Does everyone just end up buying an RODI system eventually??

[K7BMG]

You really genuinely think that changing to homemade RODI water is going to stop their ammonia and nitrites rising and reduce them to 0 and bring their nitrates to normal levels and also raise her tanks pH. Over LRS water?

Really? Really really?

I am sorry your having an issue with me here.

The title of the tread and I quote is

Does everyone just end up buying an RODI system eventually??

Yes in subsequent post the OP talks about parameters and the issues.
This does not negate the original point of the thread does it.

Yes there is an issue that will not be corrected by implementation of a RO/DI unit.

The OP is overfeeding or something died I get that.

Most of your posts had to do with drinking RO/DI water and how it will or wont effect the human body so how does that help the OP and the Ammonia?
Do you really really really think that that will help?

 

[Sealion]

Well looks like almost everyone has a RO/DI system. We have one, because 2 100 gallon tanks burn through the water.

 

[Marlon C]

I got one best investment. I spliced mine to produce drinking water for us before the resin.

 

[Brew12]

I didn't mean I wanted my pH zero, I meant I wanted my other levels of ammonia, nitrites and nitrates to be zero. My pH isn't great, it's at 7.8 but I would love to see it at 8.2-8.3. I am dosing a pH buffer but I haven't seen any change.

Please don't use a buffer to try and maintain pH!

In a marine system the pH is dominated by 2 factors. Alkalinity and CO2 content of the water. Most pH buffers are going to work by raising alkalinity and you want it to be stable. So, to adjust pH, the best way to do it is by reducing CO2.
This can be done by opening windows if the weather allows. Many of us also run air lines from our skimmer to outside to draw in fresher air. One warning on this.... pesticides and weed sprays are not friendly to your system if they get sucked in with the outdoor air.
With all that said, if your pH is at 7.8 I wouldn't even bother worrying about it. Let it do its thing and a year from now if you are making minor adjustments than give it a consideration.

 

[magicwhistle]

I am sorry your having an issue with me here.

The title of the tread and I quote is

Does everyone just end up buying an RODI system eventually??

Yes in subsequent post the OP talks about parameters and the issues.
This does not negate the original point of the thread does it.

Yes there is an issue that will not be corrected by implementation of a RO/DI unit.

The OP is overfeeding or something died I get that.

Most of your posts had to do with drinking RO/DI water and how it will or wont effect the human body so how does that help the OP and the Ammonia?
Do you really really really think that that will help?

I don't have any issue with you here. But you're implying that I and others somehow missed what the OP meant with the post because we read beyond the title. (ie that they're having issues with their tank and think an RODI system will fix/help with them). Yes they have a question about people buying a RODI system eventually which has been answered extensively. I posted like twice about drinking RODI water, which also brought up from the original post.

All the information needed is in original post... just gotta read beyond the title.

EDIT: even in the post you're replying to they say that they're trying to achieve '0 ammonia nitrites and nitrate not pH'... you respond with photos of your pretty epic RODI system saying you understand what they wanted. I asked if you really think that will help them achieve 0 ammonia nitrites and nitrate.

 

[Jake30man]

I would second the shut off, you can buys these floats also on BRS, super easy to use and cheap. Everyone has a busy life and forgets to check their water eventually.

Reverse Osmosis Float Valve

Why does BRS recommend this? Float valves are simple to install and can save a lot of water from ending up on the floor. They can be installed in containers as small 1 gallon pails, sumps, and 200 plus gallon commercial storage containers to shut off the flow of water. Even if you do not have a...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

I third this!! I accidentally overflowed my RO/DI container because I fell asleep and forgot to shut it off haha

 

[K7BMG]

And I have.
I have read every post and understood all of them.
Clearly the OP understands the issues with the parameters of the tank.
Yes the OP is doing many things to correct these issues.
One of the things is making sure from this point on that the source water is adequate.
By implementation of a unit.

So closer to the point you are making.

