ekean45
Aquarium Advice Activist
Couple of questions I'd be interested in hearing a bit of feedback...Although I've known for the past 4 years I should be using RODI, I was not and using tap for a 65 gallon. Least to say, I've not had the best luck keeping up with the more delicate corals. I've had some of livestock in the tank for about 3 1/2 years - few fish and inverts and they seem to be doing OK - as with the coral, the more delicate type fish did not do so well. A few months ago, I put a whole house water filter and even after that, TDS was about 38 or so....
So last week after finally seeing the light, I purchased a 4 stage AquaFX Barracuda RO/DI Aquarium Filter, 100 GPD and set up 2 37 gallon storage tanks, one to mix salt and the other to store fresh water.
Is it better to start from scratch or will the tank recover if I use RODI from here on out? Obviously taking everything down, cleaning it out, and restarting is a pretty big project. I'll do it if it is necessary but hoping this way will work. I did a 30% water change on day 1 and for the last 4-5 days, have been doing about 10% water changes. I've been testing frequently and here are the most recent tank parameters which have been stable.
If the initial feedback is to start over, then the rest of this is moot. However, assuming the answer is that it is OK for doing water changes daily for a few weeks....
So last week after finally seeing the light, I purchased a 4 stage AquaFX Barracuda RO/DI Aquarium Filter, 100 GPD and set up 2 37 gallon storage tanks, one to mix salt and the other to store fresh water.
Is it better to start from scratch or will the tank recover if I use RODI from here on out? Obviously taking everything down, cleaning it out, and restarting is a pretty big project. I'll do it if it is necessary but hoping this way will work. I did a 30% water change on day 1 and for the last 4-5 days, have been doing about 10% water changes. I've been testing frequently and here are the most recent tank parameters which have been stable.
- Salinity: 1.025
- Temp: 79.2
- PH: 8.1
- ALK: 8.00
- Calcium:475
- Magnesium: 1200
- Ammonia / Nitrite / Nitrate: 0
If the initial feedback is to start over, then the rest of this is moot. However, assuming the answer is that it is OK for doing water changes daily for a few weeks....
- How long should I continue doing the 10% water changes until the tap water affects are gone?
- I have some coral that did OK with the tap (xenias, green polyp's) but I always thought they looked drab compared to other tanks. How long do you think it would take for them to recover to give them that "pop"?
- A couple of the other corals have basically disintegrated but there are patches that seem to be alive. Will these generally recover or are they more likely than not a lost cause?
- I've heard several opinions on additives when using RODI water since TDS is 0. Salt mix I'm using is Red Sea Fish Pharm ARE11230 Coral Pro Marine Salt. Any opinions?
- Any other suggestions of what I should dose? After the tap water is replaced and I no longer do the 10% daily water changes, I plan on sticking to a 15% water change every 2 weeks.
- Any other suggestions to do or to look for?
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