To RODI or Not to RODI

[RonnieBlack]

City water and RODI units are pretty much a must. I am on well water and I got tired of paying for all the membranes for my unit and maintenance. I've been reefing for 20 years off and on, Everyone said i was crazy for using well water with all my SPS, giant anemones, and other delicate critters in the tank. my I got the water straight out of the ground and my TDS reading was 20ppm which is right in line with filtered water and RODI water, ;per what the chart says anyway. If you have a well, spend a few bucks on a TDS and check your water, you have have good water as well...I waited after 7-9 water changes before i reported my findings. i am going to keep an RODI hand incase something happens to the well, but as long as its testing this well, my water is coming from the tap..

 

[gemini9]

My well water is orange lol

 

[PatW]

It depends on the well if you can get away with using straight well water.

The major problems for well water would be nitrates and phosphates. I would think many wells would be fine in that area. Wells could have trace metal problems and those would accumulate as you topped off your tank.

It would probably be a good idea to pay a lab to do an analysis of you well water. I believe those are pretty comprehensive. Given the cost of reeding, it would be cheap insurance.

 

[RonnieBlack]

i ran a test and everything is good and .20-.33 PPM ;p

 

[EllisJuan]

i ran a test and everything is good and .20-.33 PPM ;p

I hope you are not talking about your phosphates being .20-.33 PPM...

 

[Mercurio]

My well water is orange lol

So is mine. I put in a water softener and it did help a lot with the iron. I would be too paranoid to use water straight out of a well. I think a RI/DI unit it a small price to pay considering what we already spend on our tanks.

 

[Reefing Madness]

TDS from an RO/DI unit should read 0, not 20. You don't want that going into your tank.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Its the things you can't test for that will get you into trouble. The well water may taste fantastic but that doesn't mean it is suitable for a reef tank. I would strongly advise you have the well tested if you have not done so in the last 5 years, the common well scan if pretty inexpensive and doesn't take long to get the results back.

 

[Bradsreeeftank]

I use tap water and its fine. I tested it. People shoot right over to buying a rodi unit without even seeing if there tap waters clean. Wasting money on something you might not need.

 

[Reefing Madness]

I use tap water and its fine. I tested it. People shoot right over to buying a rodi unit without even seeing if there tap waters clean. Wasting money on something you might not need.

 

[tyler1503]

I use straight tap water with a bit of prime and Red Sea coral pro and run some carbon pad in a small internal filter to mix it. I've never had an issue I can put down to bad water. I only get algae when I slack off on water changes and my corals are as happy as ever and growing faster with better colour than when I was using RO/DI. Hard to believe but true.
I know ill probably cop a lot for saying this, but RO/DI water is over rated. Sure, it's a great thing to use, but not a necessity. There's hundreds of amazing reef tanks using just tap water.

 

[cdness]

Removing the unknowns is a big part of making sure you have a stable system. You may test low TDS, gut it is not the TDS itself that is bad. It is the stuff that makes up the TDS as well as the other impurities that can be soluble in the water. Sure some can get away with tap water as it is very clean. However, for the most part, an RODI is needed to remove the impurities and make sure it is good water for the tank.

I would NEVER use the water in West Fargo straight out of the tap. It runs at 400 - 600 TDS and can have a brown tint to it.

I would be willing to wager that if you asked around, the majority of reefers are not in a location where the water is pure enough for a successful tank out of the tap.

 

[Bradsreeeftank]

???

 

[AZDesertRat]

Tap water is not consistent, it changes constantly so you never really know what you have at any given moment. It may leave the treatment plant of well field is drinkable form but what happens when Joe Contractor digs up the main down the street and causes a backflow or cross connection when the neighbor has his garden hose in a freshly fertilized tree well? Or when a big storm blows through and the treatment plant changes their chemical addition and dosages thowing the pH off or they switch to chloramines from free chlorine. or at shift change when the operator changes the treatment method to try something new he heard or read about? It happens every day.

The moral is you have absolutely no control over its quality or its stability so it is a ticking timebomb. RO/DI takes the guesswork out of the equation.

 

[RonnieBlack]

I've done all the tests.Po4,on down and up the line...its safe.

 

[AZDesertRat]

What tests have you done? Silicates, iron, copper, lead, arsenic 3 and 5, organic and inorganic phosphorous, volatile organics, herbicides and pesticides...... You can't test everything yourself and like I said before, it is the things you can't test for yourself that wil get you into trouble.

 

[cdness]

it is the things you can't test for yourself that will get you into trouble.

What he said... Better safe than sorry I always say.

 

[SmoothSmoke]

Heck, I have a hard time drinking my tap water. I get a hint of cholorine. I don't have a RO/DI system, but I did purchase RO water from the local H20 store.

 

[ohio reefer]

I've tested my tap water for everything. It tests the same as ro water. However with the move I will be installing my unit. It's currently in storage. I've kept lps, sps, clams, and anemones for years with the tap water, I've never had a hair algae or cyano outbreak.

 

[RonnieBlack]

its a deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep well in a vein of granite ...30 PPM isn't bad though from what I read, it said its in the ball park of filtered water..I think regular drinking water is over 60 ppm up to 75.. sps and everyone grow great..I will replace my membranes and compare though..