phosban...

[chadfarmer]

i run phosban on my tank mostly sps -- witht he hanna digital phosphatye test kit i still get 0.01 to 0.02 and i use ro/di that has a 0.. it could be caused by the rocks and or your sandbed also. i would get a nice ro/di from someone you trust.

 

[surfn]

post the link to the one you saw on ebay. with my system, from aqua-safe, it comes with an auto-shut off valve. so once the holding tank is full, it stops producing water. if you dont get an auto-shut off valve (it shuts off when the pressure gets high..i.e. the tank is full), then you will continuously produce a small drip stream at all times. some people like to fill up a trashcan this way, and instead use a float switch to shut it off when the trash can fills up.

the 4 gallon hold tank, actually only holds 2.5g. so i got another one and linked them together, so i get 5g of fresh ro/di any time i want. which seems to be more than enough since i only use 1-2g a day. once you use a gallon out of the tanks, it automatically fills it back up then shuts off when full.

the only down side to the aquasafe systems is the horizontal DI stage. which, in reality isn't that big of a deal if your TDS meter is giving you 0-2. i mean, you can't get any better than 0....so who cares ya know? some of their package deals also come with a TDS meter, you gota have one of those.


as far as media's.....just a warning about some carbon medias, i've heard they contain phosphates, such as the diamond carbon brand.

 

[spartanfish]

here is the ebay one: http://cgi.ebay.com/WaterGeneral-RO...8QQihZ002QQcategoryZ20756QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

yeah, i would love to spend the money for a higher end brand, but i'm a college student and this tank is already breaking the bank, lol... i figure, if it works even ok, it is relatively cheap and would save me a lot of carrying jugs to the store.

 

[surfn]

nice, that looks like a good one. looks better than the one i have. i never noticed that seller on ebay before, they must be new or something.

but yeah, go for it. just make sure to get a TDS meter, its a must have!

you'll want to ditch that final 6th stage anyways, it will just add unwanted carbon particles to the water anyways, and has been said to add unwanted phosphates after several months in use. its really only for drinking purposes anyways to get rid of the smell/taste of the DI resin.

 

[spartanfish]

cool, i ordered the RO unit and will probably be getting the $30 TDS meter from marine depot. I think everyone is probably right about the store water not being completely clean, what with 0 nitrates i can't see why else i would still have a fair amount of algae. I'll keep my tank thread updated with any progress

 

[surfn]

now, the only thing is it will take quite a while to get the dirty water out of the system, phosphates, or whatever is in your water the algae is thriving on, will prob stay around for quite some time.

the best way to rid of this stuff is to constantly prune out all of that calurpa, it will not die off on its own really. the more that grows back will use up what little phosphates are left until there are none left, and it doesnt grow anymore.

maybe also make use of a yellow tang in your tank for a couple months to eat it all.

 

[spartanfish]

oh, i want the caulerpa though, i like the look of it in the tank i am mostly trying to get rid of little bits of hairy and slime algae on the sand and most of all, get the zoas looking more healthy... but yeah, i do pull out a handful each week or so of the caulerpa...