I
iluvfish
Guest
Is distilled water okay to use in your tank? I'm currently using RO,but it's high in phosphate. Wonderred if I should switch to distilled?
microman2k
Member
i buy wal-mart drinking water, what kind of water is that, i am not familiar with the abbreivatios "RO" and "DI"
beaslbob
Well-Known Member
phosphates as well as ammonia, nitrates and carbon dioxide are consumed by plant life. So the phosphates you have are just plant food.
For the same reason i use straight tap. The "bad stuff" is easily consumed as plant food of filtered out by plant life. Plus tap has calcium and other trac elements which are beneficial to tanks.
For the same reason i use straight tap. The "bad stuff" is easily consumed as plant food of filtered out by plant life. Plus tap has calcium and other trac elements which are beneficial to tanks.
driver 8
New Member
So, whats the verdict? RO or DI? I have yet to pick up a ro/di unit and have been buying RO from Walmart. I will be buying a unit next month but until then, what's the recommendations? Also, how does one know how often they change their filters/membranes or is it luck of the draw? If they dont change, I should just be refilling from with my tap then, yes? Same product minus the trip and money. Curious
beckzilla
Member
Well said Kip. I agree 100% as i have the same setup and believe that ( sorry beaslbob ) it is by far the best water on the planet to use for marine life. As my tap water TDS is 357ppm it is a relief to have this water to use for many different things around the house along with tank water. Kip, youdaman!
beaslbob
Well-Known Member
Originally posted by Kip4130
Bob, take that crap elsewhere
added
time and time your methods have been challenged and proven inadequate.... your views have been disputed biologically, chemically, and physically... yet you keep telling people this crap.... you take a property like nutrient absorption and blow it up like it is a cure-all... it is not.... yes, they do consume, but not a rate that one needs to maintain a healthy marine tank
do you not have the ability to embrace what the "masses" have told ya?
Simple because you and the others have never ran a system where the only filtration is plant life. You simply do not have the experience I do. In your present systems you do not know what percentage is being maintained through plant life.
Meanwhile, I and others continue to have excellent tanks using tap water. And some like me do not have to dose anything. So while your ro/di unit is making it's highly coorsive water at 20g/day, and you're hoping houshold chemicals are not in the area, you're checking out the kalk dripping, or considering a calcium reactor reactor, I am simply looking at my tank. Knowing the calcium is over 400ppm, the ph is ok, and the fish are happy.
After your spending 1000s and 1000s of dollars it is quite understandable why you are so sensitive on this issue. And you were doing so well. Guess we are all human afterall.
Bottom line is i feel the water i drink is good enough from my fish and corals to poop in.
beaslbob
Well-Known Member
At least my plants take care of my crap.
alk is about 250-300 ppm
ph is 8.4
corals could possible do better with brighter lights. Especially the finger which is now gone. The lower light corals are thriving and spreading.
The reason the nitrates are not 0.0 is simple. I did not establish plant life as the very first thing. So now I am behind and discovering what is required. Meanwhile the daytime ph is stable and the fish are excellent.
All with tap water, no water changes, and no doseing.
Newbies: Of course your tank your system. The choice is yours. You can do all the things kip and others state here. And your 55g will cost about ~$1000-1500. And then get you very high quality fish from this excellent site. My fear is that by using these methods and expecially eliminating the ugly algaes from your system, 1-2 of those fish will die in a day and the rest will slowly deteriorate finally developing white spots and breathing heavy in about 3 weeks. And finally dieing.
Or you can use tap water, and add $20.00 worth of plants and get those established and thriving for a couple of weeks. Then do the rest if you need lr and the like.
And if that does not work (but it will) then you can spend the extra $1000-1500.
the choice is yours.
and all of the excellent reef tanks pictured here are thriving with plant life.
Meanwhile, my tank will never look like this, even if I wanted to propagate corals.
alk is about 250-300 ppm
ph is 8.4
corals could possible do better with brighter lights. Especially the finger which is now gone. The lower light corals are thriving and spreading.
The reason the nitrates are not 0.0 is simple. I did not establish plant life as the very first thing. So now I am behind and discovering what is required. Meanwhile the daytime ph is stable and the fish are excellent.
All with tap water, no water changes, and no doseing.
Newbies: Of course your tank your system. The choice is yours. You can do all the things kip and others state here. And your 55g will cost about ~$1000-1500. And then get you very high quality fish from this excellent site. My fear is that by using these methods and expecially eliminating the ugly algaes from your system, 1-2 of those fish will die in a day and the rest will slowly deteriorate finally developing white spots and breathing heavy in about 3 weeks. And finally dieing.
Or you can use tap water, and add $20.00 worth of plants and get those established and thriving for a couple of weeks. Then do the rest if you need lr and the like.
And if that does not work (but it will) then you can spend the extra $1000-1500.
the choice is yours.
and all of the excellent reef tanks pictured here are thriving with plant life.
Meanwhile, my tank will never look like this, even if I wanted to propagate corals.
jedininja
Member
Bob, why are you doing this to yourself? Even in your own experiences, plants do not do what you claim them to do. You state others do not listen and have not tried your methods. But it is you that has no experience with any system other than your own! Your main thing is doing ebvery for as cheaply as possible. It is not to maintain the haelthiest tank possible. You do not know if RO water will make your tank look better. You do not know if your tank would be at 0 nitrates if you had a skimmer. You do not know if your fish will be healthier if they didnt have to live in tap water. Youd ont even know if how much metals you have in your water. All you do is find sources that supports what you want to do. But you disregard everything that sdoes not help your case.
