Is RO water necessary in a reef tank?

[K-pow]

So I know some reefers are die hard RO water users and others say it’s not necessary (because people have been reefing before RO was a thing). I am not currently using RO because of the waste. But I’m thinking I need to because my tank just isn’t where I think it should be. I’ve had some corals for almost a year and they haven’t grown off the plug yet. opinions???

 

[Fishy212]

It will make a huge difference. First time around I did not use RODI. Now that I am older, wiser and have R2R I have done so much research and have a plan moving forward. I am so much more prepared than I was the first time and always look to the guys and gals on R2R for knowledge.

I have a BRS 5 stage. Do some research on how much RODI you will need and use on a weekly / monthly basis. Good luck man!

 

[scottedontknow]

We use RO/DI water because then we have total control of what goes in our tanks. We can choose whatever salt that best fits the parameters we’re going for. By NOT using RO/DI water your adding things you can’t measure (all water is different) you’re also adding TDS and all kinds of stuff that will give you problems for ever. To answer you question.... yes you can not use ro/di water BUT you definitely shouldn’t if you want a beautiful reef.

 

[Admann]

All other water quality factors being stable and correct, I would give RO/DI a try.

 

[AdamB]

I would never stop doing RO water . That’s a given if you are going to have the tank you can be proud of

 

[K-pow]

All my parameters are good except my nitrates. They are super low. But that is a recent problem, my corals weren’t doing great before that. For example my candy cane is alive but doesn’t open up, my jack o lantern is a little dull and it has only grown about 1/16 of an inch in almost a year.

 

[Tiger Brown]

I do not use RODI water, although I have in tanks past and I am quite proud of my tank. It just so happens my tap water parameters are very well suited for a salt tank, terrible for a freshwater plant tank (epic fail).

Having said that, my tank is too far for me to get to my basement to my old RO system (or I'm too lazy, hmmm) but in a perfect world I would use RODI water, and I recommend to anyone that asks that they do the same. It is the way to go if you don't live by a nice clean ocean to pull from!

 

[Flippers4pups]

Municipal water supplies are different across the nation and vary in where their source water comes from. It can run the gambit from very clean with low TDS to horrifically high amounts of contaminates, heavy metals, pesticides, fertilizers... Even well water can be contaminated with these "unknowns".

One thing is certain, most municipal water treatment plants add either chlorine or chloramines to disinfect their water.

Marine life is very delicate and highly susceptible to these contaminates. Heavy metals can accumulate in our tanks over time, doing damage. Untreated water, even low TDS water can have levels of chlorine or chloramines that are toxic to fish, inverts and coral alike.

As others have stated, having a RO/DI unit gives us a fighting chance at controlling all of this and ensuring that we start with the cleanest water possible. Wouldn't reef without it.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

It's pretty universal at this point that best practice is to use RODI (unless you know for sure that your tap water is a healthy cocktail for a reef tank). Most of us should definitely be investing in an RODI system as one of the most crucial pieces of equipment for our reef tanks.

 

[Jon Fishman]

With few exceptions, your local water is probably full of stuff that is not conducive to a healthy reef.

With that said, RO water isn’t absolutely necessary...... keeping struggling coral alive could be fun I suppose.

 

[Paul B]

It depends on where you live and what is in your water.

 

[Thad disbrow]

Huge difference. Especially when trying to keep low algae. I have seen a few reefers that didn't use R/O water and had large outbreaks. Plus coral health will be hard to keep. I'm sure there are some places that the water is great, but I would think most you need R/O

 

[Halal Hotdog]

So I know some reefers are die hard RO water users and others say it’s not necessary (because people have been reefing before RO was a thing). I am not currently using RO because of the waste. But I’m thinking I need to because my tank just isn’t where I think it should be. I’ve had some corals for almost a year and they haven’t grown off the plug yet. opinions???

So the waste water is not really being wasted, it is going down your sewer and just being recycled by your municipality. You are paying for it. I do not make my own, I buy mine from a local grocery store that tends to run TDS below 10 and I verify with my own TDS meter. I have been doing this for three years and so far so good, costs me $2.00/5 gallons. In the perfect world I would make my own RODI water, but I don't use a tremendous amount.

 

[S.Pepper]

Yes.

 

[MERKEY]

FWIW

I thought we were doing really good on our well water. But nothing would grow and SPS really just wouldn't work. Even after our well comes through the house filtration units the first line on my RODI unit TDS meter reads 40-50. Not sure which nasties those are but I can tell a huge difference in my tanks and SPS are finally growing now that I added the RODI unit.

Good luck on which way you go!!

 

[Redfoxtang]

I know I would want my animals swimming in what I know to be nice clean SW. I have city water and I know it has a bunch of chlorine and chloramines, plus bunch of other nasties. So I think an RODI is a must. I also installed a water softener in my house to help combat the city water!

 

[S2G]

Unless you have blessed holy tap water this is a very bad idea. Your putting contaminants into your system that cant be easily removed. Your rocks absorb it can release back into the water column for a long time.

Take my tap for example. I'm at roughly 200 tds vs my rodi 0 tds. 200 is a lot of bad stuff to put into a tank with sensitive inverts. A lot of the animals kept today were impossible back in the old days.

This isnt really a non wasteful hobby. You have by products from chemicals, etc we use. You pour your waterchange water in the yard or down a drain. Consuming extra electricity. You're collecting wild animals. Now you may save on waste water but then your subjecting animals from a huge ocean environment to harsh contaminates they usually don't encounter. Sorry for the downer.

 

[minus9]

My waste water fills my pool, waters my plants and gets used in my laundry. Technically, it has more uses than the RO being produced.

 

[Thub]

For most of the country, RO is probably absolutely required to achieve what we consider a successful tank by today's standards. Personally, my tap brings me 3-6ppm of phosphate (depending on season) , along with ~380tds worth of other nasties, so I'm pretty sure keeping reef fish and corals in there without treating the water is akin to murder.

 

[huckjai]

I've been debating on going RO/DI or not. I'm up in Canada on the west coast, and our water here is pretty decent. TDS is at 10. So far I've been just using Seachem Prime to treat the water. Everything has been good so far. No issues with any nuance algae yet. I don't have any SPS except for a green monti I got last week and it looks fine so far. I may switch to RO/DI if I decide to add more SPS and they don't do so well.