Well water ?
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Daytonareefing
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More than likely you will have high iron which means lots of algae growth and not good algae either. I would still run it through an RODI unit thats what i did when I was on a well.
Currently looking at new houses and a large majority in the area have wells and its concerning . I have moderately good luck with my mixed reef tank now on city water /6 stage RO/DI . I am really concerned about the eventual switch, the move will be hard enough and then a drastic water downgrade .
Daytonareefing
Active Member
Look for red rust when looking at new houses on wells in the sinks and bathtubs around the washer and dryer and the outside garden hose connections. That of course is the signs for hard water ie high iron and its no problem other then maybe changing your RO filters more often.
"Well water" is a very broad term. What is your aquifer like, an alluvial basin (sands and gravels), fractured sandstone or shale, clay, artesuan, influenced by surface water either fresh or salt, former irrigated crop lands, industrial lands, underground fuel or chemical tanks nearby, septic systems or leach fields, deep well, shallow well, etc? There are many many variables in the well alone not to mention the pumping and pressure system.
I can tell you of some common issues with domestic wells such as elevated coliform bacteria, nitrates or ammonia from near by septic tanks, leach fields and sewage systems, elevated contaminant levels from things like agricultural run off or percolation through the soils, or leaking gasoline or fuel oil tanks. Many domestic wells have small captive air type pressure tanks with pressure switches set at around 35 psi which is sufficient for most uses but not enough to run a good RO and/or RO/DI system efficiently so a separate RO booster pump is required.
Most modern domestic wells require a siting study or survey so these things above are not an issue but older wells may not have been well planned out. Do you have a recent domestic well lab analysis for your well? The EPA suggests you have your water tested at least every 5 years for the common contaminants and asthetics and its not all that expensive. I almost always recommend RO/DI for a reef tank and if you have doubts about your water quality it is extremely easy to plumb a reef quality RO/DI as a drinking water system too and get dual use out of it. Most modern salt mixes are designed for RO/DI water so you have the perfect balance of ingredients when mixed and nothing is out of line. That way there is never a question in your mind if a problem is water related or not since you alone control its quality.
Other than pressure, a RO or RO/DI doesn't care if its well water, ocean water, raw sewage, surface water or whatever, it treats any and all of it just the same as long as you have a minimum of 40-50 psi and 60-80 or higher just increases its efficiency.
I can tell you of some common issues with domestic wells such as elevated coliform bacteria, nitrates or ammonia from near by septic tanks, leach fields and sewage systems, elevated contaminant levels from things like agricultural run off or percolation through the soils, or leaking gasoline or fuel oil tanks. Many domestic wells have small captive air type pressure tanks with pressure switches set at around 35 psi which is sufficient for most uses but not enough to run a good RO and/or RO/DI system efficiently so a separate RO booster pump is required.
Most modern domestic wells require a siting study or survey so these things above are not an issue but older wells may not have been well planned out. Do you have a recent domestic well lab analysis for your well? The EPA suggests you have your water tested at least every 5 years for the common contaminants and asthetics and its not all that expensive. I almost always recommend RO/DI for a reef tank and if you have doubts about your water quality it is extremely easy to plumb a reef quality RO/DI as a drinking water system too and get dual use out of it. Most modern salt mixes are designed for RO/DI water so you have the perfect balance of ingredients when mixed and nothing is out of line. That way there is never a question in your mind if a problem is water related or not since you alone control its quality.
Other than pressure, a RO or RO/DI doesn't care if its well water, ocean water, raw sewage, surface water or whatever, it treats any and all of it just the same as long as you have a minimum of 40-50 psi and 60-80 or higher just increases its efficiency.
Harold Green
Well-Known Member
I've been running reef tanks for 10 years on well water. First I have my pressure set for fifty psi at the well so I can run my ro unit without a booster pump. Pick a larger ro unit if you have a large tank. Mine is 150 g a day so even if the pressure is low I still get all the water I need. After the ro unit I adjust the ph with Kalk since my well water has a low ph. At that point good to go. My ro is controlled by a float switch in a 30g container so I always have plenty of water on hand.
rhdoug
Active Member
16 years on a well, with RO/DI of course. For the first couple of years I tried it without filtering the water. It didn't go "well". I would assume that all the minerals in well water fueled the rampant hair algae I battled in the beginning. Also lost a lot of inverts in that time. Once I switched to RO/DI things have gone much better, I still have some corals and a sebae anemone that I added a month or so after switching.
