Is RO really necessary?

[erinw347]

Here is current tank setup, yes substrate is terrible I’m replacing it soon

The entire space where the ten gallon is is about 35 inches, in between ten gallon and furniture is about 10 inches

There is also some potential room next to my 45g measuring at 30 inches

There also may be the possibility of putting the system in the tank stand? I could make room for everything in there somewhere else

 

[Sump Crab]

Thanks for the replies. It’s not so much about money for RODI, I simply don’t have room. I’m a teenager and I keep the fish tanks in my bedroom.

Why not make it portable? You can mount the RODI unit to a 2x4 and just carry it to a garden hose or run the hose through your bedroom window and attach it whenever you need it. Once done remove from hose and place in your closet or wherever.

 

[erinw347]

I would be willing to move the ten gallon, since once it’s empty it won’t be all that heavy

This is the only other potential area for the tank, measuring at 40 inches, although it is in front of my window which could potentially be a problem

 

[erinw347]

Why not make it portable? You can mount the RODI unit to a 2x4 and just carry it to a garden hose or run the hose through your bedroom window and attach it whenever you need it. Once done remove from hose and place in your closet or wherever.

I didn’t realize that was a possibility! I’ve only seen the RODI unit at my LFS and it takes up the entire back room. It makes sense though, because they’re running thousands of gallons and I’m only running 10...

 

[D1rty30]

4 stage RODI all the way. I think I got mine for $55 and for a nano setup, you'll very very rarely need to change the DI sleeve. You're going to spend way more on band-aids for problems that arise down the road if not using RODI.

Where did you find yours for 55 dollars I want one lol

 

[Sump Crab]

I didn’t realize that was a possibility! I’ve only seen the RODI unit at my LFS and it takes up the entire back room. It makes sense though, because they’re running thousands of gallons and I’m only running 10...

Totally possible and quite easy. A 4 stage RODI from BRS is only around 16" wide (guessing) and comes with a nice mounting bracket you can use to attach to your 2x4 or whatever size wood you chose.

 

[YankeeTankee]

Yes necessary, you'll run into problems without.

 

[erinw347]

A few people have mentioned that a 10 gallon may be harder because of parameter and salt swings, I do have a 29g in storage that would fit where the ten is right now.... it would just be harder to get set up then the 10 gallon. I put it away because both the filter and the heater I was running on it blew, so I’d have to buy a new HOB and a heater (for some reason it’s impossible to find adjustable temp heaters) which isn’t that big of a deal but I only have so much money and can only take so many trips as I can’t drive yet :/

 

[erinw347]

https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...&ved=0ahUKEwirzqm42O7qAhX5hHIEHW9mBOEQgjYIyAk Thoughts? I could get the money together for this

 

[Sump Crab]

A few people have mentioned that a 10 gallon may be harder because of parameter and salt swings, I do have a 29g in storage that would fit where the ten is right now.... it would just be harder to get set up then the 10 gallon. I put it away because both the filter and the heater I was running on it blew, so I’d have to buy a new HOB and a heater (for some reason it’s impossible to find adjustable temp heaters) which isn’t that big of a deal but I only have so much money and can only take so many trips as I can’t drive yet :/

Roll with the 10 gallon. The whole bigger tank thing is kind of a myth.

 

[H3rm1tCr@b]

I just buy distilled water for my twenty gallon nano. It works fine as there are no nitrates, phosphates, etc. in the water or anything that will cause algae blooms and such. You just add your salt mix to the right salinity and then boom you have the perfect saltwater. I can see buying jugs of distilled every time you do a water change being a pain if you have a tank bigger than maybe a thirty gallon or so.

 

[DSEKULA]

A few people have mentioned that a 10 gallon may be harder because of parameter and salt swings, I do have a 29g in storage that would fit where the ten is right now.... it would just be harder to get set up then the 10 gallon. I put it away because both the filter and the heater I was running on it blew, so I’d have to buy a new HOB and a heater (for some reason it’s impossible to find adjustable temp heaters) which isn’t that big of a deal but I only have so much money and can only take so many trips as I can’t drive yet :/

I'd absolutely get a new heater anyway. They last about a year or two on average and a run away will likely kill the tank. The best bet long term is to run one on a separate controller, I use inkbird brand personally. Most also don't use hob filters for saltwater so I'd do some searching before getting set on that, you may find it hard to keep nutrients in check.

 

[PBLRDom]

TDS readings on my tap water are 80+. Id say YES!

