Water Quality

[Marco Vasquez]

What RODI unit are you using?

Do you have a copy of your local tap water quality report? Could that test be picking up chloramine?

Currently Aquaticlife 4stage from Amazon. I’m waiting on my results from tap and rodi. I’m sure it’s not working as it should. I’ve only pumped out about 75-80 gallons from the brand new unit and had to change the di filter. I’m probably going to upgrade to a 6 stage from bulk reef supply. Also, I suspect my water pressure is low. Having that checked Monday.

 

[Marco Vasquez]

What removes chlorine is the carbon block. So replace that, or add another carbon block.
Was the qt water made with the same RO unit?

That’s a good idea. The quarantine was the same and the clown started looking weak so I changed her water with purchased saltwater. She has since looked better than ever.

 

[FishyFishFish]

What removes chlorine is the carbon block. So replace that, or add another carbon block.
Was the qt water made with the same RO unit?

Ah, AquaticLife. That may be your issue. I might be wrong (I am no chemist) but I believe ICP tests can show Chloramine as Chlorine.

That was the reason for my question about Chloramines, as not all carbon blocks are created equal. I had a RO Buddie (also by AquaticLife, but smaller) and after about 6 weeks of creating RODI water I tested the chlorine and it showed positive. I was surprised at how quickly the carbon had depleted but bought a new AquaticLife carbon filter, ran it for 30 mins and tested again and it immediately showed chlorine.

I contacted AquaticLife and they told me that the RO Buddie carbon does not filter out Chloramine. I checked my local water test (available online) and, sure enough, they use Chloramine. This may not be the same as their bigger filters but it does seem a bit of a coincidence.

I added another canister with a better carbon block and the problem went away. If this is your issue then it might be a simple case of switching out the carbon block for a different one. I used the one from BRS, which is only $17 so not a huge expense.


The first step to all of this is to find out whether your tap water has chloramine. You might be able to find the local water quality report online.

 

[Marco Vasquez]

Ah, AquaticLife. That may be your issue. I might be wrong (I am no chemist) but I believe ICP tests can show Chloramine as Chlorine.

That was the reason for my question about Chloramines, as not all carbon blocks are created equal. I had a RO Buddie (also by AquaticLife, but smaller) and after about 6 weeks of creating RODI water I tested the chlorine and it showed positive. I was surprised at how quickly the carbon had depleted but bought a new AquaticLife carbon filter, ran it for 30 mins and tested again and it immediately showed chlorine.

I contacted AquaticLife and they told me that the RO Buddie carbon does not filter out Chloramine. I checked my local water test (available online) and, sure enough, they use Chloramine. This may not be the same as their bigger filters but it does seem a bit of a coincidence.

I added another canister with a better carbon block and the problem went away. If this is your issue then it might be a simple case of switching out the carbon block for a different one. I used the one from BRS, which is only $17 so not a huge expense.


The first step to all of this is to find out whether your tap water has chloramine. You might be able to find the local water quality report online.

I’m sure my tap water has tons. City of Tampa is adding even more since there’s a shortage of liquid oxygen (covid related).

 

[BoneDoc]

1+ for the BRS 6 stage, either 75 or 150. They use quality components and well worth the money. The 150 is what I have

 

[MaxTremors]

Did you drip acclimate the Anemone? If yes for how long? Because they are so sensitive and some specimens can be quite finicky to temp and Sg swings ect.

Best is to wait for ICP results before you do or add anything else to your tank.

Just curious, what dry rock did you use? And did you glue the aqua scape together? And if yes, what did you use? Glue , Putty or cement ect?

You shouldn’t drip acclimate anemones or corals. Just temp acclimate them, dip them, and put them in the tank. Drip acclimating is unnecessary and can be more stressful, getting the nem/coral into flowing water so that they can respirate. Corals and anemones take water in and out through diffusion, they are self-acclimating. This is one of the biggest misunderstandings/most repeated bit of misinformation in the hobby. That said, you should still acclimate fish and inverts, and especially clams, but for corals and anemones, it’s unneeded, potentially detrimental, and a waste of time.

 

[Marco Vasquez]

Hello all. I started my Biocube 32 about 4 months ago. I started out with dry rock and cycled with microbacter. Everything seemed ok except I could never get an accurate ammonia reading. I started out with API and was getting a cloudy blue result, then switched to another brand with little yellow test dots (I can’t remember the brand). I got two clowns and set up a qt tank with basically the same parameters. They were in there for 6 weeks and I transferred them to the biocube. The male was struggling and I realized he was passing a tapeworm. He died soon after. I treated with prazipro. I added an anemone and it died immediately, then the female clown was acting strange so I put her back in qt, she recovered and is doing well. I was still getting bizarre ammonia tests so I got a new API. It was reading a cloudy white. I mixed distilled water with fresh saltwater I mixed from rodi and finally got a yellow result. I’m sure my city water (South Tampa) is crap. My TDS is reading 0. I need to have options for clean water. Have any of you experienced this? Ph holds steady at 8, no nitrates or nitrites, OG at 1.023 and temp at 78°.

