Water Change with Canadian Springs?

[Tarolisol]

Originally Posted by fishyfolks

Here is another option. I live in Vancouver and I have found a company that installs a reverse osmosis water system in your home for $ 25.00 a month. It is a month to month rental plan with no contract, and they come and service it for free. The unit looks like a regular water cooler, but instead of having to go out and buy water from the stores, you just pour the filtered water right from this unit. (a heck of a lot cheaper than installing one of those $ 500.00 reverse osmosis systems a lot of us fish lovers have priced out) Since I have been using this water for my water changes, I have had zero problems with algae blooms. I also went from having to clean my glass every other day to once overy ten days or so!!!! It takes out the phosphorous, chlorine, metal particles but leaves in some of the calcium. I don't know if they offer something like this in Victoria, but I am sure that an internet search would turn something up. Good luck!

$500 im not sure where you came up with that price but thats crazy and 25 bucks a month is alot to since you can by an aquasafe RO-DI system for less then $100.

[fishyfolks]

WOW!!!!

I will have to research that better! Thanks for the info!

[anglfish]

Thanks you guys for your input on this...
and..

I KNEW IT!

so it IS the water. Well that kinda is a release as now at least I know what I can do to fix this. I just have a 24 gallon so I don't think the $25 month plan will work out for me. But I make sure to use only RO water treated with Ozone that has very little TDS.
Will do a big water change today and then another one in a week and see whether this helps. the diatom should "starve" out after two weeks, given I don't everfeed. right?
any other short term solution I can use until then?

Todd, where is the Alternate Water Store?

Thanks again!

[Todd]

There are two. One is in the Saanich Center (by Thrifty's Foods - Quadra and McKenzie, conveniently a few blocks from me!) and another in Royal Oak Shopping center (on West Saanich Road near Royal Oak).

[christyf5]

My understanding is that spring water has alot of minerals and stuff in it which are probably fuelling your algae. I used to get my water from the grocery store but I would imagine that an actual "water store" would keep their RO units serviced better.

[1bigstud]

I've always thought about going to a grocery store to get R/O water. If I do ever end up doing this anyone in the Richmond Bc area done it before and have any feed back they would like to share?

[gbeef]

i use arrow head im my reef i havent had any problems yet. and yes its RO water. i have a 7 gallon tank it not worth it for me to buy an RO unit and have it sit there.

[kwirky]

maybe run some rowaphos or phosban for a couple days, to deal with any phosphates that might be in the water? And then just wait?