I have been having trouble with algea growing at a fast rate in my aquarium. I was thinking that it could be coming from my ro unit which is the ro buddie 50 gpd. I had it for about 8 months now but just recently bought a tds meter to check it. Before ro unit is 130 ppm. After is 30 ppm. My question is should I buy the di add on or is this unit not going to be efficient enough. Or is 30 ppm ok.
Is my ro buddie not my buddie
- Thread starter labdummie
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Don't waste any more money on that membrane. If the tap TDS is 130 and the RO TDS is 30 it is only 77% rejection rate when it should be 96-98%. It will eat DI resin in a matter of days since the DI would be doing most of the work trying to make up for the poor RO performance.
You would spend $50 or more to add a quality DI to what you have then have to replace the DI approximately every 100-200 gallons at $15-$30 a pop when you can buy a new reef quality RO/DI for about $130 and replace the DI every 1000 gallons or more so after the first year alone you would be paying yourself back in savings.
You would spend $50 or more to add a quality DI to what you have then have to replace the DI approximately every 100-200 gallons at $15-$30 a pop when you can buy a new reef quality RO/DI for about $130 and replace the DI every 1000 gallons or more so after the first year alone you would be paying yourself back in savings.
Thanks for the reply. That definitly makes sense. Im not really sure what bad water quality is. But does a reading like this cause algea to flourish or does it just cause bad water quality? Also what ro/di would be recommended for a reasonable cost. Again thinks for the advice.
30 ppm TDS is nuisance algae fuel. You'll want to use water with 0-1 ppm TDS, coupled with a high quality salt :thumb:
30 could be good or bad, without knowing specifically what it is made up of you can't say. If it were simply calcium and magnesium its no big deal. If it is phosphates, silicates, nitrates and so on it could be very bad. Thts the problem with TDS, while itis our best way of testing Distilled, RO and RO/DI water it only tells us that something electrically conductive is present but does not specify what it is. For this reason we strive for 0 TDS meaning everything has been removed, good and bad, and we have pure water as a starting point for our salt mix which contains everything we need and in the right amounts.
saltyphish
Certified Sand Groomer
Yes 30 ppm is bad you want 0. The reason is all the stuff in your tap water. Tap water contains chemicals in it that could be adding nitrates and phosphates into your tank. Not to mention the other stuff it is not removing my recommendation is to follow what AZDesertRat said he seems to be the go to person on this forum for ro/di issues.
Another good answer azdesertrat. It seems to me that I am fueling my algea with the water I add and seems worse with water change. Also last time I mixed 20g saltwater for water change I let the water agitate for about 2 weeks. No reason for this just didnt get to it right away. Once I got ready for water change I noticed I had a green dusting on container and also power head. Dont think it was algea but seemed more powder form. Salt mix is instant ocean reef crystals. Maybe bad salt or bad water. Either way thats where im at.
Sounds like a new RO/DI is in your future. I highly recomend this one if you are on a budget:
Refurbished 90-GPD RODI System
At only $125 you won't find anything even close to it.
I mix my new saltwater only as long as it takes for the salinity, pH and temperature to stabilize and approximate the display. That is usually an hour or less even in winter months whenI use an old Mag 9.5 pump and to add the additional heat I need to the new water. I never keep mixed water more than a few days and do not aerate it until just before I use it.
Refurbished 90-GPD RODI System
At only $125 you won't find anything even close to it.
I mix my new saltwater only as long as it takes for the salinity, pH and temperature to stabilize and approximate the display. That is usually an hour or less even in winter months whenI use an old Mag 9.5 pump and to add the additional heat I need to the new water. I never keep mixed water more than a few days and do not aerate it until just before I use it.
Im sold ill be getting 1 pretty soon. Last question do you think instant ocean salt is good to stick with or do you recommend a different brand. It says its phospate free. And thinks for adding the ro/di link.
Many people use IO salt. It is a little lower in some ingredients than some of the reef specific salts like IO Reef Crystals but no big deal if you are doing regular water changes to replenish things that get consumed when coral grow. Used it myself for many years before switching to Red Sea then to Oceanic which I have used for the last 10-12 years. Most all the name brand salts are good, some just contain higher levels of certain things than others.
gtbarsi
Well-Known Member
Have you tested your source water for chlorine or chlorimates?
