ro/di system vs home water softener

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satch

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Sep 27, 2008
Messages
25
An aquarium enthusiast on our community message board told me I need an ro/di system to keep a saltwater tank because our water is very high in silicates and phospates, which are terrible for a saltwater tank. He said I will not be able to control algae outbreaks without using ro/di water. Anyway, I thought about this some more, if we have hard water in our community, would it be the same if we just got a water softener for the entire home and forget the ro/di system and just use that? Thoughts?
 
Just did a water test....
total alkalinity is off the charts - above 300
ph level is within ideal range -- 8.4 or so
water hardness -- between 150 and 300 (hard to tell)

Will this work with a FOWLR setup? Or will I need an Ro/di unit? Or would a home water softener take care of it?
 
get the ro/di unit. Water softeners just remove hardness not chlorine,chloramine, and other water related items. Ro/di are hot rod water filters that give you the best quality water possible. Not to mention if you use dechlorinator, it messes with the protein skimmer somehow.
 
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