Noob first tank question

[John L]

Hi ReiRei, I was just reading up on yr great post, I am from Cambridge uk.   Have you seen  newa therm pro heaters?  

I have just put one in my reefer 170, so far it is more accurate than my old eheim,  heats up quickly and stays within 1 c of temp that I set.  They also come with a 5 year warranty which is re assuring.  I have it connected to an inkbird temp controller (£25 eBay), this will alarm if there is a problem with the heater, and will shut it off if the heater sticks on.

 

Just incase I always use a second back up heater sitting in the tank,(which is an eheim), I set it a couple of degrees c lower. so it will only switch on incase the main one fails, potentially saving yr tank.  

 

Good luck and have fun with yr new hobby!

 

[ReiRei]

2 minutes ago, John L said:

Hi ReiRei, I was just reading up on yr great post, I am from Cambridge uk.   Have you seen  newa therm pro heaters?  

I have just put one in my reefer 170, so far it is more accurate than my old eheim,  heats up quickly and stays within 1 c of temp that I set.  They also come with a 5 year warranty which is re assuring.  

 

Just incase I always use a second back up heater sitting in the tank, I set it a couple of degrees c lower. so it will only switch on incase the main one fails, potentially saving yr tank.  

 

Good luck and have fun with yr new hobby!

 

 

Hello John L! Thank you for your recommendation.

 

We have replaced the Eheim with an Aquael Easy Heater 100w. It is a much better heater. However, we are travelling for 2 weeks so my dad decided to buy a back up heater (a Schego titanium) with a Temp control as a failsafe. 

 

We like the Reefer 170 but since it's my first marine aquarium, we decided to go with an All-in-one tank like the Max Nano. 

 

The problem now is that my Nitrate level is too high and it is actually the result of the saltwater we bought from our LFS. Dad is mad that he might have to spend money on a RODI unit.

[John L]

18 minutes ago, ReiRei said:

 

Hello John L! Thank you for your recommendation.

 

We have replaced the Eheim with an Aquael Easy Heater 100w. It is a much better heater. However, we are travelling for 2 weeks so my dad decided to buy a back up heater (a Schego titanium) with a Temp control as a failsafe. 

 

We like the Reefer 170 but since it's my first marine aquarium, we decided to go with an All-in-one tank like the Max Nano. 

 

The problem now is that my Nitrate level is too high and it is actually the result of the saltwater we bought from our LFS. Dad is mad that he might have to spend money on a RODI unit.

No problem ReiRei, great that your dads put in a back up heater.

 

sorry to hear about yr rodi water.  I bought my rodi system from Vyair in uk. Google thier website to check it out.

 

 I bought the compact 4 stage rodi with di resin.  It cost about £60, I just screw it to my garden tap (which is a standard washing machine thread ).  It works well but needs to run around 9 hrs to fill 25L container, so don’t be shocked how long they need to run to make pure Rodi water!  You can buy bigger systems to make more water quickly, but mine does the job as I use about 40 L a week with waterchange and top off water.  

 

In the long run it is a lot cheaper than buying from lfs.  

[John L]

https://www.vyair.com/compact-4-stage-ro-water-filter-di-stage.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIn6q0_uWQ2AIVsxbTCh3kAw9JEAQYASABEgJNy_D_BwE

 

 

 

[seabass]

41 minutes ago, ReiRei said:

Dad is mad that he might have to spend money on a RODI unit.

Yeah, RO/DI units are expensive.  But when you look at the cost of purchased water compared to about $0.05 for making a gallon of RO/DI water, it makes sense (and pays for itself relatively quickly).  Is there another LFS that sells RO/DI water?  It's good to test it with a TDS meter.  Share your results with them (they might not know their unit requires maintenance).

 

In the meantime you can use distilled water, like Clown79 suggested (probably costs around $0.85 a gallon, not counting fuel and hassle to buy it).  Using distilled water, it will cost about $15 more then making it yourself,  just to replace the water in your tank (not counting salt mix).  Then there's evaporation top offs and water changes.