If you have them then you will need a special quality carbon block. BRS has some good videos on ro/di systems and what you need to consider.
If you have them then you will need a special quality carbon block. BRS has some good videos on ro/di systems and what you need to consider.
Special carbons are not required for chloramines. Any high quality 1 micron or less carbon block is more than capableof removing the chlorine portion of chloramines and breaking the bond with the ammonia which is partially removed by the RO and polished off by the DI. Actually the quality of the DI is more important for chloramines not the carbon.
gtbarsi
Well-Known Member
Without the right carbon blocks too much will get through and eat up your ro membrane which is not very good at removing them. If you had a DI stage it would then use up your DI really fast.
There are many different types and qualities of carbons. Often the "portable" systems and many sold on ebay use granular activated carbon instead of the more efficient carbon blocks. A rough rule of thumb says a full size granular GAC cartridge is good for 300 total gallons of water (240 waste gallons and 60 treated gallons at the industry standard 4:1 waste ratio), a 10 micron carbon block is good for around 5,000 total gallons (4000 waste/1000 treated), 5 micron carbon block around 9000 total gallons (7200 waste gallons/1800 treated), 1 micron carbon block 12,000 total gallons (9600 waste/2400 treated) and 0.5 or 0.6 micron carbon block 20,000 total gallons (16,000 waste/4000 treated). As you can see there is a major difference between carbons and your RO Buddy probably falls in one of the first two categories while better reef systems fall in the last two categories. All of these are also dependent on a quality sediment filter in front of the carbon to protect its billions of tiny microscopic pores from clogging or fouling. Again many "portable" type systems use the carbon alone without protection so it quickly coats with sediment andcolloidal materials as is 100% useless so the RO membrane melts away from the chlorine breakthru in no time. Always use the smae micron range sediment filter or smaler to protect your carbon so it can do its job. Personally I use a 0.2 micron absolute rated sediment filter and a single 0.5 micron near absolute carbon block and monitoefor chlorine breakthru with a low range chlorine test kit ($6.50) and pressure gauges to monitor headloss due to fouling or plugging and can get 12-18 months out of each. If you don't do the testing the recommended replacement schedule of 6 months should be adhered to and make sure to disinfect your system annually.
The best deal in reef quality RO/DI units today is here:
Refurbished 90-GPD RODI System
Refurbished 90-GPD RODI System
gtbarsi
Well-Known Member
Here is a great video on carbon blocks, Chlorine, Chloramine, and RO/DI systems in general. [video=youtube;KHHaR1PHYoA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHHaR1PHYoA[/video] And the database they mention is here Chloramines Database - Bulk Reef Supply
The best thing you can do is get a test kit and determine how much Chlorine, Chloramine you have to deal with. You may also want to test your tap water for Ammonia and Phosphates, to get an idea exactly what your filter needs to be able to remove for you and then you can pick a system that makes sens to you. Getting the right RO/DI system for your water supply is probably one of the most critical steps in keeping a reef tank, with out it success can be impossible.
Some other items I would want on an RO/DI system are:
A membrane flush kit (automatic flush kits are awesome but very costly)
Quality pressure gauge before the RO membrane (the RO membrane can not work correctly with low pressure, and as your filters fill / clog you will see a drop in pressure before the RO membrane.)
A multi probe inline TDS meter (to get a general idea where the TDS is at various stages.(source water and post RO before DI are a minimum. After DI is nice but not required.)
An automatic shut off switch so you can use a float switch or shut off valve on your water output and it will cut off the water coming into the filter.
Let us know you testing results and im sure several of us would be happy to review good, better, best options with you with regard to what filter & accessories you want to get.
Regarding SpectraPure, I have nothing against SpectraPure, I just do not know their products. BRS shares a lot of great info and I bought one of their filters so I tend to reference their gear. I would love it if someone could do an independent test on their filters and carbon blocks against the ones recommended and sold by BRS, but I doubt that will ever happen.
