Kinda's Large Tank Adventure (LTA)

[SaltyGallon]

Reverse Osmosis De-Ionised Water

 

This thread is kind of astounding. It's good that you're asking these questions but they're the kind of things you read about long before picking up the critters, let alone a tricky to keep anemone... Can I (strongly) recommend you binge watch a bunch of these BRS TV videos on YouTube? They're really useful and full of answers to questions that you don't yet know you have, but will have. The '52 weeks of reefing' playlist is a fantastic place to start.

[seabass]

1 hour ago, Kindanewtothis said:

I'm sure there are contaminents but doesn't it depends on where you are in the world? I'm in Canada, our water comes from a really clean lake nearby.

I'm sure it's very good to drink, but we typically strive to get close to 0 TDS.  With really clean source water, you could probably even get by with a RO unit without the DI stage.  However, even with pure water coming from your tap, metals and other contaminants from pipes and fixtures can leach into the water.

 

Issues like algae are common with tap water.  However, more importantly, constant top off with tap water will end up concentrating these contaminants.  As I said earlier, only pure water evaporates, leaving all the contaminants in your tank (and higher levels every time you top off).

[Clown79]

36 minutes ago, Kindanewtothis said:

I'm sure there are contaminents but doesn't it depends on where you are in the world? I'm in Canada, our water comes from a really clean lake nearby.

Where in Canada?

 

You should really get a tds meter and your water report.

 

Our lakes in Canada are treated with chlorine and most often chloramine- horrible for sw.

 

My tds in Canada was 370 +

 

Our water is like everyone elses

 Contaminated by pollutants.and treated with chemicals.

 

The majority of Canadian hobbyists use RODI or distilled. I know of 1 who doesn't.

 

 

[Tautoo]

Just wanted to stop by and say this community is truly one of the best.  So super helpful.  Yall are awesome.  

[Kindanewtothis]

2 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Where in Canada?

 

You should really get a tds meter and your water report.

 

Our lakes in Canada are treated with chlorine and most often chloramine- horrible for sw.

 

My tds in Canada was 370 +

 

Our water is like everyone elses

 Contaminated by pollutants.and treated with chemicals.

 

The majority of Canadian hobbyists use RODI or distilled. I know of 1 who doesn't.

 

 

Quebec.

 

Still doesn't know what is a RO/DI is but I'll look into it.

[Clown79]

8 minutes ago, Kindanewtothis said:

Quebec.

 

Still doesn't know what is a RO/DI is but I'll look into it.

Water quality is one of the leading causes of issues in reef keeping.

 

The chemicals uses to treat our water is harmful to the livestock.

 

The pollutants, additional waste, microscopic plastic, medications, tds levels, and all the other stuff thats in our water, is unhealthy.

 

High tds levels will mean constant algae issues.

 

I shut down my freshwater tank because i used tap water which equaled to a tank full of algae 

[seabass]

1 hour ago, Kindanewtothis said:

Still doesn't know what is a RO/DI is but I'll look into it.

It's a way to filter water.  They make systems for home use, like: https://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/Aquamaxx-Puratek-Deluxe-100-GPD-RO-DI-System.html

You can measure total dissolved solids (TDS) with a handheld meter, like: https://www.amazon.ca/HM-TDS-3-Temperature-Hydroponics-Gardening/dp/B01FXRC354/

 

However, you don't have to mess with all that.  You can simply use distilled water from a grocery store.  It's more expensive per gallon and a little less convenient (having to go to the store and haul it around); but it's simple, with no big upfront cost.

[Clown79]

1 hour ago, Clown79 said:

Water quality is one of the leading causes of issues in reef keeping.

 

The chemicals uses to treat our water is harmful to the livestock.

 

The pollutants, additional waste, microscopic plastic, medications, tds levels, and all the other stuff thats in our water, is unhealthy.

 

High tds levels will mean constant algae issues.

 

I shut down my freshwater tank because i used tap water which equaled to a tank full of algae 

Do you have Zehrs or Superstore in Quebec? 

