ryshark
Aquarium Advice Addict
I have been in this aquarium hobby for almost 2-years now and the entire time I have been buying Natrual Seawater for my partial water changes. Here in California, many of the LFS sell water that was pumped in from the ocean and filtered. It doens't really have an abundance of extra trace elements that is good for coral in a captive environment. So I have finally decided to make the switch to making my own synthetic saltwater. The main thing that held me back in the past was that my RO unit was upstairs in one of the bathrooms. It would have been a huge pain to make enough gallons of water for a pwc upstairs and then have to bring it down to mix it.
However, my bro-in-law said he would help me move the RODI unit into the garage and tie it into the water heater. We got around to doing this today, now I finally have a cool setup as you can see below. We tied it into the copper pipe with a brass T-valve. I purchased this last night which is a smoking deal because aquacave wanted $40 plus shipping for what I think is the exact same thing. http://cgi.ebay.com/HM-DM-1-Inline-Dual-TDS-Meter-ppm-RO-DI-Aquarium-DM1_W0QQitemZ280343869510QQcategoryZ20684QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3907.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DFICS%252BUFI%252BUA%252BIA%252BUCI%26otn%3D14%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D54
I look forward to getting this and adding it in. If you are wondering why the DI-chambers are just hanging there its because I tried to get them as vertical as possible instead of using the horizontal bracket that I am supposed to use with it.
In regards to saltmix choice I have decided to go with Tropic Marin Pro Reef for now. I have also heard good things about D-D H2Ocean, so I may give that a shot too. The only drawback is these two are the most expensive. I am thinking about mixing the TM Pro Reef with a cheaper salt maybe 50/50. What salt mix have you had luck with for a reef tank?
However, my bro-in-law said he would help me move the RODI unit into the garage and tie it into the water heater. We got around to doing this today, now I finally have a cool setup as you can see below. We tied it into the copper pipe with a brass T-valve. I purchased this last night which is a smoking deal because aquacave wanted $40 plus shipping for what I think is the exact same thing. http://cgi.ebay.com/HM-DM-1-Inline-Dual-TDS-Meter-ppm-RO-DI-Aquarium-DM1_W0QQitemZ280343869510QQcategoryZ20684QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3907.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DFICS%252BUFI%252BUA%252BIA%252BUCI%26otn%3D14%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D54
I look forward to getting this and adding it in. If you are wondering why the DI-chambers are just hanging there its because I tried to get them as vertical as possible instead of using the horizontal bracket that I am supposed to use with it.
In regards to saltmix choice I have decided to go with Tropic Marin Pro Reef for now. I have also heard good things about D-D H2Ocean, so I may give that a shot too. The only drawback is these two are the most expensive. I am thinking about mixing the TM Pro Reef with a cheaper salt maybe 50/50. What salt mix have you had luck with for a reef tank?