So if you like your tank, then I am happy for you. But don't push it on other people. Until you run two systems, one the "conventional" way with RO water and a skimmer, and then one with just plants and wiith the same livestock in each, I will not take your advice and will warn everyone else that you try to give advice to.
So if you like your tank, then I am happy for you. But don't push it on other people. Until you run two systems, one the "conventional" way with RO water and a skimmer, and then one with just plants and wiith the same livestock in each, I will not take your advice and will warn everyone else that you try to give advice to.
cincyreefer
Active Member
Bob, I know I briefly talked to you about this...
Hopefully I will soon have some "hard evidence" of exactly how much plant life can filter and control water quality with the addition of tap as top off. My experiment is just now starting though, so it will be several months until any shorter term conclusions can be made.
Hopefully I will soon have some "hard evidence" of exactly how much plant life can filter and control water quality with the addition of tap as top off. My experiment is just now starting though, so it will be several months until any shorter term conclusions can be made.
beaslbob
Well-Known Member
Originally posted by cincyreefer
Bob, I know I briefly talked to you about this...
Hopefully I will soon have some "hard evidence" of exactly how much plant life can filter and control water quality with the addition of tap as top off. My experiment is just now starting though, so it will be several months until any shorter term conclusions can be made.
thanks. Perhaps they will listen to another voice.
prediction: when it works it will blaimed on the high quality tap water in your area. if you have any problem it will be solely because of using tap water. After all ro/di is THE cure all.
cincyreefer
Active Member
thanks. Perhaps they will listen to another voice.
Bob, remember that I didn't start this to strengthen any of your arguements. I was simply interested in exactly how well plant life can filter. My experiment won't really be that close to ALL the ideas you advocate, since I use VHO lighting and Fiji Live Rock. I will obviously turn off the skimmer, and I will be aerating the tap water before it is used. But I will test nitrate, phosphate, pH, Calcium, Alk, etc at all the different stages to try and conclude how each is affected. I am also interested to see how close some of my results are to the ones Bang Guy got.
Bob, remember that I didn't start this to strengthen any of your arguements. I was simply interested in exactly how well plant life can filter. My experiment won't really be that close to ALL the ideas you advocate, since I use VHO lighting and Fiji Live Rock. I will obviously turn off the skimmer, and I will be aerating the tap water before it is used. But I will test nitrate, phosphate, pH, Calcium, Alk, etc at all the different stages to try and conclude how each is affected. I am also interested to see how close some of my results are to the ones Bang Guy got.
salty rob
Member
Wow, This board is more fun than I had originally thought. As one of the resident NEWBIES, I must ask for some advice on this very subject.
I am taking water out of my tap that has been treated via a regeneratable resin source. Regeneration is by a salt rinse. It is a high quality treatment system. I can not quantify the chemistry of the tap water, but it tastes pretty good.
Am I making a mistake or what?
I am taking water out of my tap that has been treated via a regeneratable resin source. Regeneration is by a salt rinse. It is a high quality treatment system. I can not quantify the chemistry of the tap water, but it tastes pretty good.
Am I making a mistake or what?
cincyreefer
Active Member
the equipment to get a firm water analysis alone is gonna be tough on the the ol credit card bill
I am glad you know everything...
Working in the water quality business has a whole lot better testing supplies than your little test kit...
Have you ever heard of YSI?
I am glad you know everything...
Working in the water quality business has a whole lot better testing supplies than your little test kit...
Have you ever heard of YSI?
jedininja
Member
At least Cincy is experiementing. All BOB has done is made unproven claims. If you have ready many of my posts to bob in the past, thats the only thing i asked for.
And your prediction BOB is so full of it. All Cincy has to do is test the tap and see how much heavy metals there are and then compare it to after "plant life" And if you really wanted to make it more comprehensive, then a tank using RO water should be setup. But make you you test for more than just the norma. You really need to test for things like copper, flouride, other metals.
And you should be the LAST one mocking a CURE ALL> No one here has said RO is the cure all. We advocate a combo of RO, skimmers, fuge of macro, and water changes. You are the only person that has implied anytype of cure all. Plants will cure nitrates, heavy metals, phosphates, copper, the cycling process, and even ich!
And your prediction BOB is so full of it. All Cincy has to do is test the tap and see how much heavy metals there are and then compare it to after "plant life" And if you really wanted to make it more comprehensive, then a tank using RO water should be setup. But make you you test for more than just the norma. You really need to test for things like copper, flouride, other metals.
And you should be the LAST one mocking a CURE ALL> No one here has said RO is the cure all. We advocate a combo of RO, skimmers, fuge of macro, and water changes. You are the only person that has implied anytype of cure all. Plants will cure nitrates, heavy metals, phosphates, copper, the cycling process, and even ich!
cincyreefer
Active Member
Jedi, I was going to try and test a tank with RO as well but I just don't see the reason. It has been proven to work well, and I don't have the funds or space to have two 75 gallons running the exact same setup. So all I am doing is getting my own findings about how effectively plant life can filter. I am not going to be advocating any ideas over another, and I'll let everyone make their own decisions and conclusions once I collect all the data. I will test about everything I have probes for, which would include some heavy metals. I am having problems finding someone who let me you use thier spectrophotometer that I can rely on accurate results, so some of the tests such as fluoride might not be accurate enough for me to report.