Mistakes were made

[Greg B.]

Well. I made a post last week about my corals discoloring. Thinking that it may have been from dipping some of my coral. I narrowed it down to a used RODI system that I bought 2nd hand. The mistake that was made is that I didn't change the filters prior to using the water because I was impatient and didn't want to wait until the new filters resin and membrane came in. Long story short is all my corals have since perished. Some of them I've had for the last year. Problem that I am having now is what did this rodi unit put into my water to contaminate my tank? I have been running my carbon reactor since I noticed the color change in coral. All my water parameters were and still are stable and where I normally keep them. But now I'm scared to buy more coral because I don't know if the contaminate is still in the tank. I did a huge water change thinking that it would cut at least half of the contaminate out prior to the coral dying but it didn't change the rate of death. Where do I start now?

 

[Formulator]

You need to get an ICP test to find out what is potentially still in your water. There are a LOT of possibilities and they differ depending on your source water.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

get a tds meter to see what that comes back with. Super sorry to hear this. ICP take a bit of time to find out more.

 

[BryanM]

I'd opt for patience, ICP test, while waiting I'd be doing reasonably large water changes.

TDS meter for sure, after refreshing the RODI, you'll know its working right with the meter.

But from all I've read, diagnosis like this = ICP, just in case you've got something that's an outlier.

 

[Johnd651]

I run an inline tds, inline tds alarm, and a pen tds on my water... just to be safe

 

[CrashTestBennie]

Well. I made a post last week about my corals discoloring. Thinking that it may have been from dipping some of my coral. I narrowed it down to a used RODI system that I bought 2nd hand. The mistake that was made is that I didn't change the filters prior to using the water because I was impatient and didn't want to wait until the new filters resin and membrane came in. Long story short is all my corals have since perished. Some of them I've had for the last year. Problem that I am having now is what did this rodi unit put into my water to contaminate my tank? I have been running my carbon reactor since I noticed the color change in coral. All my water parameters were and still are stable and where I normally keep them. But now I'm scared to buy more coral because I don't know if the contaminate is still in the tank. I did a huge water change thinking that it would cut at least half of the contaminate out prior to the coral dying but it didn't change the rate of death. Where do I start now?

I am so sorry for your loss. I would be inconsolable!

 

[CrashTestBennie]

I run an inline tds, inline tds alarm, and a pen tds on my water... just to be safe

I just got the value plus system from BRS, which comes with TDS meter and such. I'm so glad I invested in a new system. My LFS tried to sell me a crusty used system...no thanks!

 

[Cichlid Dad]

So once you're filter, carbon blocks and the rest are opened opened and placed in use they need to be kept submerged in water. If left unused and disconnected from the water supply for an extended time, they will need to be replaced prior to unit being put back in service. More than likely it didn't filter the water completely and has everything your tap water has.

Using a RODI unit after its filters have dried out is not recommended as it can potentially damage the filters, especially the delicate RO membrane, and lead to poor water quality by allowing contaminants to pass through due to the dried-out resin not properly filtering the water; it's best to always ensure your filters are properly saturated with water before use.

From Googly AI

Why it's problematic:
Resin degradation:
When the DI resin in the filter dries out, it can become less effective at removing ions, potentially releasing contaminants back into the water when it rehydrates.

Membrane damage:
A sudden influx of water into a dry RO membrane can cause stress and potentially damage its structure, reducing its filtration efficiency.

 

[VintageReefer]

Add chemipure elite pouches

 

[Johnd651]

I just got the value plus system from BRS, which comes with TDS meter and such. I'm so glad I invested in a new system. My LFS tried to sell me a crusty used system...no thanks!

I had purchased a used system, cleaned it up and replaced the filters. You can still keep the old one for parts. Just not the filters or membrane and clean well before using.

More then likely there was mold growing on something.

 

[Bruttall]

get a tds meter to see what that comes back with. Super sorry to hear this. ICP take a bit of time to find out more.

a TDS meter to measure Salt Water for contaminates? It will definitely tell him water is Brackish, and nothing more.

Go with the triton ICP test, find out everything that is in your water.

 

[Formulator]

Add chemipure elite pouches

This is a good suggestion. Another one I like are the poly filter sponges. They actually change different colors to give you a preliminary idea of what contaminants you may be dealing with, to be confirmed by ICP.

 

[VintageReefer]

This is a good suggestion. Another one I like are the poly filter sponges. They actually change different colors to give you a preliminary idea of what contaminants you may be dealing with, to be confirmed by ICP.

I couldn’t think of the name. But yes I would suggest this also. We have unknown contaminates

Chemipure elite is carbon + gfo + phosphate absorbing resin beads. That’s a triple combo right there and all good stuff
Polyfilter is good for numerous things also and color changes to indicate things.

I would run both of these together