RO bEfore and after
 

I'm getting an rodi unit tomorrow and was wondering what peoples tanks look like on and tap water then on ro or rodi? I'm having a bit of an algae issue and some people say ro water will fix it any advice on how to start out on a good foot?

not an expert nore would i even go with this but i would say do like a 50% water change

RO will help but not to forget there's lots of great tanks on tap water.

Also, say if your algae is due over feeding and you continue, RO won't make it disappear.

what type of algae do you have a problem with? imo doing large water changes aren't always the solution

i didnt say to do a large one to fix the algae just a large one to drop your tds to alot lower

I don't suggest doing a massive water change of 50%. In this hobby things take time. I suggest just to do your weekly 10% water change (salt and Ro water mix).

I'd agree with this, anything you use on your reef tank is like a drug and you have to slowly wean it off it otherwise it'll have withdrawals. Any change good or bad can have negative results and while RO water is better than tap it may not produce instant results, likely it will make things worse before it gets better. Stick with it though as the end result will be better.

The water in Vancouver has a low tds, somewhere around 10-15, if I remember correctly. There is a thread around where people wrote in their local tds.
I would do the normal water changes and cut down on the feeding for a while.
Try some cheato in the sump, with a light. It will take some nutrients out of the water while it is growing. Then throw it out or give it away. Its all about nutrient export.
As asked, what kind of algae is it? There are some livestock that will eat algae, depending on what kind you have.

running an ro unit on your tank is more of a long term investment. It will help prevent alot of algea problems over a longterm with the right amount of feeding and maintainance. The 1 great point with the ro unit is you can also use it for drinking water!

thats why i said im not an expert nor should you go with my opinion :p