RO/DI System Necessary??

[Rupture Reefer]

Hey guys, so I know how important good (perfect) water is for reef tanks, but I want to know if based on my circumstances if it makes sense to get an RO/DI system. I do have a chemical water purifier that eliminates chlorine, chloramine, and harmful metals, and I have been using this for about 5 months. I have a ricordea, and it's fine. I have good test kits, and three are my parameters:
Temp 79
SG: 1.025
Nitrate: 3
Phos: .3
pH: 8.2
Alk: 17
So everything is good except the Alk, would this be because of the water?
So should I stick to the chemical stuff and find a solution to my Alk problem, or should I switch to RO/DI?
Thanks

 

[Geebs19]

You sure that Alk # isnt a testing error? Thats extremely high.

I think an RODI is essential in this hobby.

 

[Captain Quint]

Welcome to reef2reef.

It would be interesting to see your chemical water purifier.

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

Safer to have one... if you think your filter is sufficient i'd send in a ICP test.

 

[SDK]

Welcome to reef2reef.

It would be interesting to see your chemical water purifier.

I would like to see it as well, along with TDS readings on what is coming out of it..

 

[Rupture Reefer]

You sure that Alk # isnt a testing error? Thats extremely high.

I think an RODI is essential in this hobby.

I thought it was a mistake at first too. I used the Salifert test. And both times, it was super high, above the highest 15.7 it has listed (so I did a different test which gave me 17). It is so weird. I did test my tap water, and it's Alk was 15, but still to be up at 17 is insane. Maybe it is because of the Aquavitro Eight Four I'm using for the pH.

 

[Rupture Reefer]

I was about to add in some more Trochus snails, but then tested the water and hesitated on putting them in. Can high Alk hurt them?

 

[Water Dog]

My curiosity is definitely piqued as to what this chemical water purifier is.

 

[Greybeard]

Lots of people, including myself, have run successful marine aquariums without owning an RO/DI. Some folks really do have good enough water quality that they just don't need one (rare, but it happens), some folks would rather carry buckets from the LFS (small tanks, I'd guess!), and some folks use a non-RO type filter (Culligan, etc). Even met a few that bought distilled water.

Others, like myself, just suffered with algae problems... until I bought that RO/DI unit.

IMHO, if you're going to own a reef tank, an RO/DI filter is a very SMALL percentage of what the system as a whole will cost, and will make a HUGE difference in the likelihood of success, in a hobby where the vast majority of newcomers don't last very long.

These days, my RO is plumbed to a pressure tank under the sink, providing filtered drinking water at the sink, and chilled water at the fridge, even ice cubes are made from RO filtered water. Post DI, it's plumbed directly to my ATO system, and to my AWC reservoir... I use the heck out of my RO/DI system, can't imagine not having one.

 

[Tautog]

What salt are you mixing with?
Instant Ocean products mix at a very high Alkalinity, 13-14 dKH with a salinity of 1.026.
I just switched to TM, it mixes out at 8.0 dKH at 1.026
I change my R/O filters every year, but I make 50-70 gallons every 2 weeks. It’s a very important piece to the puzzle. Algae problems have occurred without removing all contaminates.
Don’t be silly, invest in a Coral life R/O, use it just for your tank water only

 

[Rupture Reefer]

I use IQuatic's Ocean Reef Pro Coral Salt. I'm not sure how high the Alk is in it, but regardless, I think that it makes sense for me to just save some money on corals and buy an RO/DI system instead.
Thanks for everyone's help!

 

[Rupture Reefer]

And for all those who were curious, I was using Sera's Aquatan.

 

[cracker]

@Rupture Reefer , I think if you acclimate them slowly for a long time( hours),snails would be ok.

 

[Water Dog]

And for all those who were curious, I was using Sera's Aquatan.

Gotcha, that’s a water conditioner similar to Amquel or Prime. I wouldn’t use that as the primary mode of source water filtration for a reef tank. As someone suggested above, get yourself a TDS-3 (temperature compensated) meter... about $20. It will give you a baseline indication of the quality of your source water.

 

[Duffer]

I have been told many times from local fish stores and others that the water we consume in our area is much better than most around the country and it was not necessary. than I talked to people in the hobby in my area and they all swear by Ro/di. I made the move months ago and it was one of the best decisions I made...
So if you have a chance get one..

 

[Mical]

+1 on RODI system. It'll pay for itself within a year. Between top offs, water changes, the occasional incident you need fresh water and vs trips to LFS or store for water. It's one of the better investments in reefing.

 

[Rupture Reefer]

Hey guys, I got my system running, and it seems to be working, but the water I have coming out of it has an alkalinity of 15, is that normal??

 

[RobW]

Hows it going? I just got back into the hobby after about 10 years. I had an RO/DI system my my old 150 gallon tank. I live in South Florida and the water here is loaded with chlorine and chloramines. You can smell it when you shower! When I was younger I struggled with a 55 gallon tank. Couldnt keep corals and what not. I was so mad I took the tank down. But then I found forums and educated myself about water quality. The RO/DI system was installed and making water before I even set up the 150 gallon. The best few hundred dollar investment I ever made! Everything healthy and thriving from day one! Nothing beats having your own RO/DI system.

 

[Mjrenz]

Hey guys, I got my system running, and it seems to be working, but the water I have coming out of it has an alkalinity of 15, is that normal??

I commented on the other thread you have too, but that's definitely not normal and something is wrong

 

[Deiblerj]

Lots of people, including myself, have run successful marine aquariums without owning an RO/DI. Some folks really do have good enough water quality that they just don't need one (rare, but it happens), some folks would rather carry buckets from the LFS (small tanks, I'd guess!), and some folks use a non-RO type filter (Culligan, etc). Even met a few that bought distilled water.

Others, like myself, just suffered with algae problems... until I bought that RO/DI unit.

IMHO, if you're going to own a reef tank, an RO/DI filter is a very SMALL percentage of what the system as a whole will cost, and will make a HUGE difference in the likelihood of success, in a hobby where the vast majority of newcomers don't last very long.

These days, my RO is plumbed to a pressure tank under the sink, providing filtered drinking water at the sink, and chilled water at the fridge, even ice cubes are made from RO filtered water. Post DI, it's plumbed directly to my ATO system, and to my AWC reservoir... I use the heck out of my RO/DI system, can't imagine not having one.

Wow that’s awesome! What type of system are you using? How often do you have to change your filters? I feel like that’s a lot of use for your typical RODI system! Haha