 

At Zehrs i would buy the large 5g bottle of distilled. You give a 1 time $10 deposit, when you empty that bottle you bring it back and buy a full one for $6.

 

Its a lot easier than buying 4-10,  4 litre bottles. 

 

It also saves the environment as the bottles are reused, and when you decide you wanna go RODI, you can return the bottles and get your deposit back.

 

I picked up 2 a week. 

 

Check out reefsupplies.ca

 

Its a lot cheaper to buy from them than any supplier in the states where you will pay $30 + on shipping and then customs fees.

 

Plus reefsupplies is in Quebec. Great place and good guys to deal with.

 

[Tired]

What everyone is saying is, you want to use water that has only water in it. No nutrients, no minerals, nothing. That way you can add your salt to it, and you know the water only has good stuff in it. There are many things in water that are perfectly fine for humans to drink, but not good for corals to live in. 

 

When water evaporates, only the water evaporates. Any minerals or substances in it will stay in your aquarium. If you top off the tank with tap water, whatever stuff is in the tap water will stay in the tank. Things that might be OK in small amounts will build up that way. 

 

Many of the things in tap water will encourage algae. 

 

You want to use distilled water, or RODI water, because those are both types of water that only have water in them. Distilled water has been heated until it evaporated, then collected and turned back into water. RODI water has been run through a lot of very fine filters. They don't have minerals or anything else, just water. 

[Kindanewtothis]

So I guess that doesn't work:

[Kindanewtothis]

6 hours ago, SaltyGallon said:

Reverse Osmosis De-Ionised Water

 

This thread is kind of astounding. It's good that you're asking these questions but they're the kind of things you read about long before picking up the critters, let alone a tricky to keep anemone... Can I (strongly) recommend you binge watch a bunch of these BRS TV videos on YouTube? They're really useful and full of answers to questions that you don't yet know you have, but will have. The '52 weeks of reefing' playlist is a fantastic place to start.

Well I guess this is not a place for noobs who make mistakes. Sorry for learning.

[IceParrot]

11 minutes ago, Kindanewtothis said:

Well I guess this is not a place for noobs who make mistakes. Sorry for learning.

To be fair SaltyGallon was just trying to help and they recommend a series that would be very beneficial for a “noob” or even an expert to watch. I am not trying to come off as mean but you are asking people for advice and then ignoring them.

 

To answer your question about Nutrafin: it does not cut it. Tap water is full of nasty stuff and Nutrafin only gets rid of a portion of the bad chemicals in tap water. I would recommend that you use distilled water from the store or a buy a RO/DI filter.

[Kindanewtothis]

2 minutes ago, IceParrot said:

To be fair SaltyGallon was just trying to help and they recommend a series that would be very beneficial for a “noob” or even an expert to watch. I am not trying to come off as mean but you are asking people for advice and then ignoring them.

 

To answer your question about Nutrafin: it does not cut it. Tap water is full of nasty stuff and Nutrafin only gets rid of a portion of the bad chemicals in tap water. I would recommend that you use distilled water from the store or a buy a RO/DI filter.

What am I ignoring? I'm listening.

[kthehun89]

25 minutes ago, Kindanewtothis said:

Well I guess this is not a place for noobs who make mistakes. Sorry for learning.

not when animal's lives are on the line...

[IceParrot]

What everyone is saying is that you need a RO/DI filter or distilled water if you want the best chances for your anemone to live. Tap water is insufficient.

 

@Kindanewtothis we are only trying to help. Getting angry at us doesn’t help anyone.

[seabass]

2 hours ago, Kindanewtothis said:

So I guess that doesn't work:

It dechlorinates the water, so that's good.  But it doesn't purify the water.

 

1 hour ago, Kindanewtothis said:

Well I guess this is not a place for noobs who make mistakes. Sorry for learning.

I don't think it was meant as a shot.  However, your experience level and this anemone (which is often considered as recommended for "expert only" care) doesn't really match up.  But even SaltyGallon said, "It's good that you're asking these questions".

