Nano reef tank help!

[Philgiff]

I have been researching on starting a 10 gallon nano reef tank. I see people using ro/di water for refills/ toping the tank off. Do I need ro/di water for a 10gallon tank or would I be ok using petco’s Pacific Ocean water?

 

[andrewey]

The pacific ocean water is a pretty expensive water source ($2/gallon, plus the cost of gas) and once it starts to add up, you'll likely stop performing water changes as frequently as you had planned.

A cheap RODI ($60) would pay for itself pretty quickly. Another option includes visiting a local saltwater fish store where they will sell you RODI water for 25-75 cents a gallon or saltwater for 0.80-1.25 per gallon.

 

[BlazinNano]

The pacific ocean water is saltwater. You can't top off with saltwater, you have to top off with freshwater, that is where the rodi water comes in, this way you are not adding chemicals to the tank.

 

[ecexotics]

imo, a rodi unit is the most important thing to have with fishkeeping. i always keep extra buckets of salt on hand and extra filters for the reverse osmosis / deinonaization unit so i never have to rush or have a day without fresh water. this is a very fun but expensive hobby and it's best to streamline it everywhere that you possibly can. i'll leave a link right here , this one will last a very long time with proper maintenance https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/5-stage-premium-plus-ro-di-system-bulk-reef-supply.html

 

[El_Guapo13]

What they are saying is true. That said... I use the Petco Pacific Ocean Water in my 10 gallon and 29 gallon, both when I initially filled them and when I do water changes. For top offs, I use distilled water. I have thought about getting a RO/DI system, but even when I do, I will only use it for top offs.

Unfortunately, I don't have room for a mixing station at this time. Now if I ever get a much larger tank, I will probably have to setup a mixing station, and pray I don't screw up mixing the saltwater.

Until then, I will keep on using the Pacific Ocean Water for water changes and Distilled Water for top offs. And then RO/DI water for top offs whenever I decide to get a RO/DI system.