@FastandCurious one thing that needs to be asked is what test kits are you using?

 

[Jmass015]

Yes check out BRS. I highly recommend the 150 gpd water saver unit and also the booster pump it will make water fast.

 

[FastandCurious]

Yes I understood this, others did not.
You were simply asking if a RO/DI was a wise investment and what most do in the hobby.
Yes it is, and yes they do.

Some are nutz like MYSELF case in point my RO/DI system.

First side, Input water into two big blue sediment canisters 25 micron.
Then into three BRS sediment filters two 5 micron followed by a 1 micron.
Then to carbon filter stages two 5 micron down to two 1 micron.
Then to the pump.

Side 2
RO unit 200gallon per day Dow Corning membranes in series.
then to my DI stages. These are 20 inch canisters.
Starting with three canisters of Cation.
followed by three canisters of Anion
followed by three canisters of mix bed.
I use the swap method.
When the first canister of a particular resin is depleted its removed cleaned and refilled.
Canister two is moved into position one and canister three is moved into position two and the fresh canister goes to position three.

This is my RO/DI storage and salt water mixing station.
300G Norwesco tanks cleaned and sterilized before implementation.
RO/DI is on the right. Saltwater tank on the left.
I use the RO/DI as my auto top off as well as just storage.
The same with the saltwater. I have not completed this part yet but will use it as an auto water change tank as well.

If I need RO/DI water I turn on the pump and use the ball valve to dispense into a bucket.
If I am in need of a water change I turn on the mixing pump and dispense saltwater through a NuClear filter. This way any sediment will be filtered out before it gets into the tank.

After doing my research this is the start of my reef tank build, long before the tank itself.

Ummmm.... Can I just buy my water from you then??? Lol sweet Jesus. And I'm just over looking at this little 4 stage system.

 

[K7BMG]

Ummmm.... Can I just buy my water from you then??? Lol sweet Jesus. And I'm just over looking at this little 4 stage system.

Yes I said I was nutz.

I know that you understand the ro/di water will not correct your rising Ammonia and Nitrate.
But I am curious as to the test kits you are using for them?
Not all are created equal.
What are your parameters throughout?

 

[FastandCurious]

What’s the water quality after you filter it though. For drinking water. Whats your TDS at? Does the filtered water still have chlorine or chloramines present?

Your ammonia should have been 0 after cycling. Nitrites should also be 0. (Well both shouldn’t register on hobby testing equipment). What’s fine for nitrates?

I don’t think changing to a different water filter is going to help unless your current water situation is introducing ammonia (most drinking filters will handle this though so I’m not sure that’s the case).

Regardless if your tank fully cycled should be able to go from 1ppm down to 0 in like 12 hours max. So even if you were introducing ammonia to the tank it shouldn’t be noticeable after a while and it shouldn’t be increasing. And with you using LFS water now I highly doubt their water is suspect. Meaning you should definitely currently have 0 ammonia and nitrites...

I think something else is going on here. Anything dead or missing in the tank? Do your rocks look like the algae is having mass die off? have you introduced a lot of animals really quickly?

Getting a RODI will def still be beneficial but I don’t think it’s the solution for what’s going on with your tank right now. And without more info it’s hard to know what is the issue. What’s all your parameters in the tank? pH ammonia nitrites nitrates KH phosphates Sg. What tests are you using to get these numbers?

What exactly is making you suspect it’s your filtered water? Even though your LFS said it should be fine? (Which you wouldn’t think they’d easily do when someone is regularly buying water from them...)

