RO Water

[acast77]

Well, I've been trying to figure out the whole green hair algae thing and heard a suggestion that makes sense, but have never heard it before. I've been using RO water for all my water changes and top offs. I water change weekly, haven't missed one week, but still have a green algae problem. I was talking to another member and they asked where I got my RO from. I told them I just use 1 gallon jugs and fill it up at those RO water stands (.25 cents for 1 gallon.) They said that was the problem and that I should be getting my water from a LFS because too many TDS in the local water stand, or invest into my own RO system at home. I was also told that even the distilled water you buy at the grocery store isn't good enough. Is this a common rule in reef keeping that I just haven't come across yet? All my water parameters seem to be fine.

 

[DaveJ]

I could be a problem yes... since you have no idea how often they change out their filters. I can assure you that its not as often as one of us does in the home or at a reputable LFS.

You would be better off getting your own RO/DI unit in the long run since you will know your source water is quality. If nothing else, it will eliminate a potential source of problems, plus save you lugging water all around.

 

[DaveG99]

I get my water from a LFS. Its $1.50 to fill up my 6 gallon jug and I dont mind the work out. And the LFS I go to is on my way back from work. I have never had an algae problem

 

[Guest]

I tested Ro water at LFS and TDS came in at 120. So it helps to check if you can. This is the equivelent of Ozarka spring water. Dasani drinking water came in at zero but that may be a bit expensive.

I believe the TDS was 0 on distilled water from Albertsons.

I have my personal RO unit to avoid chancing it. I have very low to 0 tds in my water and still have a ongoing GHA problem. I recently upgraded skimmer and am now running GFO(granular ferrous oxide) per recommendations. Most of the critters did not do much good for me with the exception of the long spine urchin.

Good luck

 

[vthondaboi]

@200mfromocean wrote:

Wow, new record. Highest I've seen at a LFS was 60.

Gotta be sure it's RODI and not just RO as the DI takes out other contaminants.

 

[Lance]

If it is truly distilled it should be at 0 as it is the vapors from the water leaving all the impurities behind. But from my readings some chemicals can make it through so you might want to check for them.

 

[RiftToReef]

TDS should always read zero.

I am a sponsor so I am limited to what I can say. I recently had someone purchase water from the local stores near me and I was shocked at the TDS. Some were as high as 130 the average was 40. Tap water in Denton county is 220-380 usually.

Our TDS reads zero. Actually .01 but on the meter I have it's a zero. Putting water with high TDS in your tank will lead to algae and other Cyano issues.

If your LFS has high TDS they may not even know it. Simply letting them know may fix the issue right away. Could be as simple as changing the filters. If they do not have a DI on their unit 0 TDS will likely never happen. RO/DI is the only real way to get to 0 TDS and stay there.

 

[DaveG99]

I have never tested it but others have said that the LFS I get water from usually reads at about 80-100. I seem to not have any problems with my tank and algae though.

I'll get a RODI one of these days.

 

[Guest]

Well that LFS is basically taking one part tap and one part RO and selling it as RO. LOL

 

[DaveG99]

@200mfromocean wrote:

I think its reading high because they use a lot of water do to their service side of the business. Maybe their filters cant keep up with the 1000's of gallons they make.

 

[RiftToReef]

The RO and DI systems should be sized accordingly. If you are selling RO/DI water people expect that the TDS is zero.

We make on average 150-200 gallons a day. My RO/DI can handle 500 gpd.

My DI units stand almost as tall as me and probably do more than my actual RO unit does. Some stores run water through carbon bottles and sell it as RO. Once the chloramines/chlorine is removed I guess they figure what the heck...

 

[Rick]

@acast77 wrote:

I doubt that is the problem at all. If you are getting water from a grocery store such as a Kroger or Albertsons at one of those self fill dispensers you should not be having a problem. Any water dispensing unit such as those selling water for human consumption is far more regulated by law than any fish store water. They should have a sign there saying it is run through reverse osmosis, which will make the water pretty low in tds, with 10 or so. If you are doing regular water changes weekly or bi-weekly and not overfeeding, you should be making progress on the algae problem.
I do think having your own ro/di unit makes sense though unless you have a very small tank.
I agree if you choose to a ro/di unit is the way to go

 

[Rick]

@200mfromocean wrote:

I have seen a local fish store selling water that had a higher tds reading than my waste water. It was well over 400tds and they were selling it as ro/di water and they knew it. Almost every Saturday or when it got extremely busy their ro/di vat would run out of water. Instead of saying they were out, they would go around to the other side of the system and start using the water in another container. This water was actually the waste water being collected from the ro system. It had a higher tds reading than the water coming into the system from the city. I am sure most of the stores in the area are far from that evil.

 

[OceanMan]

I would agree with Rick's first comment. For several months I used water from the Culligan machine inside walmart and noticed no issues at all. Was doing weekly water changes. That being said, I've since switched over to getting my water from the LFS because I feel it gives me better peace of mind. Altho if your LFS is one of those selling janky water that's high in TDS, I dunno...... Best bet, if you have a big enough tank to justify the expense, buy yourself an RODI unit for the house. Check the for sale board here and sooner or later you'll find one selling for cheap.

 

[bimmerzs]

Regardless of where you get your water, you should test it for TDS before putting it in your tank. If a ro/di unit right is not in the budget right now, at least invest in a good handheld tds meter....now that would truely be peace of mind imo.

Cheers,

 

[RiftToReef]

Those water dispensers at the grocery store do not have zero TDS.

Water that is too pure doesn't taste very good. Those machines are making drinking water suitable for people to drink. Completely different than what we are trying to accomplish with our reef aquariums.

For grins I bought some water from Kroger and the TDS was in the 50s.

 

[Rick]

No those grocery stores do not have zero tds, they do not use deionization filters to get the water to zero. But they do run the water through sediment filters, carbon, and a reverse osmosis membrane. Since that should get rid of 95%-99% of the tds it works pretty well for people with no ro unit in their home. The Kroger near my home had a tds of 10 the last time I checked it. I used a lot of it when I filled up this tank for the first time. And any algae problem in a tank is not coming from water with a tds of 10 or probably not even 40, it is coming from other problems.

 

[RiftToReef]

Rick I agree that TDS that low is most likely not the issue causing his hair algae. It's probably from Nitrates or Phosphates in combination with higher TDS.

 

[bimmerzs]

Discussions like this are the number one reason to have your own ro/di unit. :lol: If you make your own water then you know it's good so when a problem like this crops up, your not splitting hairs wondering if a tds of 10,20 or 30 is causing/adding to your issue or not. Having a known good water source....everytime......allows you to advance to next step in tracking down nutrient type issues in your tank. :wink: Just my opinion however.

Cheers,

 

[acast77]

@RiftToReef wrote:

Thanks for all the advice and help. I've been getting my water from my LFS and haven't had a problem with GHA since. I also moved my tank. It was getting outside light from the sliding glass door, so maybe that contributed to the problem as well. I hope to invest in my own RO/DI unit soon.