RO Water System Type

[francine]

I need some help please. I have a 55 gal saltwater tank with live sand about 50lbs live rock about 30lbs. I have 3 clown fish 2 damsels and 1 puffer. Plus 2 feather duster 1 leather and some pollups. I run the a new Eheim Wet/Dry Canister filter. My water checks out perfect but I have a terrible algae problem now it's getting red on the bottom of the tank in the sand. Green and brown on the glass almost daily help. I cannot afford to spend a lot for a RO System any help will be appreciated. I have my own water well on my property.

 

[big]

I too am on a well. The compact Reefkeeper from "Airwaterice" is a good and less costly unit.......... Google the term..............
Oh by the way I just saw this is your first post!!! Welcome to the Boards

Also in a new tamk system outbreaks of Algae and Diatoms are common....... First sugestion would to be reduce you lights foe a few days and see it it helps.........Warren.... And again Welcome

 

[francine]

Thank you Warren I have been out of Saltwater for about 2yrs and just starting up again. I will look up the unit you told me about and also try the lighting.
francine

 

[majestic987]

Hi I started with a 55 gallon and used the eheim wet/dry, and the eheim canister. I will be the first to tell you that I had a great deal of algae covering the sand glass, LR, and pretty much anything but the fish. Had to clean the tank daily. Since then I have upgraded to a 140, and at first I had the same problem. It didn't go away until I built a sump with a refugium. Do some research on them, refugiums are great especially for tangs, and though it is ideal to have it in the sump they can be put into the DT in a corner or in the back, basically wherever you can hide it. Refugiums give a place to grow Macroalgae which will not only help to keep nuissance algae out of your DT but they also improve your water quality by a lot, lower Nitrates significantly. Since Ive put one in I have to clean the algae off the glass maybe once a week, before at least once a day.
Besides a refugium, which IMO is the best way to go, and the cheapest b/c you can build it yourself. but a UV sterilizer also helps to remove the green feel free to ask questions but try a fuge you'll love it also nice spot to put small fish, seahorses, or anything that cant go into your DT b/c of threats

 

[texasmetal]

Originally Posted by Francine
http:///forum/post/2827548
I need some help please. I have a 55 gal saltwater tank with live sand about 50lbs live rock about 30lbs. I have 3 clown fish 2 damsels and 1 puffer. Plus 2 feather duster 1 leather and some pollups. I run the a new Eheim Wet/Dry Canister filter. My water checks out perfect but I have a terrible algae problem now it's getting red on the bottom of the tank in the sand. Green and brown on the glass almost daily help. I cannot afford to spend a lot for a RO System any help will be appreciated. I have my own water well on my property.
Google Melev's Reef. He sells a 100 gpd RO/DI unit for $175. Everything you need to hook it up, etc. Best deal I've seen anywhere. I like mine. Runs 5 gallons about every hour.

 

[cal559]

Hey texasmetal,
would one of those units from melev's reef benefit me cause i have a 34 gallon tank? I only do 5 gallon water changes + whatever top off water i need because of evaporation.
Oh yeah and say if you have to use the faucet for anything else can you disconnect the unit and then reconnect the unit really easy?

 

[notsonoob]

What system you get for RO is dependant upon what you are putting into your tank. FO can probably get away with alot more than an SPS coral, in which you would want to get a good RODI five stage filter.
If you are starting out, then you can just get a household RO system, that is fairly and reasonably priced, but I would recommend dilligent maintenance. Most RO membranes should last 2 years, and your other filters need to be changed to a 6-12 month basis. There are plenty of online sites to get your filters from pretty reasonably.
Also, get a TDS meter to test your filter efficiency.

 

[mr_x]

look on sleaze-bay. you can get a zero tds unit shipped to your door for about 115.00
as for connecting the unit to your faucet- you can connect several different ways. one would be a spigot bypass screwed right onto the end of the faucet. another way is to use a needle valve and hook it up under the sink. it's pretty easy either way.
btw- what's the difference between a "household" R.O. system and any other? as far as i know, nothing.
you will need to change the filters depending on how much water you send though it.
R.O.D.I. units are only as good as their filters. the rest is just a few plastic casings connected together by tubing. by the cheapest one. check it with a tds meter, and change the filters when you see altered tds, and/or water production.

 

[fish4rudy]

Sleaze-bay,I like that Mr.X..........

 

[texasmetal]

Originally Posted by cal559
http:///forum/post/2830561
Hey texasmetal,
would one of those units from melev's reef benefit me cause i have a 34 gallon tank? I only do 5 gallon water changes + whatever top off water i need because of evaporation.
Oh yeah and say if you have to use the faucet for anything else can you disconnect the unit and then reconnect the unit really easy?
Yeah. I installed mine under my sink, just pull the hoses out when I need to use it,

[hr]
the adapter onto the faucet, put the output hose into the bucket, put the waste-water hose into the sink drain, and go. Takes about 10 seconds to hook it up and disconnect it, and the adapter has a switch on it so you can use the sink while it's hooked up too.
I have several tanks (2 x 60 gallons, 75, and 140, and frag system) so I use it like crazy. Beingst you have a relatively small tank this unit might be overkill for you, but honestly I'd rather pay a little more to get a high production rate. If you got a 10gpd RO unit, it's going to take you 12 hours to get 5 gallons. 50gpd unit is going to take 2-3 hours to get 5 gallons. I don't have that long to wait around while it's running (can't leave while it's running because it will overflow). Besides, the easier and faster it is, the more often you can top off and do water changes. My tanks look so much better since it got it because now I don't put off dragging the buckets to the store and back. I can mix my own and it's way cheaper in the long run.
From what I saw on Sleaze-bay this unit is still a better deal money-wise.