 

I know that you are listening, and trying.  You just got ahead of your skis a bit.  Reefing has a bit of a learning curve, and those videos are a good resource to learn from.  Don't get too bent out of shape if people question what you are doing.  Most people are trying to help.  Like people said earlier, Nano-Reef is a pretty inviting community compared to most.

[Kindanewtothis]

First: english is not my first language.

 

Second: I ask for advices and I'm following them the best I can. I've never said I would not get a RO/DI, I just learned about it today. I was told to get better lights, I got 2 Al prime 16HD. 

[rough eye]

going back to topping off: i might be in the minority here but i would say never top water off based on how high the water is. instead, get a refractometer, and add RODI or distilled water to keep the salinity level consistent.

[SaltyGallon]

If you go down the RODI route you can buy little units off Amazon and make your own at home - you can connect them to say a shower or a tap. They are generally pretty economical in the long run and depending on use you can switch out the resin every couple of months and keep your Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) at or near zero. It will save you lugging big jugs of distilled water from your local store, too 👍🏼

[Kindanewtothis]

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00DOG63OY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_i_5GVZ61J4FTA48YZ6N6M6

 

What about that?

[Clown79]

8 minutes ago, Kindanewtothis said:

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00DOG63OY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_i_5GVZ61J4FTA48YZ6N6M6

 

What about that?

Before picking a unit, you should get your local water report because that determines what unit you need.

 

You need to know tds levels of your tap water and what it's treated with.

 

The unit you linked is only an RO unit, you need rodi.

 

My tds levels are so high here that i needed 5 stage rodi unit and had to replace the DI every 2 months.

Thats why knowing what your water is treated with is important and the average tds levels.

 

The rodi units that you can't use just any filters in it can get costly because you have to use the brands units. Example RO Buddie. You can't just buy and use any filter, you have to use RO Buddie filters.

 

Thats something you want to consider because getting reef supplies in Canada isn't always easy or readily available.

[ererer]

6 hours ago, Kindanewtothis said:

Quebec.

Quebec City or the province? I'm in Northern Vermont, just across the border.

 

2 hours ago, Kindanewtothis said:

First: english is not my first language.

Your English is a lot better than my French! Glad you keep asking questions, you'll get there. It takes years of research (and first-hand experience) to really get good at reefing, and I don't know what resources are available in French instead of English. At least I'm lucky to have so much information easily available in my first language.

Sorry, I can't remember if this has already been asked, but did to you get a test kit so that you can test your water levels? Salifert makes good ones, Hanna has some electronic versions available as well. API works in a pinch, but isn't as good of quality as the others. Click the links to take you to the products on Amazon.ca

 

If you have trouble getting a local water report, you can also get a TDS meter to measure your TDS. This meter or this meter will probably work fine. They are handy to have anyway.

[Kindanewtothis]

11 minutes ago, ererer said:

Quebec City or the province? I'm in Northern Vermont, just across the border.

The city, I hope they open the border soon.

 

Thanks for the information 

[Kindanewtothis]

Calcium: 450

Magnesium: 1400

KH: 12

[Tired]

The stuff you have in the bottle is to remove chlorine and chloramines from tap water, and to bind up some of the metals. That will make tap water safe for fish, if the water is decent in the first place, but not for corals. Corals are much fussier. There's also plenty of stuff in tap water that's not technically harmful, but will encourage tons of algae growth. 

 

An RO unit will remove most of the stuff from the water, but not all of it. That's good for picky plants and some invertebrates. RODI water is RO water that's also been put through a DI filter, to remove every last bit of stuff. 

 

Calcium, magnesium, and KH are numbers that change over time as your corals use them up. Those numbers are good to know, but they only tell you about those specific things. Tap water has loads of other stuff that won't show up on those tests. 

 

You should pick up a TDS meter, they're quite cheap. A TDS meter measures total dissolved solids in the water, which basically means it tells you how much not-water is in your water. You use a TDS meter after water has been through a filter, to make sure it's at or very close to 0 TDS. You can also use it on your tap water, to figure out roughly how much not-water you're dealing with. That will tell you about what kind of RODI filter you need.