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BigElephant
04/20/2006, 06:15 AM
Dear all,

I have been reading the thread and it seems like everyone is mxiing the salt water for their water change. I have been buying the sea wate from LFS.

Are there any difference? Is there one better than others? Since I have only 45 Gal tank, I am only doing 5 gal water change every 2 weeks and it costs me $2.25 (or $2.00) per 5 gal. Is it worth to invest into the RO/RI unit for water change?

Thank you for your advise.

bjonesjr1
04/20/2006, 07:04 AM
I have a 55 gallon tank and just go to the LFS for my water changes. It costs me 2.50 for 5 gallons, other than that I have no use for a RO/DI unit in my apartment, maybe when I move into a house their could be other uses for it, like drinking water, Ice cube maker... etc.

Chromed1
04/20/2006, 07:05 AM
Sean,

I am no expert on the subject but, read a great thread about ro/di units. The writer stated that he looked at the break even point to buy the unit. Meaning if you are spending $2.25 every 2 weeks, how long would it be before you have spent enough that you could have bought your own ro/di unit. Makes a lot of sense to me... Most units I see are about $200 and will save me the hassle of lugging 5 gallon jugs back and forth.

Amphiprion
04/20/2006, 07:06 AM
If you have access to good natural seawater and it isn't absurdly expensive, I would go with that. Take advantage of it, as artificial mixes can hardly even approximate the real thing.

BigElephant
04/20/2006, 07:25 AM
Thanks Chromed1,

I do have one for the drinking water that is RO only I belive. This is unit for $150. Do you know if DI unit makes that much different?

chuckh
04/20/2006, 07:26 AM
i just got my typhoon 3 yesterday and my pops is coming over to hook it up into my water lines on saturday. i will be making my own water so the question i might have is....

i make my own water, add the salt and what not and its up and running just fine. say something happens and i need to do a quick water change due to a spike in something. wont going to my LFS and buying their water and mixing it with my water cause more problems?

both my LFS do not use RO/DI units. they told me i didnt need one. going against their advice because of much reading i decided to buy one thanks to all your great advice. to many storie about cities chaging stuff in the tap water and the end result is dead fish. sorry no thanks.

BigElephant
04/20/2006, 07:26 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7212292#post7212292 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Amphiprion
If you have access to good natural seawater and it isn't absurdly expensive, I would go with that. Take advantage of it, as artificial mixes can hardly even approximate the real thing.

Amphiprion,

What kind of parameter are you looking to determine that it is good in the natural seawtaer? The only thing that my LFS told me is that it is sea water and SG is 1.025 approximately.

Chromed1
04/20/2006, 07:51 AM
Sean,

With everything that I have read, the DI is not required but, crucial to clean tanks.

funman1
04/20/2006, 11:56 AM
I did the cost break down on what we were paying for bottled water. and my unit pays for it's self in less than a year JUST off the drinking water aspect of it..

The fact that's it was for my tank, is now just a nice extra added bonus.

Amphiprion
04/20/2006, 12:00 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7212387#post7212387 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BigElephant
Amphiprion,

What kind of parameter are you looking to determine that it is good in the natural seawtaer? The only thing that my LFS told me is that it is sea water and SG is 1.025 approximately.

make sure there are basically minimal nitrates and phosphates and that any other parameters such as Calcium and alkalinity are where they need to be. The latter two can be remedied more easily than the former. I use RO/DI water for any top off or water changes, but if I had access to relatively cheap (good) seawater, I would use it for water changes.

gabrito
04/20/2006, 12:10 PM
what is the cost of maintaining an RO/DI unit. I mean, is there any parts that need to be replaced and/or cleaned every so often?

IslandCrow
04/20/2006, 12:24 PM
Just be careful where you get your seawater. It can have impurities that none of your test kits are going to pick up. That said, I do use natural seawater whenever I can. I go to a fairly isolated area which happens to be on government land, so there's no industrial buildup for miles. If you have access to a boat and can actually go out a few miles, you'll be even better off. Now, here's what I read from one of the many books I have on using natural seawater:

First, put some of the water in a clear container and hold it up to the light. You should be able to see the plankton swimming around in the water (they'll just look like little specks in the water). That will tell you that the water's at least pure enough to support life. Next, smell it. It should smell like salt water and nothing else. I'll then take a gallon of this water and add it directly to my tank for a little live plankton. The rest I'll put in a cool, dark place (like a closet) for two weeks to kill off anything I may not want in there. It will also allow any gunk to settle to the bottom. Then just decant this into another bucket, leaving the last inch or so untouched so you don't get the gunk, and you're good to go. It sounds like kind of a pain, but it's actually much easier than mixing my own. If I lived closer to the beach, I'd always use fresh seawater.
A couple risks you run is obviously contaminants like I talked about already as well as parasites. I'm sure there's plenty of stuff the two weeks in the dark isn't going to kill when it comes to parasites. I've only been doing this about 8 months, but so far, I haven't had any problems.

michaeldaly
04/20/2006, 12:43 PM
I have always used natural Sea water for my tank, as I can get it virtually for free from an aquarium. I know it's pure as they filter and test the water.
Natural water is better that mixed water if it's clean

BigElephant
04/20/2006, 04:06 PM
Thank you for your advise.

I will test the water I got to make sure water is good. I will try IslandCrow's advise as well. Although, I left my puchased water in the garage for 2 week and didn't get any gunk.

It also seems that Seawater is better than the mixed water provide that it is pure. Mixed water is much cheaper. Since I only do 5 gal for 2 week, it does not seem to be worth the trouble, right?

CarmieJo
04/20/2006, 04:51 PM
Here is a thread with a discussion about using NSW http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=240
It also has a link to a podcast about the same.

IslandCrow
04/20/2006, 07:28 PM
For the most part, the gunk that collects at the bottom of my collected seawater is a direct result of the sand and stuff kicked up by the surf, since I don't have any means to go out any further than I can walk.

michaeldaly
04/21/2006, 11:09 AM
If the water is fresh and clean I would use it as soon as possible as there will still be life in it.

IslandCrow
04/21/2006, 11:57 AM
I can certainly see that argument as well. It seems like the experts let it sit for a week or two, so that's what I do. I'm not sure whether the plankton are still alive after that or not. I would probably still let it sit for a day just to let anything that's already dead sink to the bottom.

By the way, great link, CarmieJo! I haven't had a chance to listen to the whole thing, but what I have so far was very informative.