water changing and replacement

[bgkingd340]

was good all was at a lfs store and was telling them how expensives my water changes are using ro water from the lfs and they said i could just get a heavy duty plastc drum fill with my tap water add a heater and circulation pump and whenever i fill with water treat with alpha from aqua vitro and let circulate for at least 48 hrs and i would no longer need to make the tedious trips tp my lfs that acrsso town. what do u guys think just trying keep things as simple and efficient as possible.

[Aquarist007]

why not invest in your own ro/di system and stay away from the tap water period. You can buy two plastic garbage pails and store enough ro/di water for your use

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r107/reefescapetangster/IMG_4898.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r107/reefescapetangster/IMG_4897.jpg

[MinnFish]

The things LFS employees will say. Tap water is a train wreck, no matter how you treat it. JMO. Buy a RO/DI, you will recoup the cost in no time.

[MinnFish]

http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/images/stories/city_utilities/water_quality_report_07.pdf

Here is a link to your water quality report. You might want to think twice about the tap water. Its enough to scare me. I wouldn't take the chance with expensive livestock and coral.

[che25]

Dude, bite the bullet! You need an RO/DI system. You will be amazed at how much "gunk" comes out of tap water by watching the color of the filters change.

I used to shelp water from the LFS--that is a very suckworthy experience. With 20/20 hindsight...........this should be the first component in the design of a reef system.

You are a fellow contractor...........this will be easy for you to build.

Good Luck.

[snorvich]

Yes, I agree with che25. Tap water is a disaster and depending on your location may be a major disaster.

[heller792]

capn_hylinur, where do things stand when it comes to storing ro water? I use food safe 25 liter tubs but my lfs says they cant be kept in plastic tubs more that 24 hours due to the plastic leaching. Whats your opinion.

Cheers, Dave

[billdogg]

i keep my water 24/7 in a 55g plastic barrel that has given me no trouble for nearly 20 years now. I do take it outside and powerwash it from time to time, otherwise it has been fine. were they trying to sell you something?? :-)

[heller792]

no not really, he said I could keep it as long as I like in glass but only 24 hours in plastic. Do you run a power head and air stone in your barrel?

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13037787#post13037787 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by heller792
capn_hylinur, where do things stand when it comes to storing ro water? I use food safe 25 liter tubs but my lfs says they cant be kept in plastic tubs more that 24 hours due to the plastic leaching. Whats your opinion.

Cheers, Dave

I keep it in those two plastic garbage cans---one I use to make up salt mixture but don't do it until two days before a water change, then add a pump and heater.
That could be anywhere between 2 weeks and a month.

The other gets drained once a week by top ups so it doesn't stand long at all

[heller792]

and you top up your tank with straight ro/di water, no buffers right?

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13038120#post13038120 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by heller792
and you top up your tank with straight ro/di water, no buffers right?

Yes--no buffers, no additives

My entire water column chemistry is maintained by dosing two part b-ionics and the same IO salt mix.
I think this is important for stable water chemistry also--that you use the same salt mix and continue to use it--esp if your water column has stable chemistry

regarding buffers---IMO they should never be used to bring up the pH. Usually lower pH is a result of increasing carbon dioxide in and around the tank. Using a buffer raises the pH and raises the alk at the same time. But the pH falls again due to carbon dioxide and the alk stays higher. Over time you may experience very high alk levels

If I want to raise the alk then I use Kent super dKH
To raise calcium I use Kent turbo calcium
and to raise the mag level Kent Tech-M

Once these levels are raised individuall then it is very easy to maintain them with a two part dosing system. Indirectly it stablizes out the pH too.

[heller792]

Yeah, a little while ago my lfs told me to use buffers in my top up water and after a while my alk was of the scale, over 17. Since I set the new tank up I have stopped using it on your advice from a previous thread about my high alk and all my levels are fantastic and my alk holds at 11 while the ph remains 8 - 8.2. the salt I use is D-D pro reef which has an alk of 11. I switched salt from Red Sea pro due to not mixing well at all. It also gave me very inconstant results