Sump and water levels??

phiberop840 · 10-06-2005, 11:55 PM

Ever since i added my sump to the tank i have noticed that i have to add water to the tank every other day. is this normal evap?

Thanks

Loverotties · 10-06-2005, 11:59 PM

Yes that's normal hope your refilling with RO/DI water.

phiberop840 · 10-07-2005, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loverotties

Yes that's normal hope your refilling with RO/DI water.

Ok now I need to know what the difference is with that vrs the tap water. I have been told that I do not need to spend the money on the equipment to do that. What should I REALLY be doing. Is it going to be bad if I dont us ro/di. What can i do temporarily until i can afford to do so if i need to.

Mike

reef_noob · 10-07-2005, 12:41 AM

>I have been told that I do not need to spend the money on the equipment to do that.

Whoever told you that has never seen how bad algae can get from using tap water.
The thing is, while some people are lucky enough to have good wells with low tds, and occasionally town water is good, these are rare cases. In the case of town water, it's usually loaded with phosphate, not to mention chloramine and other dissolved solids. In the case of well water, it's often loaded with phosphate, silicate, and heavy metals. Either way, the water is unlikely to be of neutral ph, which means you have to mess around with buffer to get your ph right for salt water. Worse, continually adding phosphate to a system can eventually saturate your live rock, leaving you perpetually fighting against algae outbreaks or cooking or replacing your live rock.

In either case...not good. Average town water has something like 200ppm total dissolved solids. It isn't recommended to put water in a reef tank with higher than 5ppm total dissolved solids. Most people strive for 0-1ppm. Get a tds meter( they're like $25 on ebay) and check your water. If it's greater than 5ppm, don't put it in your tank. I put 199ppm tds water in my tank for 6 months and ended up with a red hair algae problem that just wouldn't go away. I'm finally about to put my live rock back in the tank after "cooking" (doesn't actually involve cooking) the live rock since june.

Believe me, the $150 you'll spend on a ro/di unit will be the best investment you make into your tank. if you don't have an algae problem, you may not see any difference whan you start using ro/di, but what you're not seeing is the algae problem that was avoided by using pure water.

VWD · 10-07-2005, 07:21 AM

I agree You need to invest in a Ro/DI unit, one of the best investments you will make for your tank.

gwen_o_lyn · 10-07-2005, 08:08 AM

I agree. Get an RODI unit. I didn't get one until a year and a half into reef keeping and I was lucky I was able to get my hair algae under control. This is one of the things you need for a reef tank.

Brent Cone · 10-07-2005, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phiberop840

Ok now I need to know what the difference is with that vrs the tap water. I have been told that I do not need to spend the money on the equipment to do that. What should I REALLY be doing. Is it going to be bad if I dont us ro/di. What can i do temporarily until i can afford to do so if i need to.

Mike

DONT!!!! USE!!!! TAP!!!!! WATER!!!!
Try to find a local pet shop or grocery store that has a R/O dispencer & check with the manager to see if it is regularey maintained
Brent.

motorslave · 10-07-2005, 09:19 AM

Check our sponsors for RO/DI units. A must have! You can also get a simple auto top off set up. Its a float valve that a power head plugs into. You put the valve in the sump and when the water drops due to evaporation it will trigger the power head wich you put in a container (as big as you can fit) of fresh RO/DI water. The salt stays in the tank so just plain water. This will help the critters in your tank also as this keeps the salinity constant.

Robert

reefBoyDc · 10-07-2005, 10:58 AM

Yes, get RO/DI. If you start with bad water, you're setting yourself up for failure.$100 on ebay will get you a nice 6 stage unit.

reef_noob · 10-07-2005, 01:29 PM

In the short term, check if your lfs sells ro water. It isn't cheap for large water changes and ultimately it is much cheaper to have your own unit, but it can be a good temp fix. Don't take their word on the quality of their water however, get a tds meter and test it. Make sure it is under 5ppm (much preferably 0-1 ppm).

Brent Cone · 10-07-2005, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reef_noob

In the short term, check if your lfs sells ro water. It isn't cheap for large water changes and ultimately it is much cheaper to have your own unit, but it can be a good temp fix. Don't take their word on the quality of their water however, get a tds meter and test it. Make sure it is under 5ppm (much preferably 0-1 ppm).

I agree Good! point!

phiberop840 · 10-09-2005, 02:40 AM

WOW thanks all. I guess I am going to invest in one of these units. What do you all recommend for a good unit that is not going to cost me my left or right arm. Thanks.

Mike

coralfreak · 10-09-2005, 09:08 AM

Go and buy it on ebay! I own an aqua-safe 100gpd unit and only paid $113 shipped to my door, the customer care is excelent. Excelent quality and components in these units, I also get the dual TDS meter and my tap read 139-150ppm and the water coming out of the unit is always at 0ppm!

Doug1 · 10-09-2005, 12:43 PM

Or for a few $ more you could buy from a TRT sponsor, they help make this forum possible unlike Ebay that just wants money

motorslave · 10-09-2005, 02:27 PM

Plus our spomsors provide great service. Ive heard many issues from e-bay units.

Robert