Ok to start from the beginning, I started with using own water. And only my water bc my LFS told I would be fine with just adding salt to my filtrated water. My numbers stayed consistent at 7.8 pH, 0.25 ammonia, 0.25 nitrite and 0 nitrate. I'm using the API saltwater master test. After no change in numbers for 1 month I decided to do my next water change with water from my LFS. But it was only 5 gallons and I have a 70 gal tank so I wasn't really expecting much change. I did recently lose a cardinal bc I didn't realize I had 2 males (bc it's very hard to tell with fish) and the dominate one scared the other so much that he was hiding in the corner and when I got up the next day sadly he had crossed over the underwater white pearly gates =(. Other than that I idk why my numbers would be slowly Increasing. I cut back a little on feeding to twice a day bc I thought that might be why the ammonia levels were rising too and that was 2 days ago. I also tried the Ammo Lock by API but haven't seen any results yet. It's been about 1 week w that.
As far as the RODI system goes, I was thinking about investing in one anyways but I think this will in addition to helping my tank also help my coral growth bc my filtration system is a few years old.

 

[FastandCurious]

Yes I said I was nutz.

I know that you understand the ro/di water will not correct your rising Ammonia and Nitrate.
But I am curious as to the test kits you are using for them?
Not all are created equal.
What are your parameters throughout?

Click to expand...

Ok to start from the beginning, I started with using own water. And only my water bc my LFS told I would be fine with just adding salt to my filtrated water. My numbers stayed consistent at 7.8 pH, 0.25 ammonia, 0.25 nitrite and 0 nitrate. I'm using the API saltwater master test. After no change in numbers for 1 month I decided to do my next water change with water from my LFS. But it was only 5 gallons and I have a 70 gal tank so I wasn't really expecting much change. I did recently lose a cardinal bc I didn't realize I had 2 males (bc it's very hard to tell with fish) and the dominate one scared the other so much that he was hiding in the corner and when I got up the next day sadly he had crossed over the underwater white pearly gates =(. Other than that I idk why my numbers would be slowly Increasing. I cut back a little on feeding to twice a day bc I thought that might be why the ammonia levels were rising too and that was 2 days ago. I also tried the Ammo Lock by API but haven't seen any results yet. It's been about 1 week w that.
As far as the RODI system goes, I was thinking about investing in one anyways but I think this will in addition to helping my tank also help my coral growth bc my filtration system is a few years old.

 

[FastandCurious]

I have a system and can/do make my own water. I recently moved and just started buying water again from my LFS to give me a reason to stop in every week.

I will prob still stop in my store every week lol but I want to do a big Water change and it's gonna be very hard to do that with my 2 5 gallon buckets. Plus I think it will save on $ in the long run.

 

[K7BMG]

Click to expand...

Ok to start from the beginning, I started with using own water. And only my water bc my LFS told I would be fine with just adding salt to my filtrated water. My numbers stayed consistent at 7.8 pH, 0.25 ammonia, 0.25 nitrite and 0 nitrate. I'm using the API saltwater master test. After no change in numbers for 1 month I decided to do my next water change with water from my LFS. But it was only 5 gallons and I have a 70 gal tank so I wasn't really expecting much change. I did recently lose a cardinal bc I didn't realize I had 2 males (bc it's very hard to tell with fish) and the dominate one scared the other so much that he was hiding in the corner and when I got up the next day sadly he had crossed over the underwater white pearly gates =(. Other than that I idk why my numbers would be slowly Increasing. I cut back a little on feeding to twice a day bc I thought that might be why the ammonia levels were rising too and that was 2 days ago. I also tried the Ammo Lock by API but haven't seen any results yet. It's been about 1 week w that.
As far as the RODI system goes, I was thinking about investing in one anyways but I think this will in addition to helping my tank also help my coral growth bc my filtration system is a few years old.

How EXACTLY did you cycle your tank?

API test kits seem to always show .25 Ammonia even if its actually 0.
Though Nitrite is more or less irrelevant did you see the rise and fall of it?
What is it currently.
And what is your Nitrate again?

You have what for filtration?
Sump with?

I would buy some BioSpira and or Dr Tims one and only.
If there is a lack of beneficial bacteria this will help. But I feel your Ammonia is fine.
How do the fish seem?
Are any of them breathing heavily, rapidly?

