R/O necessary or suggested

[bill109]

hello
i have the lights an am ready to go its a 160 watt on my 30 gallon and i am using tap water
do i need R/O water for sure or is it suggested? if it is i will start doing waterchanges and top offs with R/O water!
any advice cus i would like to start adding them little by little
btw can you create a bioload like fish with corals and how do you care for theses guys i am in the processs of researching them.
any advice
-BIll109

 

[hot883]

Tap water is the devil for sw tanks. There are just to many chemicals besides chlor. in it. You will have a never ending battle with algeas etc. unless you use ro/di. If it is set up with tap, start doing water changes with ro as soon as you can. Just my opinion.

 

[bill109]

Originally Posted by hot883
Tap water is the devil for sw tanks. There are just to many chemicals besides chlor. in it. You will have a never ending battle with algeas etc. unless you use ro/di. If it is set up with tap, start doing water changes with ro as soon as you can. Just my opinion.
ok maybe that did the angle in? ill start with it soon.
o yeah one more thing how shoudl i use the light? i have 2 bulbs one that is blue and one that is white there are no corals so how should i go about using them and wich one and how long?
then the same WITH corals minmum 12 hrs a day?

 

[dc2mlbsm]

yeah i learned that the hard way.....i used tap water at first and had MANY NEVERENDING PROBLEMS WITH ALGAE.....i had always wondered why until i read and started using RO/DI water.....now i have very little algae

 

[hot883]

Originally Posted by bill109
ok maybe that did the angle in? ill start with it soon.
o yeah one more thing how shoudl i use the light? i have 2 bulbs one that is blue and one that is white there are no corals so how should i go about using them and wich one and how long?
then the same WITH corals minmum 12 hrs a day?
one is actinic and one is probably 10k or atleast 6500k. Turn them both on for a set amount of hours per day. Personal preference on hours. Mine are on timers. On at 0730 and off at about 1730 (7am-5:30pm)

 

[gsd]

One is actinic the other is 10 k or at least...duh.yet another sure sign of too much money, and not any common sense. Throw some more money at it and see if that does it any good.........I see yu stil have yet to take the mandarin back...yea, you sure can ask a heap of questions but never take anay info given seriously enough .....pet rocks and chia pets are y9our style.

 

[rykna]

Unless you're a rebel, like me. I don't use RO, just tap....but the guys are right it grows algae like theres no tomorrow! I suggest using the RO, then that is one less item you need to worry about. I've been using tap from the beginning, but I wouldn't recommend it, unless you have time to weed your tank!

 

[acrylic51]

RO/DI would be a top item on my list for anyone starting out....Price might seem high for what it is and does, but when you stop and hear all the frustration and pain afterwards you'll thank yourself....

 

[bill109]

Originally Posted by GSD
One is actinic the other is 10 k or at least...duh.yet another sure sign of too much money, and not any common sense. Throw some more money at it and see if that does it any good.........I see yu stil have yet to take the mandarin back...yea, you sure can ask a heap of questions but never take anay info given seriously enough .....pet rocks and chia pets are y9our style.
i bought some more LR. he will be ok

 

[bojik]

Originally Posted by hot883
Tap water is the devil for sw tanks. There are just to many chemicals besides chlor. in it. You will have a never ending battle with algeas etc. unless you use ro/di. If it is set up with tap, start doing water changes with ro as soon as you can. Just my opinion.
Depends on where you live. A town near me uses soely well water. They don't add hardly any chems no chloramine even.
I don't have algae problems in mine anymore I did at first till i got the skimmer tuned better and equip tweaked etc. And removing the biowheel from the filter once the base rock turned liverock to lower nitrates. Running carbon seems to help. BUT I wanted an urchin anyways so i wanted some to grow.

I have a purple short spine in a 15 long happily munching away. Keeps it grazed nice save for a patch it can't reach.

 

[rykna]

Originally Posted by acrylic51
RO/DI would be a top item on my list for anyone starting out....Price might seem high for what it is and does, but when you stop and hear all the frustration and pain afterwards you'll thank yourself....
Yep, I am paying the price now.....algae gone wild. Anybody wants some???

