Water top-offs and changes

Reefboy1 · Dec 30, 2015

I would like to hear some input from all of my fellow reefers. I have been in this hobby(reefing) for what I think is a long time(15 years) and most of the things I have learned is through trial and error unfortunately. One of the hardest things I have learned was water chemistry. Please keep in mind I do not mean as much as what is in the water. More so, I mean what I was not taking out of the water. So, as most of you might guess. I would like to keep this conversation on the water used to keep up a REEF tank and some of the do's and don'ts when it comes treating it.

A little about me: I live in Southern California and the water out of tap is hard(TDS ~254) and full of chemicals. In collage I was a Bio major and finished all my General biology, Chemistry, Organic chem, and Physics, before I switched to my degree in Economics. As I said, I have been a reefer for a little more then 15 years. The biggest system I have had was multiple tanks linked together to equal around 300 gallons. Currently, I have two tanks linked(display and frag tank) that equal around 110 gallons. My tanks are mixed and most or my corals are very happy and growing.

When I first started reefing and I needed to do water changes or top-offs I would get and use water from one of my LFS. When this very quickly got old and I got lazy/cheep. I found myself thinking it was okay to use tap water every now and then as long as I added a little Prime to it( I know right, lol). My fish were okay but my corals were as you can imagine, very unhappy. At this point, reefing to me was very frustrating but, I loved it to much to stop. I would like to say I was still clueless or more so ignorant to the importance of filtering ones water. But to be truthful, as I look back now, I see I knew that I should of only used RODI water. I just did not know why.

After a year or so I broke down and bought an RO unit at Lowe's(yes it was just an RO unit). My corals did better but not great. I thought I had solved most of my problems(boy was I wrong) and was happy with myself. But once again I was wrong. I had no idea on how to test my water for impurities or how important DI was. I thought to myself "it taste like bottled water so it must be okay", wrong. When it came to my RO unit I found that I had no idea on when to change the filters or membrane on my unit. Once again I was lost but at least I was not as ignorant. I knew that I needed to use RODI water only. I knew that your LFS is not always the best place to get it. And I knew that I did not know how or was to lazy to run my own unit (early 2000's).

So, I came up with what I thought was a great idea at the time. I would get my water from one of the water units that sit in front of your local grocery store. These units have six filters and is a true RODI unit. Problem solved, right? Well for the longest time I would say yes. My corals were happy and growing for the first time. I did not have to figure out when I needed to change filters(they have date of last time they were changed). I for the most part I was very happy with the water quality. I would test for TDS now and then(do not forget I am kinda lazy) and found an average of 0~15 (depending on date from filter change). Every now and then my corals would get ticked off at me but I found that most corals loved my tank.

So that comes to what I just said "most corals". With this said, I found that I had a hard time keeping any Acapora and some of the other types of corals that have a skeleton. I was okay with this for the longest time as I have never been much of a stick man. Looking back, I think this was because, I , because I am kinda lazy (lol)! This could be why I still am not much of a stick man.

So, as the prices dropped on RODI units and I felt I had a better understanding on what one needs to look for when it comes to what Not to put in a tank when it comes to water and what is in it. I finally broke down and got my own unit again. Now that I have one and understand the importance of quality water I will never go back to my other methods of obtaining water for my top offs and changes. My newest unit is on its way and is made by Spectrapure. The unit is the "Chloramine Removal 90-GPD RO/DI system" and I am really looking forward to see if the Chloramine cartridge makes a difference as California is notorious for putting chemicals in their drinking water.

So, a quick overview of what I think in my humble opinion about top-offs and water changes.

1. It is never okay to use tap or well water when it comes to coral or fish(even if you use Prime! lol).

2. When it comes to your LFS I would make sure to ask them when was the last time they changed their filters. I would get a TDS meter and always test(at home) it before using it if you have any coral in your tank.

3. The RODI units in front of your local grocery store is a good place to get water if you have mostly a soft coral tank and I would try to figure out when they change their filters( I did this over going to a LFS) and to always test the TDS as they can and will range from 0~15 TDS's.

4. Get your very own quality RODI unit(not all units are created equal) with a TDS tester and gauge on it. This in my opinion is best for all tanks with all types of coral and fish(do not be to lazy to change your filters).

Here is where I would like your input. How important is 0 TDS's to you and why? Share any of your stories, knowledge, or links.

Thanks,

Robert Solis
(AKA: Reefboy1)

Russ265 · Dec 30, 2015

me personally. i think everyone should have at least an ro unit. It burns about 90% of the tds out. (roughly).

so if you had an ro unit and had 250 tds incoming, roughly 25 tds remain. which imo is fine.

there are also die-hards that are adamant that anything more than 0 is a sin.

from my experience here in georgia. my tds is usually 47 going in to my unit. i can keep sps with tap water, however i wouldnt recommend this practice. (i still use ro/di for my reef tank)

bottled water can be mineral water. I would only trust distilled water as it is supposed to be 0 tds as well.

seems you learned some hard lessons through your reefing years.

if you are having trouble with acropora, i would suspect your flow or lighting. Flow being the motion in your reef moving stuff around.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Dec 31, 2015

Reefboy1 said:
Here is where I would like your input. How important is 0 TDS's to you and why? Share any of your stories, knowledge, or links.

