Bi-weekly Discussion of the week(s) inside the box

[tims]

We have covered a lot of things so far and now it is time to move
"inside the box".

We will cover each component .lets start with
water and Salt.

what type of water do you use and why.?
Is there really any difference in the type of water we use?



Salt;
So many different brands out there!, what do you use? why do you use it?
Is one brand really any better then the other?

[reefBoyDc]

Yeeha! first to answer!

I use RO/DI water because it contains virtually nothing but H, 2 and O. Then I add what I want in there, in exactly the proportions that I want. That way, nothing I don;t want in there gets in. It's a good way to start fresh.

I use Instant Ocean salt cause it's a bit cheaper than the others and everybody says it works fine. No reason to change then.

[VWD]

I have to say I am using Reef cystals and instant ocean mixed, I have for years and Have no good reason why. I use RO/DI water and have also for Years. I use something and just have a hard time changing.

[Doug1]

RO/DI IO used IO since I started in the hobby in the mid 70's

[Viv]

ok, I'll admit that I'm still learning and have done it wrong...I use a tap water filter, was afraid of Ro/DI contraption and how to use it, learning,learning...and probably doing the salt thing wrong too-just use whatevers cheapest...learning this is not the most stable thing to be doing...PS - Like this thread idea!

[tims]

Lets break it down further

Why is Tap water not good to use?
A fair amount of us have "city" water now days, what about people in the boonies like doug1?. Where some people have deep wells. Is well water any better than "city" water?

[wharyat]

RO/DI and Oceanic salt, thinking of swtiching over to IO.

Well *most* tap water contains chlorine and other products to kill the bacteria and other microbes in our water. Here they have to clean our sewer water before it's let back in the Yellowstone River, there are many cities upstream that do the same thing. Pretty yummy if you think about it. My TDS is only 125 so it's not too bad, also keeps filter life up.

Well water has dissolved solids from the rock it is in; ex. limestone will yeild a basic water with lots of calcium (AKA hard), granite will yield quite clean water. It's better in the sense that it doesn't contain chlorine or any of the petroleum based cleaners, but if oil and other hazordous materials around the area are disposed of improperly...

[tims]

Good point about the Chlorine Vince, A lot of places are switching over to Chloramine instead.Chloramine lasts a lot longer than chlorine and it is not as dangerous( mixing with organics) to us.
the bad part is it is bad for the tank ( or what we want to live in the tank)
Chlorine can easily be removed by just letting the water sit for a few days. but the Chloramine needs to be treated with other chemicals ( such as GENESIS, Ampquil..etc..) GAC is also another way to remove it, that is also one reason why RO/DI units have Carbon as one of the first filters.
treating water BEFORE raising the Ph is also impotante, the high the Ph the harder it is to break down chloramine. Althought the use of GAC ( carbon) is still not fully answered.


just calling your local city water dept. and finding out what is actually in our drinking water is a wonderful selling agent for an RO, RO/DI unit.

[Taloo]

Well - we be country folks and are using well water.
We've had our water tested and have been told we have "darn good" well water.
Whatever that means - our 100gal shows good readings all the way around with no probs. We've been told to watch the phosphates.

[tabwyo]

Since my water is so funky, the cost of replacement filters for an RO/DI unit would be outrageous. I simply used distilled water I get in 5 gallon jugs for something like 2 bucks a jug. I use Oceanic salt one week and IO the next. The critters seem to like it just fine.

[Jasontkd]

my local tap is the nastiest tasting water I have ever experienced, so I can't imagine living in it. RO/DI is the way to go. I mean, using tap water (in most cases) is almost like starting a garden and planting you crops in clay and then keeping the air polluted around the plants.

I use Instant ocean. mainly because I have heard good reviews, and if you print the price off the website, it is really cheap at petsmart.

[Loverotties]

Where I live the tap has clorine,phos,trates an d floride(don't know what that would do?)and places with well have so much copper I knew someone that had three filters and one was a exspensive 6 stage RO/DI unit and still had copper in it.
I used natural seawater,it easyer just pour it in,it has all the right amont of elements and my corals and fish look better!

[Twitterbait]

I use the ro/di water cause its clean stuff. I am lucky because the city water out here is perfect for fish tanks coming out of the tap at a perfect neutral with nothing but a little chlorine and some phosphates. we actually get a quarterly report form the city about our water quality. for salt i currently use IO and have seen some amazing stuff with it. the other thing i like about IO is how quickly it dissolves. i think that is important.

For those of you with really funky water you can always get a sediment filter to clean the nasties out before it goes through the r/o section. and the replacement cartridge is pretty cheap.

[tims]

Is one salt mix Really any better then the other?

What is the best way to mix or make up Saltwater?

[tabwyo]

I mix my change water 24 hours in advance. 5 gallons every weey for a roughly 38g system. I just add the right amount of salt and distilled water in a bucket and drop in a powerhead. The next day I add it to the sump as I drain water from the display.