 

[gsd]

Originally Posted by bill109
i bought some more LR. he will be ok
Still yet another fine example of BIll, who likes to post but does not hear or pay attention to whats being stated very well at all. More live rock (throwing that money around pretty freely but its not solving the problems eh!) I bet my now BIll has put that lfs owners kids tuition paid in full and Bill still has nothing to show for it but a tank(s) full of problems and problems which haave yet to happen...............Too bad money can't buy common sense!

 

[rykna]

Gosh that would be awesome! Man could I use some......

the live rock is a good Idea.....I don't think you could ever have to much lr in your tank.
One thing to consider about RO water though is alot of the nutrients have been removed, and because I use tap water I think that may be one reason why my goniporas do so well. I have to cut back greens every 2 weeks or so, but everything in my tank is doing awesome!!!( now watch giggle the entire tank crashes)....
Every tank is it's own little eco system. Finding how to balance it is a touchy business...mother nature's been doing for centuries. We have a lot of catching up to do.

 

[1journeyman]

You're probably also adding trace amounts of metals from tap water.
Those metals will build up and could possibly cause a total tank melt down one day.
Don't forget not too long ago plumbers used copper pipes, for instance.

 

[cool99bomb]

I just use soft water. Im waiting for me to get a cover before i use R/O the reason is, it evaporates 1.5 gallons a day =((

 

[bojik]

Originally Posted by 1journeyman
You're probably also adding trace amounts of metals from tap water.
Those metals will build up and could possibly cause a total tank melt down one day.
Don't forget not too long ago plumbers used copper pipes, for instance.
Doesn't carbon filtration solve that nussiance?

 

[rykna]

I have both carbon and phosphate pads in my filters. It helps, but it doesn't seem to slow the algae down.

 

[fishgeek01]

Originally Posted by GSD
Still yet another fine example of BIll, who likes to post but does not hear or pay attention to whats being stated very well at all. More live rock (throwing that money around pretty freely but its not solving the problems eh!) I bet my now BIll has put that lfs owners kids tuition paid in full and Bill still has nothing to show for it but a tank(s) full of problems and problems which haave yet to happen...............Too bad money can't buy common sense!
Whats the deal GSD, nothing better to do than be an

[hr]
Why not just let it go, if he doesnt want to take your advice there is nothing you can do about it, the only person you can change is yourself, no one else, all you can do is try to properly educate someone and hope that they will take your advice, but this bashing is hardly the point of this forum, or any others on this website, i beleive you want the chat rooms on springer.com for that... As for your question BILL 109 i have tryed both methods, with two different tanks and strongly recommend using ro/di water as it is much more stable when made into salt water, plus you do not have to worry about all of the minerals and metals in it that you do not want in your tank. not to mention algae is a pain and there is no quick fix for it other than good husbandry. In regards to the mandarin, i only hope that he does in fact do well for you, i wish you the best of luck in your journey, but honestly fear that you may be jeprodizing the long term well being of a very fascinating and beautiful creature, not telling you to take it back or ragging on you only showing my concern... happy reefing

 

[renogaw]

Originally Posted by 1journeyman
You're probably also adding trace amounts of metals from tap water.
Those metals will build up and could possibly cause a total tank melt down one day.
Don't forget not too long ago plumbers used copper pipes, for instance.
heh, plumbers STILL use copper pipe. they just can't use lead solder. and only recently has CPVC or PEX been approved in Mass for potable water.
as for RO. i started out using my well water. i had HUGE phosphate problems. i bought an RO unit for $179. i have no more phosphate problems, my algae is dying off, and the water actually smells cleaner. my prefilter is very red right now (i have a bad rust problem for some reason). if i weren't using RO all that rust would be in my tank (my house filter only takes out so much).
so yea, i think ro water is insanely important. my fish don't deserve to swim in anything else.

 

[lbaskball]

Im not worried about the price, so I was thinking do any of you recommend the Kent Marine Maxima Hi-S 60GPD RO/DI for my 12gal nano? I am thinking of buying one. Its about $280 bucks online.