 

[Funston07]

Yes absolutely, just dont forget to shut them off. I usually forget about mine until the next morning when the brute cans are overflowing when I look outside. Thankfully they are on the back porch and never have flooded the inside of my house

 

[ifwisheswerefishes]

I have a 4 stage system but don’t use it because of the wastewater. We are a large family and go thru a lot of water. We get charged for x amount of water usage over so many gallons here in Virginia. We also have irrigation and really hot summers that uses a lot of water too.
I get 5 gallon jugs of Distilled water delivered to my house from Water.com. They bring it to my door. I then mix up my salt in my Brute. Works great for me!

 

[magicwhistle]

API tests are often read as 0.25 when they are 0 but how did you cycle your tank? More specifically what was your ammonia source? What you should have seen was a rise in ammonia to around 4ppm and over time a rise in nitrites and then a depletion of nitrites to nitrates. You said you had 0 nitrates though right? Do you have a refugium?

I would stop using chemical solutions like ammo lock and pH buffers and use some bacterial culture. You should see your nitrates go up. With 5 fish in 70gals 1 being larger I’d be surprised by having 0 nitrates with no noticeable algae in your tank. At least from the photos you posted.

Using ammo lock could be stalling your cycle.

 

[FastandCurious]

You really genuinely think that changing to homemade RODI water is going to stop their ammonia and nitrites rising and reduce them to 0 and bring their nitrates to normal levels and also raise her tanks pH. Over LRS water?

Really? Really really?

Ok simmer down. My original question was 'hey is it worth investing in an RODI system rather than going to my LFS with buckets for water every week if you have a larger tank (which actually is that "local") But it's ok. Most ppl that I ask say yes it is. It was actually my LFS that told me a large water change would help my numbers. And it was also my LFS who told me I could use my own filtration system that I already had for my water. I just want to invest in something that will save me time, money and be beneficial for my tank. If it's not worth it than hey, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing.

You really genuinely think that changing to homemade RODI water is going to stop their ammonia and nitrites rising and reduce them to 0 and bring their nitrates to normal levels and also raise her tanks pH. Over LRS water?

Really? Really really?

/QUOTE]
Ok simmer down. My original question was 'hey is it worth investing in an RODI system rather than going to my LFS with buckets for water every week if you have a larger tank (which actually is not that "local" for me) But it's ok. Most ppl that I ask say yes it is. It was actually my LFS that told me a large water change would help my numbers. And it was also my LFS who told me I could use my own filtration system that I already had for my water. I just want to invest in something that will save me time, money and be beneficial for my tank. If it's not worth it than hey, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing.

 

[magicwhistle]

Aight. It’s your tank and your fish. Yes RODI systems are good but no idea if it’s better or worthwhile over what you already have and your fish store recommended as fine.

 

[Funston07]

Ok simmer down. My original question was 'hey, is it worth investing in an RODI system in u have a larger tank over making weekly trips with buckets to my LFS'

Ok simmer down. My original question was 'hey is it worth investing in an RODI system rather than going to my LFS with buckets for water every week if you have a larger tank (which actually is that "local") But it's ok. Most ppl that I ask say yes it is. It was actually my LFS that told me a large water change would help my numbers. And it was also my LFS who told me I could use my own filtration system that I already had for my water. I just want to invest in something that will save me time, money and be beneficial for my tank. If it's not worth it than hey, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing.

/QUOTE]
Ok simmer down. My original question was 'hey is it worth investing in an RODI system rather than going to my LFS with buckets for water every week if you have a larger tank (which actually is not that "local" for me) But it's ok. Most ppl that I ask say yes it is. It was actually my LFS that told me a large water change would help my numbers. And it was also my LFS who told me I could use my own filtration system that I already had for my water. I just want to invest in something that will save me time, money and be beneficial for my tank. If it's not worth it than hey, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing.

If it wasnt worth it then there wouldnt be 99% of the responses on here telling you yes. If you got anything over a nano sized tank im sure you will definitely get one.