Freshy thinking of taking the plunge...

[Madcrazyroyboy]

Filters probably exhausted. Change them. I personally use distilled

 

[skywhitney]

Is RO/DI absolutely necessary or will treated tap water work?

 

[Madcrazyroyboy]

I wouldn't use tap. Unless you like improper amounts of calcium phosphate and a bunch of others. It is actually a major cause of algae blooms such as the green hair algae. Distilled is pure just like RODi water it's just filtered differently.

 

[needmorecowbell]

Is RO/DI absolutely necessary or will treated tap water work?

I would say it's absolutely necessary, you'll get a continuous amount of silicates going into your tank every pwc, so you'll always have diatoms. Its one of the most important things to buy IMO. Right along with a protein skimmer.

 

[shady3210]

Get the ro/di unit and save yourself a lot of headaches. I picked up a purewaterclub unit off ebay for about 100 and it works great.

 

[needmorecowbell]

Get the ro/di unit and save yourself a lot of headaches. I picked up a purewaterclub unit off ebay for about 100 and it works great.

I got that one too, it works well, but I don't think you can do any add ons like you can with brs filters. Like tds meters, booster pumps, backwash, etc.

 

[skywhitney]

What I have:
- Tank (70g) / Stand / Glass Lid
- WavePoint Quad T5HO
- Sump (Aqueon ProFlex Model 3)
- CPR CS90 HOB Overflow
- Rio 2100 Return Pump
- Submersible heater (Fluval M300 and E300)
- Skimmer
- Live Rock
- Live Sand

What I need:
- RO/DI unit
- Powerheads / wavemaker
- Salt
- Refractometer
- Test Kit


Am i missing anything here?

 

[shady3210]

What I have:
- Tank (70g) / Stand / Glass Lid
- WavePoint Quad T5HO
- Sump (Aqueon ProFlex Model 3)
- CPR CS90 HOB Overflow
- Rio 2100 Return Pump
- Submersible heater (Fluval M300 and E300)
- Skimmer
- Live Rock
- Live Sand

What I need:
- RO/DI unit
- Powerheads / wavemaker
- Salt
- Refractometer
- Test Kit


Am i missing anything here?

Looks good but here are a couple other things you should look at:

Auto Top Off- having to top your tank off a couple times a day gets really annoying. This also gives your skimmer and tank stability in water level/salinity. You can setup a DIY system for like $30.

Large Container for mixing water- I use a 50 gallon trash can.

Extra powerhead for mixing- I'd probably use the smaller one you have for this and get a new one for the tank

QT tank- Get one or you will regret it

Patience

 

[skywhitney]

Looks good but here are a couple other things you should look at:

Auto Top Off- having to top your tank off a couple times a day gets really annoying. This also gives your skimmer and tank stability in water level/salinity. You can setup a DIY system for like $30.

Large Container for mixing water- I use a 50 gallon trash can.

Extra powerhead for mixing- I'd probably use the smaller one you have for this and get a new one for the tank

QT tank- Get one or you will regret it

Patience

I'll have to look into the ATO systems a little more. That will probably be down the road.

I was thinking about a 50g trashcan with a couple of my small powerheads. I'm going to get larger ones for the tank.

I have a 40g, 30g, 3x10g, and a 20g long just sitting around so i think i'm set for the QT tank lol

now about the patience....that's much harder for me to find....

 

[Joe5688]

Do u have to use a Ph in the extra water or can use an Air pump?

 

[shady3210]

Do u have to use a Ph in the extra water or can use an Air pump?

As long as it will dissolve the salt in a timely manner you can use just about anything. Power head, water pump, air pump, you with a big stick and a lot of time.... some are just more efficient then others... and less tiring.

 

[Joe5688]

As long as it will dissolve the salt in a timely manner you can use just about anything. Power head, water pump, air pump, you with a big stick and a lot of time.... some are just more efficient then others... and less tiring.

Haha ok

 

[skywhitney]

As long as it will dissolve the salt in a timely manner you can use just about anything. Power head, water pump, air pump, you with a big stick and a lot of time.... some are just more efficient then others... and less tiring.

I'm thinking with a couple of powerheads angled to flow with the wall and placed at different heights in the trashcan should create a nice stirring effect less work for me lol

 

[skywhitney]

so i'm looking at different RO/DI units and i have no idea what size i need. these are all rated at different gallon per day. Since my tank is only 70+20(sump) should i go for one of the 50-60GPD units?

 

[shady3210]

so i'm looking at different RO/DI units and i have no idea what size i need. these are all rated at different gallon per day. Since my tank is only 70+20(sump) should i go for one of the 50-60GPD units?

Should be just fine. Any will work it just depends on how fast you want to make water. Your tank size wont matter. For the ro/di I would also recommend getting a cheap handheld tds meter to check the water(unless you get one with build in TDS meters). I got mine for like 5.00 off ebay works fine.

 

[skywhitney]

I'm picking up a 3 or 4 stage unit after work today from a friend who has an extra unit available. Nice and cheap as well

 

[needmorecowbell]

That's great! A great start to the beginning of a great tank

 

[shady3210]

I'm picking up a 3 or 4 stage unit after work today from a friend who has an extra unit available. Nice and cheap as well

Nice you will definitely want a TDS meter then to make sure the filters are still ok in it.

TDS Nutrient Testing Meter | eBay

That's what I use.

 

[needmorecowbell]

Link brings me to the eBay homepage. I still haven't bought one, I really need too. I've been going by the replace them once a year rule.

 

[shady3210]

Link brings me to the eBay homepage. I still haven't bought one, I really need too. I've been going by the replace them once a year rule.

That's odd works for me.

Try this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TDS-Nutrient-Testing-Meter-/290742302278#ht_500wt_1180