New to RO/DI water use

[rocco134]

I am also new to RO/DI use. I just got my unit today. I have a quick question. Sorry to leach of your leach of your post salty.

Is the efficiency of the unit (waste: product) temperature sensitive (i.e higher water temp = less waste)? my unit is rated at 50gpd but i know that is based on ideal conditions (60psi and 77'F).

[Myka]

Rocco, the efficiency of the system won't be effected by the inline temperature, but the GPD rating will be.

Salty, what's the reasoning behind supplementing on a FOWLR? Just coralline growth or other reasons as well?

[rocco134]

Thanks Myka... thats what i meant

so hoe does temp actually affect gpd

[Myka]

Not sure, but it does!

[salty210]

Hi Myka, I am getting ready to switch to a reef tank, so I would like to know a little more about calcium and other supplements I will be needing.

[Myka]

Ah I see. Well first things first you will have to weed out all the fish that aren't reef-safe.

Some test kits are in order. For calcium and alkalinity I would suggest API or Elos (or get your Salifert's calibrated against more accurate kits as they seem to be fairly unreliable). For magnesium I have found my Salifert to be trusty and easy to use.

If the coral load is low, once you dose the tank to the appropriate level, and pre-dose your water change water to appropriate levels you should be able to keep up to demand simply by doing weekly 10-25% water changes.

For supplements, I have always found that aquarium designed products produce better results (that often only experienced reefers may notice, so maybe not too important for more novice keepers). However, your tank is a significant size and it can get pricey to dose. As far as aquarium designed products go I have used many products and have found Fauna Marin Calcium chloride hydro-somethingorother to be my favourite calcium supplement on the market right now. I haven't tried their alkalinity supplement yet, but i am looking forward to it. For alkalinity I have been using SeaChem, and it works well. I prefer the Reef Buffer 8.3 to the Reef Builder product as the former mixes easier and helps keep pH over 8.0.

For magnesium I am using littlesilvermax's premixed ratio. I do like it, but I am going to try Fauna Marin's magnesium product when it runs out. I am so impressed with their calcium product I am going to switch all of my "big three" over to their products.

However, for just getting started I really see no reason to not use littlesilvermax's products for all of the "big three". Many seasoned reefers on here use his products exclusively. They are cheap, and they work.

[BWI]

Originally Posted by rocco134

I am also new to RO/DI use. I just got my unit today. I have a quick question. Sorry to leach of your leach of your post salty.

Is the efficiency of the unit (waste: product) temperature sensitive (i.e higher water temp = less waste)? my unit is rated at 50gpd but i know that is based on ideal conditions (60psi and 77'F).

there is a easy way to improve efficiency, u can add a another membrane and produce double what your making and still use the original waste water amount. understand?


as for adding chems, i am using the GHL profilux doser with the balling salts. I have no problem with calcium its just keeping up with mag, and alk..

[rocco134]

good info guys.... thanks!!!

so.. the unit i bought was the Aqua fx 4 stage barracuda. it claims to be 50gpd but i filled a 5 gallon jug in less that an hour. is this common for a new unit or is something wrong?

[rocco134]

ok... promise not to laugh?!?!

i had the drain line (waste water) in my bucket and the product line in the drain.. Whoops

its going a lot slower now...

[mark]

Originally Posted by rocco134

I am also new to RO/DI use. I just got my unit today. I have a quick question. Sorry to leach of your leach of your post salty.

Is the efficiency of the unit (waste: product) temperature sensitive (i.e higher water temp = less waste)? my unit is rated at 50gpd but i know that is based on ideal conditions (60psi and 77'F).

couple of links (here and here) that show the roll off in output with cold water and reduced pressure below the ratings as well as something on rejection rates.