RO Unit = BS?

[Spicer]

Quote from my lfs:

Dont bother buying and ro/di unit, because its all bs.

Tap water, as long as your only using the COLD water, is pure enough for reefs.

It would be only the HOT water pipes with copper.

Let it run a bit, on COLD only, then fill up your container.

 

They said you also have to let it sit with an air bubbler for a day or so before you turn it into salt water.

 

Any comments on what they said?

 

Some scientific #### I can tell them?

I was like. NO NO NO, everyones been telling me ro/di ONLY for nano reef.

[Rick Shaw]

Uhm, I dont have a lot of time so in short get a new LFS!

[Lawnman]

Uhm, I dont have a lot of time so in short get a new LFS!

+1 what store is this Petco? I can tell you Premium Aquatics says RO is all you need. That is what we use in our tanks.But there tanks always look like complete CRAP.

[jbb]

Quote from my lfs:

Dont bother buying and ro/di unit, because its all bs.

Tap water, as long as your only using the COLD water, is pure enough for reefs.

It would be only the HOT water pipes with copper.

Let it run a bit, on COLD only, then fill up your container.

 

They said you also have to let it sit with an air bubbler for a day or so before you turn it into salt water.

 

Any comments on what they said?

 

Some scientific #### I can tell them?

I was like. NO NO NO, everyones been telling me ro/di ONLY for nano reef.

 

they are full of ####, thats as scientific as it needs to get. Find a new LFS asap

[lakshwadeep]

Without testing the water, you're LFS can't prove they're right. Cold water is slightly useful in areas where some things will not stay dissolved, but there are plenty of things that will stay constantly soluble even in nearly freezing water.

 

Also, this link explains the many inconsistencies with saltwater, and the first paragraph is pretty simple:

Many aquarists ask whether it is acceptable to use tap water for their reef aquaria. The answer obviously depends on what is in their tap water. We have all heard of aquarists who use only tap water and are seemingly very successful. We've also heard the opposite, such as folks that had significant problems until they purified their water. How is an aquarist to decide what to do?

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/jan2004/chem.htm

[Spicer]

Here's the problem...

The LFS is Big Al's!!

 

Aquatica is their Quebec Franchise. LOL

[Lawnman]

My tap is around 360-440 TDS depends on the day.

 

Here's the problem...

The LFS is Big Al's!!

 

Aquatica is their Quebec Franchise. LOL

I guess Big Al's doesn't want to make money on RODI units.

[jbb]

Here's the problem...

The LFS is Big Al's!!

 

Aquatica is their Quebec Franchise. LOL

 

 

 

WOW thats funny

[franklypre]

I would strongly recommend letting the manager's at Big Al's know about this, If they say the same thing please let us know so we can Trash them on an appropriate thread. It is funny however they actually talked you out of buying something.

[Spicer]

The employees I was talking to were my friends from HS. So I dont wanna really rat them out their boss. Even though Im sure hes aware they use tap water on the tanks.

They sell ro water, but use tap water on their tanks, even the coral tanks. Wtf?

 

The RO water they sell is @ 0.06 on the TDS meter, and this is what Ive been using on my tanks.

 

Id like to shun the staff with some scientific ####. What can I say to prove them wrong?

 

It was me vs 3 employees...

[Dani3d]

First off most salt are especialy made for 0 TDS water, so you don't add more of one element that would unbalance your water and system. Some tap water are ok but on the long run you will risk having algae more than you can bargain with.

 

I started both my aquarium with tap water and switchted to RO/DI after and it was fine but this all depends on your tap water and how much mineral there is in it. Mine is quite soft with 140ppm, but my water from the hot faucet is 180 ppm so I am guessing there is some dissolved metal in my hot water, probably some copper too.

 

On the long run, I would not only use tap water because probably some element would build up too much and there is always the risk of introducing copper as well.

 

Quote from my lfs:

Dont bother buying and ro/di unit, because its all bs.

Tap water, as long as your only using the COLD water, is pure enough for reefs.

It would be only the HOT water pipes with copper.

Let it run a bit, on COLD only, then fill up your container.

 

They said you also have to let it sit with an air bubbler for a day or so before you turn it into salt water.

 

Any comments on what they said?

 

Some scientific #### I can tell them?

I was like. NO NO NO, everyones been telling me ro/di ONLY for nano reef.

 

 

They used to be Big Al but now they are not associated with Big Al anylonger and this is why they don't appear on Big Al Canada web site and also why they changed the name to Aquatica.

 

Here's the problem...

The LFS is Big Al's!!

 

Aquatica is their Quebec Franchise. LOL

[nanoreef-R]

Fail.

 

Here we get 25 TDS water and still no good for reefs

[Dani3d]

If they run it at their store and have no problem, then I guess not much you can say about it. No point arguing with them either. I did not know they were using tap water on their coral tank though. I buy coral from them from time to time and their corals are sometimes really nice and cheap. I bought a big rock with about 30 ricordea for 59$ and that's an awesome piece in my aquarium now. It's hard to beat them for prices in Quebec.

 

I guess it's up to you to decide what you want to put in your aquarium but I strongly sugges you buy a RO/DI unit if only for the convenience of not having to go out to buy water. Water is heavy and a pain to transport.

 

I bought my RO/DI from kijiji brand new for 104$ shipped and it's working very well. It's nice to have available water when ever I need it.

 

The employees I was talking to were my friends from HS. So I dont wanna really rat them out their boss. Even though Im sure hes aware they use tap water on the tanks.

They sell ro water, but use tap water on their tanks, even the coral tanks. Wtf?

 

The RO water they sell is @ 0.06 on the TDS meter, and this is what Ive been using on my tanks.

 

Id like to shun the staff with some scientific ####. What can I say to prove them wrong?

 

It was me vs 3 employees...

 

 

wow, that's sweet. It's even too soft for discus fish. A heckel require about 70ppm TDS. They would suffer at such low TDS.

 

Fail.

 

Here we get 25 TDS water and still no good for reefs

[Spicer]

Eventhough they are separate, you can order anything thats on the bigals canada website, and they will give it to u @ the site price.

 

Those ricordea rocks are now on sale @ 40$ I think BTW, not 30 heads, but 15+ if Im not mistaken.

 

[AZDesertRat]

In the LFS defense many Canadian water sources are extremely pristine and unpolluted due to their locations so TDS is normally very low. Not pure and not RO/DI quality but very good for tap.

 

Now on the flip side, just because TDS is low today or at this hour does not mean it will bet that way tomorrow or in the upcomig hour. Water changes. A storm blows through and treatment changes due to runoff and sediments. A backhoe digs up the water main down the street. A commercial or industrial facility has a backflow incident. Etc.

 

You have no control over these things and they happen worldwide daily or hourly. The biggest advantage of an RO/DI is consistency, you get the same high quality each and every time as long as you maintain it correctly. No guesswork and you alone control its quality, no depending on someone else.

[Dani3d]

I had 32 beautiful orenge/blue-gray florida ricordea on the rock I bought so it was a super good deal. I bought my mandarin fish there and the people over there are really nice. I have nothing bad to say about this store.

 

Did they receive new coral?

 

Eventhough they are separate, you can order anything thats on the bigals canada website, and they will give it to u @ the site price.

 

Those ricordea rocks are now on sale @ 40$ I think BTW, not 30 heads, but 15+ if Im not mistaken.