[ReiRei]

56 minutes ago, John L said:

https://www.vyair.com/compact-4-stage-ro-water-filter-di-stage.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIn6q0_uWQ2AIVsxbTCh3kAw9JEAQYASABEgJNy_D_BwE

 

 

 

Thank you, John L. I will ask my dad to check it out. 

[ReiRei]

53 minutes ago, seabass said:

Yeah, RO/DI units are expensive.  But when you look at the cost of purchased water compared to about $0.05 for making a gallon of RO/DI water, it makes sense (and pays for itself relatively quickly).  Is there another LFS that sells RO/DI water?  It's good to test it with a TDS meter.  Share your results with them (they might not know their unit requires maintenance).

 

In the meantime you can use distilled water, like Clown79 suggested (probably costs around $0.85 a gallon, not counting fuel and hassle to buy it).  Using distilled water, it will cost about $15 more then making it yourself,  just to replace the water in your tank (not counting salt mix).  Then there's evaporation top offs and water changes.

I talked to my dad and he said that it is really not too fun to travel to LFS for water weekly. We might really have to DIY our RODI.

 

This a a question from my dad— we will leave the U.K. and return to Singapore eventually so he's wondering if the other brands of filter/membrane will also work with whatever RODI system we buy in the U.K.?

[John L]

4 minutes ago, ReiRei said:

I talked to my dad and he said that it is really not too fun to travel to LFS for water weekly. We might really have to DIY our RODI.

 

This a a question from my dad— we will leave the U.K. and return to Singapore eventually so he's wondering if the other brands of filter/membrane will also work with whatever RODI system we buy in the U.K.?

Hard to say, if yr lucky an lfs in Singapore may have interchangeable filters to fit, or u can buy online.  Tbh though if u do get stuck in Singapore nowadays u can just order extras  from uk and have It shipped to you for not much more cost. 

 

The compact system I use,  except for the resin housing, which you unscrew empty out and refill with resin, all the other filters are actually sealed units, so u swap out the whole section with a new one, as opposed to putting in new filters.  

[MainelyReefer]

1 hour ago, ReiRei said:

I talked to my dad and he said that it is really not too fun to travel to LFS for water weekly. We might really have to DIY our RODI.

 

This a a question from my dad— we will leave the U.K. and return to Singapore eventually so he's wondering if the other brands of filter/membrane will also work with whatever RODI system we buy in the U.K.?

Depends on the brand of RO/DI unit you purchase, I reccomend sticking to one with standardized reusable housings 2.5x10 sometimes marketed as 2x10 filters, the ones with proprietary filters(like john l's) that are stand alone units are more expensive per filter change and I've found their filter quality to be less than desirable.  If we weren't an ocean apart I'd say I'll ship you one cheap as I make RODI units as a day job, but if you have any questions about it I'll try to answer.  A lot of my supplies come from china so I'd be surprised if Singapore didn't have access to similar items.  Just aim for a unit with reusable housings and it will be ok.  I hope in 6 years my 1year old son will be as into reefing as you! Keep it up! On the RODI I like to have 3 prefilters (5 micron, granulated carbon, then carbon block, your water supply may require specialized prefiltration but these would work for a majority of people) then the membrane, followed preferably by a 2 stage DI unit for redundancy.  The color changing resin works in most cases and makes servicing intervals easier to recognize than TDS testing at multiple spots along the RODI production line

[ReiRei]

10 hours ago, GraniteReefer said:

Depends on the brand of RO/DI unit you purchase, I reccomend sticking to one with standardized reusable housings 2.5x10 sometimes marketed as 2x10 filters, the ones with proprietary filters(like john l's) that are stand alone units are more expensive per filter change and I've found their filter quality to be less than desirable.  If we weren't an ocean apart I'd say I'll ship you one cheap as I make RODI units as a day job, but if you have any questions about it I'll try to answer.  A lot of my supplies come from china so I'd be surprised if Singapore didn't have access to similar items.  Just aim for a unit with reusable housings and it will be ok.  I hope in 6 years my 1year old son will be as into reefing as you! Keep it up! On the RODI I like to have 3 prefilters (5 micron, granulated carbon, then carbon block, your water supply may require specialized prefiltration but these would work for a majority of people) then the membrane, followed preferably by a 2 stage DI unit for redundancy.  The color changing resin works in most cases and makes servicing intervals easier to recognize than TDS testing at multiple spots along the RODI production line

Thanks, GraniteReefer! It took my dad a while to explain what you've said to me. So there is a big difference between the portable units and the standard ones with the reusable housing.