0 ppm TDS is a good indication that the water is suitable, and is particularly suited to making sure an RO/DI is working properly, but technically, it is not "necessary" to have 0 ppm TDS water if you otherwise know that what is in it causing the TDS is not a problem. If what is in the water is sodium, chloride, magnesium, calcium etc., then it is not a concern if the TDS is, say, 27 ppm. But most often you cannot know what is there at low levels, such as copper from your own pipes, so it is usually best to ensure the water is adequately pure by using 0 ppm TDS water.

I would not agree that tap water is never suitable, but for most people, it is best to not use it and to not take the risk.

pondman · Dec 31, 2015

I think the first piece of equipment any new person in this hobby should get is a ro/di unit.it does take a lot of the burden of water quality out of the mix.I carried the water from grocery store or fish store for years.

Reefboy1 · Dec 31, 2015

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
0 ppm TDS is a good indication that the water is suitable, and is particularly suited to making sure an RO/DI is working properly, but technically, it is not "necessary" to have 0 ppm TDS water if you otherwise know that what is in it causing the TDS is not a problem. If what is in the water is sodium, chloride, magnesium, calcium etc., then it is not a concern if the TDS is, say, 27 ppm. But most often you cannot know what is there at low levels, such as copper from your own pipes, so it is usually best to ensure the water is adequately pure by using 0 ppm TDS water.

I would not agree that tap water is never suitable, but for most people, it is best to not use it and to not take the risk.

Thank you! I was hoping you would get a chance to read and comment on this. I fully agree tap water is not always that bad in some places. In California or at least Riverside the water quality is not the best. I may have been generalizing . Take a look at this link,
http://www.riversideca.gov/utilities/pdf/wqar/2014-Water-Quality-Annual-Report.pdf
WOW! looks like I have been drinking Arsenic, 2.0 ppb (lol). I, like you think it is "best not...to take the risk" especially if your not sure what is in it. I will make a change to "1" in my entry to reflect your insight.

Reefboy1 · Dec 31, 2015

For some reason it is not letting me edit my write-up.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Dec 31, 2015

Reefboy1 said:
Thank you! I hoping you would get a chance to read and comment on this. I fully agree tap water is not always that bad in some places. In California or at least Riverside the water quality is not the best. I may have been generalizing . Take a look at this link,
http://www.riversideca.gov/utilities/pdf/wqar/2014-Water-Quality-Annual-Report.pdf
WOW! looks like I have been drinking Arsenic, 2.0 ppb (lol). I, like you think it is "best not...to take the risk" especially if your not sure what is in it. I will make a change to "1" in my entry to reflect your insight.

And many homes in your district have way too much copper. Some have almost 1 ppm!

Reefboy1 · Dec 31, 2015

Yeah, I read a report not from the county, saying Riverside has the second worst tap water in the nation. Looks like I need to start testing for copper. Does copper play a big role in corals with skeletons(wondering if this is why I have trouble with Acropora)? Better question is does a good RO/DI unit take all of it out? As I have not tested for it coming out of my unit.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 1, 2016

Yes, a good RO/DI will remove all of the copper, so no need to worry with 0ppm TDS water.

Reefboy1 · Jan 5, 2016

Scott F.-

Without glossing over the subject too much, I think that TDS, while important, is perhaps a bit overrated as a yardstick of water quality for reefs. I mean, it's probably more important to know just what these "solids" are...in other worlds, if you're really getting down to brass tacks, while TDS is important, knowing that you have an excessive amount of, say, copper or other metals, phosphate, etc. is more important than a more generic "total dissolved solids" measure, IMHO. When we see Triton tests, for example, aquarists are often surprised about what's REALLY in their water... That being said, RO/DI is the best "first line of defense" for water quality, and a quality unit should be purchased by every serious reefer. It's expensive to get a good unit, but I think it's a "cost of admission" to serious reef keeping. For most casual reefers, it's all you really need to get a good start on quality water. For the advanced hardcore reefer, it's as vital as having an aquarium!

And, a topic we've touched on in these pages before- water that is too "clean" (i.e.; undetectable phosphate and nitrate) is very detrimental to many corals, which need some of these substances to derive nutrition for health and growth. The old 1990's early 2000's mindset of "near sterility" in water is outmoded, incorrect, and, IMHO, somewhat detrimental to embrace. Corals need these and other compounds, like DOC's for nutrition and growth, and feeding a tank (and accumulating some phosphate, for example) along the way is vital!

Hope this is a little help or perhaps another validation of your findings!

Thanks,

Scott F.

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