What things changed in your tank when you switched from tap water to RODI?

[taylormaximus]

Looking for personal experiences of reefers who started out using tap water in their system and then switched later to RODI. Curious what problems you had before that the RODI fixed, issues you had that were not fixed, or even changes you experienced with your parameters afterwards.

For me personally I'm struggling with high phosphates and 0 nitrates, as well as numerous types of algaes that no amount of maintenance will remove. I also have a lot of unexplained deaths in my tank, coral, fish and inverts, so I'm hoping that RODI will have a big impact on these issues now that I have the money to get one. Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Tap water has tds and a lot of other harmful chemicals that can nuke your tank or cause issues. I would say and RODI is essential when having a salt water tank

 

[Formulator]

I used tap water conditioned with prime for about the first 6-9 months of my 8 year reefing journey. I successfully kept soft corals, LPS and some easier SPS (monti, hydno). My phosphates were always through the roof so color was not great and nothing really grew, but nothing died. Snails didn’t last very long and algae battles were never ending. It made troubleshooting almost impossible because I never knew exactly what I was putting in there. I also never got coralline to take until I switched to RODI.

 

[taylormaximus]

I used tap water conditioned with prime for about the first 6-9 months of my 8 year reefing journey. I successfully kept soft corals, SPS and some easier LPS (monti, hydno). My phosphates were always through the roof so color was not great and nothing really grew, but nothing died. Snails didn’t last very long and algae battles were never ending. It made troubleshooting almost impossible because I never knew exactly what I was putting in there. I also never got coralline to take until I switched to RODI.

That sounds a lot like my experience so far, although I'm impressed you were able to keep LPS and SPS! The few I've attempted basically closed up immediately and never reopened. I have been able to get a bit of coraline going but it's been very slow going. Definitely looking forward to see what improves once the RODI up and running.

 

[Formulator]

That sounds a lot like my experience so far, although I'm impressed you were able to keep LPS and SPS! The few I've attempted basically closed up immediately and never reopened. I have been able to get a bit of coraline going but it's been very slow going. Definitely looking forward to see what improves once the RODI up and running.

You’ve identified one of the problems with tap water - it’s inconsistent depending on source. So while it may work OK for some, it might not support any coral for others because water supply varies with geography, municipal treatment methods, and even your house’s plumbing can have an impact. Best to eliminate the unknown variables.

 

[taylormaximus]

You’ve identified one of the problems with tap water - it’s inconsistent depending on source. So while it may work OK for some, it might not support any coral for others because water supply varies with geography, municipal treatment methods, and even your house’s plumbing can have an impact. Best to eliminate the unknown variables.

Yeah it works fine for most fish and a few select corals, but most other things are too sensitive to survive the unknown changes. I'll be very interested to see what things will thrive now that I wasn't able to keep alive before.

 

[taylormaximus]

Tap water has tds and a lot of other harmful chemicals that can nuke your tank or cause issues. I would say and RODI is essential when having a salt water tank

Did you have an experience with tap water when you started out or did you always have RODI?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Did you have an experience with tap water when you started out or did you always have RODI?

I’d be wary of putting too much emphasis on folks experiences since we know that tap water is highly variable, that some of the time it is fine and sometimes not, and when it is not, there are a variety of things that may not be ok, including copper, phosphate, and silicate.

In a sense, it’s like asking “Last time you got a hamburger, was it good? I’m wondering whether to get one”.

 

[taylormaximus]

I’d be wary of putting too much emphasis on folks experiences since we know that tap water is highly variable, that some of the time it is fine and sometimes not, and when it is not, there are a variety of things that may not be ok, including copper, phosphate, and silicate.

In a sense, it’s like asking “Last time you got a hamburger, was it good? I’m wondering whether to get one”.

That's true, very different experiences for everyone. Hamburgers on the other hand are always a good time.

 

[mfinn]

For the first 12-15 years I was in the hobby I used tap water.
The Olympia area water was always pretty good no matter where in the area I lived.
Always unchlorinated.
Then one day I could smell chlorine when running water in the kitchen sink.
Contacted the water company and then I knew it was time to look into rodi.
Never really had issues. Never had those terrible algae problems. It was always there but very easy to manage.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Did you have an experience with tap water when you started out or did you always have RODI?

I went straight to a Four Stage RO unit. I don't trust the tap water in my area.