 

We were browsing the internet and saw something that has 2 stages of membrane, think it's supposed to cut down on waste. It has two 50gpd membrane so total 100gpd. If I need a booster pump (yes, dad explained this), must it be rated as 100gpd too, or it could still be 50gpd?

 

I hope what I said made sense.

 

I think your kid will enjoy the hobby. It is really fun and I learn a lot! It's better than watching BBC Blue Planet II.

[jambon]

I use a 50gpd unit which I plumbed into a standard garden hose connection. I make enough water for the water changes and use the extra for our household use. The waste tube could be run out to the garden if wasting water were an issue... I catch the water into a 23 litre carboy and siphon out into 4 litre jugs to mix the salt water, which with my red sea mix is just shy of 1/2 cup for a 1.026 salinity.

[ReiRei]

I think I will try https://www.osmotics.co.uk for a RODI unit.The thing that caught my eye was a 4 stage 50gpd ro system with DI stage.

 

I am thinking of a 66 gal tank(Red Sea Reefer 250) in Singapore.

[jorahx]

welcome!

[John L]

On 18/12/2017 at 6:39 PM, ReiRei said:

I think I will try https://www.osmotics.co.uk for a RODI unit.The thing that caught my eye was a 4 stage 50gpd ro system with DI stage.

 

I am thinking of a 66 gal tank(Red Sea Reefer 250) in Singapore.

Go for it, I love my Red Sea reefer 170, I would’ve been happy with a 250 too.  It’s much bigger than yr nano, so costs will increase quite a bit, for equipment/ salt etc. Beautiful tank though.

On the other hand If u go as big as u can afford if yr serious, then you will save a lot of money when you upgrade and upgrade and upgrade from a small tank lol.

[Neopixal]

Wish you luck on future reefing!  It’s going to be a long ride of learning.

[ReiRei]

Happy New Year!

 

Thank you for the encouragement. I just returned to the U.K. from Italy. I had wonderful gelato and pizzas. Anyway I'm back and I got a RODI unit today.Red Sea sea salt is coming today.It is 22kg. we went to a different shop this time to get water.

 

My dad is trying to figure out how to fix up the RODI system now.

[seabass]

Happy New Year!

 

Italy is such a wonderful place to visit.  We stayed in Siena and took day trips to some other cites before spending a couple of days in Rome.

[Soryu]

On 1/3/2018 at 12:43 PM, ReiRei said:

Happy New Year!

 

Thank you for the encouragement. I just returned to the U.K. from Italy. I had wonderful gelato and pizzas. Anyway I'm back and I got a RODI unit today.Red Sea sea salt is coming today.It is 22kg. we went to a different shop this time to get water.

 

My dad is trying to figure out how to fix up the RODI system now.

Rei,

 

After reading this thread I decided to sign up on this site in hopes of passing on a little advice in my own experience with keeping aquariums starting at a young age.  I started keeping fresh water around the same age as you and didn't graduate to a salt water aquarium until I was 13.  It makes me very happy that not only are you trying to take on such a challenge at a young age but you're also asking questions, listening, and learning.  

 

A suggestion that was passed on to me when I first started in salt water was first to start an excel spreadsheet to log your tank parameters which other members have suggested.  But what ended up being more important to me was to start a journal and document my experience with salt water.  At the time it felt like I was being asked to do a lot of extra homework but after being in and out of this hobby a few times I still find myself reading my old journals occasionally too.  Sometimes for comfort and sometimes so I can remember success or failures I had in the past that might help me with my current situations.   I have all kinds of notes and drawings of how I setup my old tanks and with today's technology you can even add high quality photos and helpful information you learn here.  My first notes I took are now 28 years old to help you with an idea of how long this experience has been for me.