So, I just wanted to update everyone on my progress. As you may have read my water quality has been a mess. I had my Biocube water tested and it’s not great. Biggest issue is high chlorine. So, fast forward to today: I started buying saltwater and my clown gas been doing great, however, I tested the water and salinity was way low in the purchased water, so I added salt. Then I bought from another store and they said their water is tested at 1.024. Perfect! I bought it and tested at 1.017. It turns out you can’t use your refractometer from brewing beer to test saltwater. My salinity was actually at 1.041. I can’t believe the clown is doing well, and no wonder the anemone died immediately. I’m adding clean rodi to balance, and for the first time I’m getting readable ammonia tests.

 

[BoneDoc]

Hang in there man. A lot of us made these kind of mistakes when starting out. The most important thing is that we learn from our mistakes. I still need to get a calibration fluid for my refractometer. But I did get it from Marine depot and I know that it had the same reading as my hydrometer

 

[Marco Vasquez]

Hang in there man. A lot of us made these kind of mistakes when starting out. The most important thing is that we learn from our mistakes. I still need to get a calibration fluid for my refractometer. But I did get it from Marine depot and I know that it had the same reading as my hydrometer

Thanks. Shouldn’t you just calibrate with distilled water? That’s what the manufacturer suggests normally.

 

[BoneDoc]

It reads 0.0 which is perfect with my 0 tds water. But if you want to be really accurate, then they PA or other online retailers sell a 1.026 solution to calibrate it with.

 

[Marco Vasquez]

It reads 0.0 which is perfect with my 0 tds water. But if you want to be really accurate, then they PA or other online retailers sell a 1.026 solution to calibrate it with.

Ah, good to know. Thank you

 

[anthonygf]

So, I sent a sample to ICP and the results are horrible! I can’t believe how high my my chlorine levels are after rodi filter. What are your thoughts?

That chlorine reading on this test is not the harmful chlorine that is added to drinking water. My chlorine reading is 19800ppm and everything is fine. That is a different type of chlorine which is actually chloride they are testing. Don't be misled by that reading. if drinking water had that much actual chlorine would not be safe to drink.

 

[anthonygf]

Tap, but again, I don’t think the problem is in the rock. My quarantine is testing with the same parameters and it only has a pvc tube and ceramic bio filter. I’m hoping to filter my own water but waiting on test results. I’m just curious to see what others are doing in my situation. My tap water is horrible and hopefully I can get a rodi that can successfully remove the harmful elements. My TDS showed my tap water was at about 400ppm. I don’t think that reading is completely accurate, but still crazy high.

Your TDS is not very high, here in Las Vegas it is close to 900ppm. I use a water softener to get it down to 500, after my RO is 9ppm and final DI is 0.

 

[anthonygf]

Glad you received the results. Now you have a clearer understanding of what is going on.

Clearly your chlorine is at toxic levels for sure.

So now you have two options:

Firstly dramatically upgrade your RODI setup to a larger 5 or even 6 stage unit, but then you are still not guaranteed your chlorine levels will be in the safe zone.
Secondly keep your RODI setup as is, make enough RO water in advance, and then using good quality fresh water Chlorine and Chloramine test kits, test your fresh RO water and treat with de chlorine products eg: Seachem anti chlorine etc. until your RO water tests safe for chlorine, and then only mix your saltwater for water changes ect.
Thirdly you can go both routes to be even saver and or see which one is financially more viable in the long run.

Personally i would shut down your main tank and restart it with water made safe as mentioned above. Just to be sure that you have the best chance of keeping livestock successfully knowing your tap water is crazy high in chlorine.

PS. i see you do have some elevated levels of heavy metals as was my first assumption, but clearly its the chlorine that's the cause of all your problems.

Hope this helps.

That chlorine is not the chlorine that is added to drinking water, it is actually chloride which is natural in seawater at around 17000 to 19000ppm.. I don't know why they label it as chlorine. It is very confusing

 

[fachatga]

Currently Aquaticlife 4stage from Amazon. I’m waiting on my results from tap and rodi. I’m sure it’s not working as it should. I’ve only pumped out about 75-80 gallons from the brand new unit and had to change the di filter. I’m probably going to upgrade to a 6 stage from bulk reef supply. Also, I suspect my water pressure is low. Having that checked Monday.

This booster works incredible for me on the water pressure. I highly recommend it

 

[Marco Vasquez]

Just another update to those who might be interested: my water parameters are finally really good, I put the clown back in, and added two blood refs. The clown harassed one for a few minutes and lost interest. They are all doing well so far. I’ll post more pics when the lighting is better.

 

[anthonygf]

So, I sent a sample to ICP and the results are horrible! I can’t believe how high my my chlorine levels are after rodi filter. What are your thoughts?

Just to recap, this water test looks like it is for the tank and not RODI. RODI will not have bromine or iodine etc.

 

[Marco Vasquez]

Right. I’m still waiting on results from rodi and tap water. I’ve changed all water out with saltwater from my lfs

 

[anthonygf]

Your chlorine is a little high. Do you know what normal is? 17000-19000 is what I have.

 

[Marco Vasquez]

That’s my big concern. That’s why I’m buying water until I get my ICP results back. I’m planning to add another carbon filter to rodi and still add prime. I’ll probably upgrade my entire rodi system.