 

[erinw347]

I'd absolutely get a new heater anyway. They last about a year or two on average and a run away will likely kill the tank. The best bet long term is to run one on a separate controller, I use inkbird brand personally. Most also don't use hob filters for saltwater so I'd do some searching before getting set on that, you may find it hard to keep nutrients in check.

Interesting about the HOB. I kind of have a fear or canister filters, but I will definitely research more

 

[sas226]

I just buy distilled water for my twenty gallon nano. It works fine as there are no nitrates, phosphates, etc. in the water or anything that will cause algae blooms and such. You just add your salt mix to the right salinity and then boom you have the perfect saltwater. I can see buying jugs of distilled every time you do a water change being a pain if you have a tank bigger than maybe a thirty gallon or so.

I swear people live in evap free environments, heh. 3 gallons a week in top off for my 20 give or a take a few cups. That's not including water changes which at 10% (on the low end) is 2 more gallons. Obviously a 10 won't use as much but it'll still be 3 gallons a week. You'd be able to recoup the cost of an RO unit in gas/hassle/distilled water very, very quickly. I'd explore all avenues in getting your own RO/DI before resorting to Distilled. If you can access a LFS and get a few of those 5 gallon blue water jugs from a hardware store and store them someplace that might be an option as well. I did that with one my early saltwater tanks, it wasn't terrible.

 

[Alenya]

I have a 40L nano.

I change out 15L every weekend with fresh seawater. I have to top up with RO or distilled every day or two.

If your LFS stocks both get some small drums and buy both kinds. They can live in the laundry or outside. The RO I put in a 2L carton next to the tank for top ups.

The 15L drums I get seawater in, at water change time I plonk a heater into the drum the day before. Then I empty 15L of tank water into a spare drum and refill from the heated drum. Takes 15 minutes

 

[H3rm1tCr@b]

A few people have mentioned that a 10 gallon may be harder because of parameter and salt swings, I do have a 29g in storage that would fit where the ten is right now.... it would just be harder to get set up then the 10 gallon. I put it away because both the filter and the heater I was running on it blew, so I’d have to buy a new HOB and a heater (for some reason it’s impossible to find adjustable temp heaters) which isn’t that big of a deal but I only have so much money and can only take so many trips as I can’t drive yet :/

The reason why people say that is because of the smaller water volume. Yes, things can change a lot quicker in a smaller space, but honestly it is so much easier and generally cheaper if you have a nano. If you monitor the salinity with an auto topoff system or something you will be fine. Here's a budget tip though. What I do since I am flat broke is I get the salinity to what I want it to be (I'd recomend 1.025 ppm for a reef but you could do lower if you want a FOWLER like you mentioned), then mark where the water level is on your glass with a sharpie. Then whenever you look at the tank and see it is lower than the line, just slowly pour your water of choice into the tank. Another thing with the "bigger is better" thing is that you can keep more and generally bigger fish in a 29 gallon tank. The smaller the space, the more you may have to stick with things like gobies and anemone shrimp (but who said that's a bad thing)!

 

[H3rm1tCr@b]

I swear people live in evap free environments, heh. 3 gallons a week in top off for my 20 give or a take a few cups. That's not including water changes which at 10% (on the low end) is 2 more gallons. Obviously a 10 won't use as much but it'll still be 3 gallons a week. You'd be able to recoup the cost of an RO unit in gas/hassle/distilled water very, very quickly. I'd explore all avenues in getting your own RO/DI before resorting to Distilled. If you can access a LFS and get a few of those 5 gallon blue water jugs from a hardware store and store them someplace that might be an option as well. I did that with one my early saltwater tanks, it wasn't terrible.

That is a good point. The only reason why I don't have a RODI machine is because I don't have the money

 

[erinw347]

The smaller the space, the more you may have to stick with things like gobies and anemone shrimp (but who said that's a bad thing)!

I absolutely love nano fish, so totally not a bad thing for me ;Happy

 

[DSEKULA]

Also, I don't want to discourage you here but you should understand that saltwater is an expensive hobby. You already mentioned having a tighter budget. Before you start ripping down the tank and setting up for salt id recommend making an expense list. The auctual tank is generally not the expensive part of this hobby.
I'd figure;
Heater
Lights
Filter system (maybe hob skimmer)
Rodi unit
Rock (price per pound)
Sand
Power head(s)
Salt/water (on going expense)
Stock