero nitrates and phosphates. I’m pretty sure no matter what having zero Nutrients is gonna be your problem why your corals do not do so well more so than silicates or anything else

 

[((FORDTECH))]

So depending on what you’re actually trying to do you might want to start asking these other questions also

 

[KonradTO]

I understand everyone it’s just answering the question that you are asking But I find it strange that no one pointed out to you that your ICP test shows zero nitrates and phosphates. I’m pretty sure no matter what having zero Nutrients is gonna be your problem why your corals do not do so well more so than silicates or anything else

The reason is that the ICP test I reported here was from my RO water..
Nevertheless I was around 2 ppm. As a course of action against amphidinium I am raising nitrates to 10-15ppm and Phosphates to 0.05-0.1ppm . Which is annoying because I had to fight for months to bring them down for battling GHA.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

The reason is that the ICP test I reported here was from my RO water..
Nevertheless I was around 2 ppm. As a course of action against amphidinium I am raising nitrates to 10-15ppm and Phosphates to 0.05-0.1ppm . Which is annoying because I had to fight for months to bring them down for battling GHA.

Sorry I missed that

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Well I feel stupid now. Found out I have Amphidinium dinoflagellates and the guideline is to add sodium silicate solution to increase diatoms. How come I had dino already when I was using silicate rich RO? I also never noticed diatom growth.
If say I added 1 liter of water with the ATO every day, I was adding 400 ug/l. For 100 liters of water it would mean 4ppm every day right? I really struggle to understand..

Your math is off.

If the top off is 400 ppb (ug/L) and you add 1% daily, you are only adding 4 ppb, not 1 ppm. That's not very much.

Dosing silicate is also one way that may help with dions, but it is not necessarily going to prevent dinos if conditions are right.

 

[KonradTO]

Your math is off.

If the top off is 400 ppb (ug/L) and you add 1% daily, you are only adding 4 ppb, not 1 ppm. That's not very much.

Dosing silicate is also one way that may help with dions, but it is not necessarily going to prevent dinos if conditions are right.

Uups rookie mistake I forgot that it would dilute in the tank. I would need around 100 ug/l to cause a bloom right?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Uups rookie mistake I forgot that it would dilute in the tank. I would need around 100 ug/l to cause a bloom right?

I do not know how much is the minimum. When I dosed silicate to 200 ug/mL Si, it certainly boosted diatoms.

 

[PHXHobbies]

DI is extremely necessary in my opinion. Without DI, you may face some water quality issues that can lead to disaster. Go with high quality resin vs. cheap resin. The cost difference is not very different between the cheapest stuff vs. the highest quality. Bulk DI and filling your own DI is the best way to go

 

[KonradTO]

DI is extremely necessary in my opinion. Without DI, you may face some water quality issues that can lead to disaster. Go with high quality resin vs. cheap resin. The cost difference is not very different between the cheapest stuff vs. the highest quality. Bulk DI and filling your own DI is the best way to go

In the end I did go the way of RO system with a separate DI stage (from dupla) filled with Fauna Marin resin. I get 2-3 dS/m, which is not perfect, but the tank seems thriving so I am happy this way.