ro unit..?

[Myka]

Make the change slowly...I assume your just going to start doing RO/DI waterchanges? I would make sure you don't do any large ones. Watch the livestock. Just monitor the usual cal, alk, magnesium, and pH. Keep an eye on that for sure. What salt are you using? You're brave...I wouldn't change to RO/DI if I were you. What's the TDS of your tap water? Are you just going straight RO, or RO/DI? If I understand correctly, Calgary water can be really high TDS, so you will want at least one DI cartridge...maybe 2.

[lobsterboy]

now your freakin me out, thanks.

i do %5 every 2 weeks, using reefer best.

so its like 8 gal change, on a 125gal

[i have crabs]

i think calgary water has high calcium so id watch that but i dont think anything to worry about.

[mike31154]

I changed to RO/DI from tap water two water changes ago. I was on the fence for two years as well. My tap TDS is around 200 and after running the RO/DI (75 gpd membrane) unit for about 5 minutes, the TDS was 0 after the RO, so not sure the DI is doing much. I guess my DI media will last a long time...

I do about a 35% water change every 14 to 21 days and the biggest thing I noticed after starting the use of RO/DI water is the improved clarity of the water in the tank, the light seems to penetrate much better. I also notice less of a cruddy film at the water surface where there is little surface agitation. The inside glass stays free from the dusting of brownish crud longer as well.

I've been battling a bit of an hair algae outbreak, but not sure I would attribute that to my recent switch to RO/DI since that should have the opposite effect. I've also recently started running two 250 watt MH lights for a few hours each day. Prior to that it's been T5HO only, so I suspect the extra strong lighting may be contributing to the algae problem.

I have little doubt switching to RO/DI water for my tank was a wise move. The inside of the plastic tub I used to mix my salt water previously is totally covered with a white residue which is almost impossible to get off. I guess the good thing is, that it's in the tub, not in my tank. This has built up over two years of water changes and maybe the residue is not bad, could be calcium, who knows, but I can just imagine all the other stuff that might be in there. I usually let my mix bubble for at least two days before a water change, so I guess this stuff has plenty of time to precipitate on the the lid and accumulate on the inside of the tub. My source water in Vernon is from Kalamalka Lake. I regularly check the Annual Source Water Quality Reports provided by Greater Vernon Services to get an idea of the water makeup and it didn't seem too bad, but it's obviously fairly hard water judging from the residue in my container.

Just did the second RO/DI water change yesterday and removed much of the hair algae in the process. All of my live rock is from previously owned tanks and I have no idea how they were run with respect to water etc. It may be a while until all the unkown ingredients from previous owners plus my own two years of tap water use is purged. I'll be closely monitoring the hair algae situation to see if it makes a significant comeback and if so, how quickly.