Is it possible to run a 90 gallon reef without owning RODI

[mvallee]

Anyone running a 90+ gallon tank without owning an RODI having to purchase all of the water required to successfully maintain a reef? Is this doable?
A few years ago I had a 180 gallon with 55G sump and would do weekly water changes of around 20 Gallons. It was heavily stocked and I had a utility room that the sump was located in so it was not too bad but it was the most painful part of reefkeeping.

I am getting back into reefing and am setting up a RedSea reefer 450 so everything is contained within the cabinet and I no longer have a utility room due to recent remodel of 1st floor of my home. I am seriously considering buying RODI and those boxes of Natural Saltwater for long term maintenance . I will not have this tank as heavily stocked as my last and feel I can get away with one box per week to start which would be 4.4 gallons, maybe a couple 2 box weeks as the tank continues to settle eventually getting down to 1 box every 2 weeks.
From running the Reefer 450 as a freshwater tank for the past 2 years top off is around 5-9 gallons per week depending on time of year so that part is easy just need to find a good local source for the RODI or purified water that will work for a reef, suggestions?

My big challenge, how do I get the tank filled? At $20 a box that would be $450 to fill, Is there a better way for the initial startup, can I preorder 120 gallons from a local Fish store of premixed SW or RODI that I would have to mix myself?

I could probably get one of those 50GPD units setup under the bathroom sink but we all know 50GPD turns into 30GPD or less during the winter when the water is this cold which means RODI storage containers in the main bathroom for days making for one unhappy wife. I only have a half cellar so would be tough to put something down there that is usable.

Thoughts on this are appreciated, I had great input on my External skimmer question and hoping for some more help with this one. I will try not to post more than one question a day and hopefully I can get a build thread started soon

 

[Jim Tansey]

I would most definitely figure out how to fit an RO/DI into that 1/2 basement, reefing without one would be both expensive and a PIA.

Jim

 

[mvallee]

So with the number of views and only 1 reply that was against I guess this is not my best idea, I am off to build a mixing station I guess, anyone out there selling one

 

[Chris A.]

Could just plug it in in the bathroom when making water up then just disconnect and put it away. If you do this get some valves for the drain and intake lines so you can just close them and not make a mess with it unplugged

 

[afboundguy]

When I as in my apartment I just used the sink adapter to make my water and then stored it when I didn't use it. I just threw the waste line in the sink and made sure the container was in the shower stall in case I forgot about it lol. Now that I own my house I have it hooked up in the basement to an old washer hookup and it's secured to the ceiling.

IIRC some of the LFS's did sell premixed salt water but not sure what the cost was. I know Jay's Aquatics in Salem NH used to also sell 5 gallon RODI for around $1 a whack but it's been a while since I've needed to purchase RODI so it might be more than that now.

 

[dad300]

can it be done.. sure.. time and effort is the thing.. if it were me and I was going this route. this is what I would do.. two 50 plus gallon barrels in your half basement. one with Rodi and one with pre mixed SW. These would need to be set up however you want to change water and top off. I would use a dosing pump for top off. then set up a separate pump for water changes.
Find a local maintannce company and purchase water and pre mixed in Bulk. here in TN trodi runs 30-50 cents a gallon and Premixed saltwater runs 70cents to a dollar a gallon.. have them deliver once a month.
its an expense but doable

 

[mvallee]

Thanks for the replies, I just spent some time rearranging my space in the basement and think I can get a couple barrels down there pretty easily now, it is pretty much right below my tank so I will try to get creative with running water lines up to the tank with a remote switch for the pump so I don't need to lug buckets. Up front costs with RODI unit, pumps and barrels will be high but between that first tank fill-up and the larger water changes that need to be done at first it will pay for itself in no time.
I can remember a couple times having something happen in my old tank where I needed to do a large emergency water change, that would be tough if I had to buy it.

 

[dz6t]

can it be done.. sure.. time and effort is the thing.. if it were me and I was going this route. this is what I would do.. two 50 plus gallon barrels in your half basement. one with Rodi and one with pre mixed SW. These would need to be set up however you want to change water and top off. I would use a dosing pump for top off. then set up a separate pump for water changes.
Find a local maintannce company and purchase water and pre mixed in Bulk. here in TN trodi runs 30-50 cents a gallon and Premixed saltwater runs 70cents to a dollar a gallon.. have them deliver once a month.
its an expense but doable

That is a very good price for RO and saltwater delivered.



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[Robert M]

Best I can tell the best reason to use RO/DI is because the TDS will increase over time in your tank as water evaporates until your tank succombs to “Old Tank Syndrome” many months or years later where the tank water is no longer friendly to your reef ecology. However if your tap water has low TDS already or you do frequent water changes, you may never get to that point and RO/DI may be only a nice to have. My TDS in Newton is about 75 which is certainly not high. So I filled my 120G with conditioned tap water and then only switched to RO/DI a month later when I got it setup. If your water is from the Quabbin Reservoir like mine, using it might be fine for you as well, at least for a few months, if the hassle or cost of making or buying RO/DI water delivery is high. I’d check your city’s annual water quality report which is marginally helpful. Of course if you have well water then all bets are off.