Randy Holmes-Farley
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This is one of those questions that, like using tap water, cannot really be answered by the "it worked for me" or "it didn't work for me" because there's just too much variability between water sources. Without a detailed and expensive analysis of your water, there's no way to know if it is suitable, and an RO/DI system will make it so, regardless.
Thanks for all the helpful info everyone it is greatly appreciated !! I will obviously do much testing before the water is used to avoid tragedy in my reef of drastic change . Every drop that goes in my tank always comes from RO/DI and will continue to but maybe adding more stages and upping the output to be safe is a great option . And the info about the proper psi is a great help also ! Also considering whole house RO system to help the cause . Thanks again !!
Adding stages to a RO/DI is not usually beneficial. You are much better off with fewer but better higher quality stages. Everything you put in front of the membrane has an associated headloss which lowers the membrane efficiency. One sediment filter, one carbon block, one RO membrane and one or two full size 20 oz vertical DI stages is almost always the best combination.
I read somewhere that 2 prefilters and 2 carbon reduce waste water drastically . Is that not true than ? I think my unit wastes like 4g per 1gal made as just a stock 3 stage unit . I have never actually measured waste / good product ratio of mine .
Randy Holmes-Farley
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That would be incorrect. More prefilters will not make an RO/DI more efficient.
zoajunkie83
Valuable Member
Just a heads up I have a well and almost destroyed my tank. Ran through my rodi within 2 months and already needed new do resin and filters. Never had a algea problem and almost had a outbreak. I started buying ro water from my lfs for now since my frag tank is only a 20l and 15 gal goes a long way! Beware of well water!
That's what I'm concerned about. I understand all wells are different in many ways and every one has different filtration but expecting an established tank to accept the change is risky . I am glad I'm doing my homework now , moving is on the horizon , might be months , might be a year but obviously a huge issue to be addressed to avoid major problems .
zoajunkie83
Valuable Member
I guess they are all different for sure. I had my tanks set up for years and never encountered this situation! This house we are renting is the first with well and I wasn't prepared, I'm happy I noticed the aglea before it started getting really bad! Lost a few things but all is doing way much better since I have been weeding out that bad water with the lfs ro water!
The well is not the cause of your algae and water quality problems, it is more likely a poorly performing RO system. RO membranes don't care what the source is, as mentioned before, you can run raw sewage or sea water through a RO and hve it come out drinking water quality on the other end with a properly operated and maintained RO or RO/DI system. Protect the membrane with the proper sediment filter and carbon block, provide the proper pressure and temperature and keep the waste ratio at the manufacturers recommendation and you should not have any issues.
zoajunkie83
Valuable Member
Copy will look into that more. Thanks. I know it worked well before but just noticed the ro was going bad quicker from when I use to use city supplied water! Maybe a ro upgrade in progress here soon!
A handheld TDS meter, a low range chlorine test kit and an inline pressure gauge are your best friends for troubleshooting a RO or RO/DI system. Plugged or fouled sediment and carbon block filters reduce the pressure and lower the membrane efficiency. Exhausted carbon allows chlorine to get through and melt the TFC membrane fabric which is plastic film much thinner than sandwich wrap. A TDS meter tells you the RO membrane rejection rate oor removal efficiency and the condition of the DI resin. High quality, low micron near absolute rated sediment and carbon block filters protect the RO membrane so it can do its job of protecting the DI so you can get 0 TDS. Never skimp on filter quality and make a habit of checking the system occasionally to ensure it is working correctly. Things can go south quickly when you aren't paying attention and as much as some vendors like to make you believe RO/DI is plug and play and hands off that is not really the case if you want the best water quality and component lifeand the lowest cost of owership. A few minutes a month is all it takes.