 

As for the rest of you reading this if you don't have a journal, it's never too late. 

 

 

[seabass]

Welcome to Nano-Reef.com Soryu.

[ReiRei]

On 04/01/2018 at 10:25 PM, Soryu said:

Rei,

 

After reading this thread I decided to sign up on this site in hopes of passing on a little advice in my own experience with keeping aquariums starting at a young age.  I started keeping fresh water around the same age as you and didn't graduate to a salt water aquarium until I was 13.  It makes me very happy that not only are you trying to take on such a challenge at a young age but you're also asking questions, listening, and learning.  

 

A suggestion that was passed on to me when I first started in salt water was first to start an excel spreadsheet to log your tank parameters which other members have suggested.  But what ended up being more important to me was to start a journal and document my experience with salt water.  At the time it felt like I was being asked to do a lot of extra homework but after being in and out of this hobby a few times I still find myself reading my old journals occasionally too.  Sometimes for comfort and sometimes so I can remember success or failures I had in the past that might help me with my current situations.   I have all kinds of notes and drawings of how I setup my old tanks and with today's technology you can even add high quality photos and helpful information you learn here.  My first notes I took are now 28 years old to help you with an idea of how long this experience has been for me.

 

As for the rest of you reading this if you don't have a journal, it's never too late. 

 

 

I have started a simple journal to keep track of my parameters and thank you for your help soryu ,I am going to do a 75% water change today.I am using a marina easy clean siphon (which is quite rubbish).

 

I have just made 50L of RODI water in my bathtub. However, the TDS meter reads 10 instead of 0.

 

[seabass]

49 minutes ago, ReiRei said:

I have just made 50L of RODI water in my bathtub. However, the TDS meter reads 10 instead of 0.

A couple of questions:

• What's the TDS of water straight out of the tap?
• Is the container that you are using to capture the water clean (like a new food safe container, or even a drinking glass for testing purposes)?
• It sounds like what I'd expect without a DI stage.  It is a RO/DI versus just a RO unit, right?

There are a few other things that we can look at if the above checks out alright.

[John L]

3 hours ago, ReiRei said:

I have started a simple journal to keep track of my parameters and thank you for your help soryu ,I am going to do a 75% water change today.I am using a marina easy clean siphon (which is quite rubbish).

 

I have just made 50L of RODI water in my bathtub. However, the TDS meter reads 10 instead of 0.

 

Did u flush yr filter stages when setting up to flush out particles etc, before using for first time?

Esp carbon needs flushing through before linking it with the other stages.

The instructions usually say this.  

[ReiRei]

2 hours ago, John L said:

Did u flush yr filter stages when setting up to flush out particles etc, before using for first time?

Esp carbon needs flushing through before linking it with the other stages.

The instructions usually say this.  

Yes, my dad did flush out the filters and discard some water.

[ReiRei]

5 hours ago, seabass said:

A couple of questions:

• What's the TDS of water straight out of the tap?
• Is the container that you are using to capture the water clean (like a new food safe container, or even a drinking glass for testing purposes)?
• It sounds like what I'd expect without a DI stage.  It is a RO/DI versus just a RO unit, right?

There are a few other things that we can look at if the above checks out alright.

Thank you, Seabass!

 

We just checked again and this time the TDS is at 0. My dad said that it was likely the small cup we used earlier for testing that's been contaminated.

My latest Nitrates reading is between 5 to 10 ppm! Is it good enough for fish?

 

I want a Goby and a pistol shrimp!!!!

[seabass]

27 minutes ago, ReiRei said:

My latest Nitrates reading is between 5 to 10 ppm! Is it good enough for fish?

Yeah, it should be fine for a fish and shrimp.