 

[mvallee]

Best I can tell the best reason to use RO/DI is because the TDS will increase over time in your tank as water evaporates until your tank succombs to “Old Tank Syndrome” many months or years later where the tank water is no longer friendly to your reef ecology. However if your tap water has low TDS already or you do frequent water changes, you may never get to that point and RO/DI may be only a nice to have. My TDS in Newton is about 75 which is certainly not high. So I filled my 120G with conditioned tap water and then only switched to RO/DI a month later when I got it setup. If your water is from the Quabbin Reservoir like mine, using it might be fine for you as well, at least for a few months, if the hassle or cost of making or buying RO/DI water delivery is high. I’d check your city’s annual water quality report which is marginally helpful. Of course if you have well water then all bets are off.

I considered this, my Leominster water is pretty low TDS if I remember correctly my old RODI had an input and output TDS meter and input was consistently below 30 but it is the other things like metals and other unknowns that has me shying away from this.
Experience tells me that if I tried it and ran into problems down the road I would always wonder if that was the root cause. This hobby has a way of making us second guess everything we do. That's why I like posting questions on here, getting advice and thinking through the solution will slow down my thought process and generally get me to the right answer.

Spectapure has a MaxPureMPDI 180-GPD RODI System refurb unit for a reasonable price and think I will pull the trigger on that. Faster water production means less time managing and mixing salt plus less waste from dual RO membranes.

Thanks

 

[Robert M]

Sure, that makes sense.

Though for anyone in the Boston metro area that is using tap water in their tank and worrying about what's in your water including metals and bacteria, etc, that might cause trouble down the line, be aware that the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority provides extremely detailed monthly lab analysis of your tap water that's better than any Triton test. It may not be obvious how to read this, or know if any of these values are too high or not for your tank, but if you are worried about a specific metal or chemical in your water, you can check, especially if you live close to one of the testing sites like I do. For example, if you don't treat your water and you're worried high iron is causing an algae bloom, or wondering whether you should dose Potassium, check your local water quality report. While I'm not a chemistry expert, I felt comfortable filling my 120G with tap water after reading through the lab data. I have now switched to RO/DI because these numbers can spike for reasons such as drought or flood, so low values today might be high tomorrow. But for anyone is now taking that risk anyway, you can use this data to adjust how you dose or how often you make water changes.

Here's the latest water quality for the Quabbin / Wachusett. The last page is most informative.
http://www.mwra.com/monthly/wqupdate/pdf/cy2018/012018.pdf

 

[mvallee]

Sure, that makes sense.

Though for anyone in the Boston metro area that is using tap water in their tank and worrying about what's in your water including metals and bacteria, etc, that might cause trouble down the line, be aware that the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority provides extremely detailed monthly lab analysis of your tap water that's better than any Triton test. It may not be obvious how to read this, or know if any of these values are too high or not for your tank, but if you are worried about a specific metal or chemical in your water, you can check, especially if you live close to one of the testing sites like I do. For example, if you don't treat your water and you're worried high iron is causing an algae bloom, or wondering whether you should dose Potassium, check your local water quality report. While I'm not a chemistry expert, I felt comfortable filling my 120G with tap water after reading through the lab data. I have now switched to RO/DI because these numbers can spike for reasons such as drought or flood, so low values today might be high tomorrow. But for anyone is now taking that risk anyway, you can use this data to adjust how you dose or how often you make water changes.

Here's the latest water quality for the Quabbin / Wachusett. The last page is most informative.
http://www.mwra.com/monthly/wqupdate/pdf/cy2018/012018.pdf

I'll definitely pay attention the next time one of these comes in, never gave it much attention as it was mostly garbeldy gook to me
thanks for the tip

 

[MikeG]

The issue with the water quality tests provided by the towns is that it is a retrospective result. If you filled or are running a tank you won't get the information that there was a spike in something until after the water is already in your tank. I guess it could be used to make a judgement on risk looking at data over time. I wouldnt try a tank with without RODI

 

[aresangel]

If my di resin was fresh I would offer you some water. But even though my tds is running at 4-7 pre DI and 0 after DI I know my resin is kicked. I am in Leominster too. Once I replace my resin in the next couple weeks I can help make rodi for you. I have a 35 gallon reservoir.


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[mvallee]

If my di resin was fresh I would offer you some water. But even though my tds is running at 4-7 pre DI and 0 after DI I know my resin is kicked. I am in Leominster too. Once I replace my resin in the next couple weeks I can help make rodi for you. I have a 35 gallon reservoir.


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Thanks Aresangel I just ordered an RODI unit today so unless there is some kind of significant delay I should be good but really appreciate the offer and good to know there is at least one local reefer nearby.

 

[nemodan]

Sorry, I justo saw this thread, let add my small experience.

To your question my answer is YES.... But, as said by many I will not say you or anyone have to use tap water. I DID that during some years. Pembroke town tap water. Just declorinated at the same time I was mixing the salt in the kitchen inside a bucket. Changed 2 buckets per week to 95 G. Was using IO salt (from start 2003 till 2006). I stopped reefing because I moved to another home. Tank was a mixed LPS/Soft and a few strong SPS. Incredible packed with corals.

My experience was " In Pembroke, on those years, I used tap water"

Today, I am using RODI. I have the space and $$$ for a nice system. I never tried again tap water.

Just a story ....

Best !