buying RO water from the LFS

[jaydm93teg]

ok guys i normally buy fresh and do top offs.......the past few weeks i have been buying salt and doing regular water changes.......this has gotten rid of the red algae but here is my question.

i normally buy 5 gallons of salt and do a 5 gallon changes once or 2 times a week. Tonight i got 10 gallons of salt RO/Di water and came home siphoned 10 gallons out and started to put th 10 gallons of salt back in and tested the salinity of the water.......it was like 1.021 way lower than then .027 i have been keeping.....Is normal saltwater RODI from and LFS way low or what???


also can someone tell me a good RODI unit to buy, i know they have cheap ones on ebay but i dont know any good cheap name brands that would help me

 

[steve]

Tyler, it just depends on the LFS and the concentration of salt in the water. It's just however they mix it up. OR it could even be that they didnt let it mix long enough so all the salt particles didn't get dissolved.

 

[ralph atl]

buy your water or get a system. But always make your own saltwater. But some IO salt or whatever brand u like.

 

[jhutto]

Steve is right about LFS. I have bought it in the past from stores and sometimes it on the money as to salinty and sometimes not. Always check with a refractor or at a minimum hyrdo meter (cheap) to make sure its right. One of the first investments you should make is for the RO/DI, if you have any tank about 10-20 gallons. I hauled it from LFS for my nano tank for about a year until I bough mine. Reason is you will want to make it up to control the quality and quantity. You will always know its right and can keep it stored in case of emergeny water changes are needed when A LFS is closed. I use a brute trash can and always have it mixed up with a heater and pump moving it around. As to where to get the machine, there are ones on ebay and others from Sponsors like air, water etc. Also, the fitler guys have a nice reputation for service. You can see what these guys have to get educated. Also, might want to call Sal or Josh at Saltwater City to see if they have some used ones. Would want to makes sure it gives good quality water out with TDs at about 0. Then you would be good to go.

Joe

 

[derek_s]

Steve is exactly right. A LFS can vary depending on who mixes it and how particular they are. Also remember that many people run different salinities (reef, FOWLR, etc), so it would be impossible to cater to everyone unless you had several containers to fill from that were all precise. It's always best to mix yourself if you nead high degrees of accuracy.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

Akopley;197200 wrote: Where is the best place to get RO water? Since i moved back to atl i have been buying steam distilled water from the grocery store and its putting a dent in my wallet.

Many distillers have copper parts, and we all know what copper does to a reef tank. I dont think it would really be a problems, but I wouldnt use it for that reason alone.