Derek, what was your pressure prior to installing the booster pump? I am running at 59-60 psi on the RODI (not sure where on it, it is a BRS unit). Would greater pressures increase filtration on the RODI? Thanks,
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I have a very similar situation, for many months.
approx 400 silicate on Triton. salifert 0. seachem 0.
I tried rowaphos and silicat-ex at different times. But GFO kept my phosphate at 0 and caused me Dinoflagalette problems.
I got an triton ICP on my DI water at one point and it measured 1400. I resolved that by installing a booster pump on RODI unit.
Silicates still about 400 after several months. But I had to stop the GFO to get phosphates up and I have recently started dosing phosphates.
I will be sending another ICP soon, so I will be interested where silicates are at.
Thanks Randy. Is there another method/brand that give me a more accurate reading for silicate? I did see that HACH company has a meter but it’s pretty pricey. Thanks,
I'm having the same problem. I just got my results from an ATI ICP they test both the tank water and RODI. My tank is showing high silicates (294.5 µg/l) , and it's coming form my RODI (29.77 µg/l) even though it's showing 0 TDS.I've got a bit of a head-scratcher in terms of how I proceed with a slight silicate problem in my tank. I recently got back an ICP test from Triton which indicated I had high Silicon in the system (360 micrograms/liter), which normally I wouldn't really worry about as silicates aren't normally a big problem as I understand... But I have what I believe to be diatoms dusting the glass (cleaning daily, returning daily) and fluffy brown diatoms attaching themselves to the rockwork.
I purchased a silicate test kit from Salifert after getting the results from Triton so I could find the source of the silicates, but the tank registered a 0.00 which is disappointing because I know there are excess silicates in the water from the Triton test.
As I understand, GFO can be used to reduce silicates, which is great, but I'm currently trying to RAISE PO4 (from 0.00-0.01), so I feel using GFO would work one problem against the other. Any ideas on a workaround?
Possible causes of silicate source:
-BRS dry rock (cured in saltwater for about 3 months prior to adding fish/corals)
-Instant Ocean salt mix (standard, not Reef Crystals)
-RO/DI filters (all filters, including DI and membranes) replaced not more than 2 months ago, producing 0 TDS water, so pretty sure it's not that. Color-changing resin still mostly blue.
-Tank has been running for 8 months.
Let me know if I can add any other data that might be helpful. Ideally I'm just looking to find a way to use GFO (or any other silicate removal strategy) that won't deplete PO4 completely. I'd also obviously like to find the source of the silicates, but find it difficult if I don't have a reliable test kit for it.
My mains pressure is 24psi. It is too low to direct feed the RODI. The pressure is not sufficient for the RO membrane to work effectively .Derek, what was your pressure prior to installing the booster pump? I am running at 59-60 psi on the RODI (not sure where on it, it is a BRS unit). Would greater pressures increase filtration on the RODI? Thanks,
You are probably aware that silicates do not conduct electricity. Therefore they cannot me measured with a TDS meter.I'm having the same problem. I just got my results from an ATI ICP they test both the tank water and RODI. My tank is showing high silicates (294.5 µg/l) , and it's coming form my RODI (29.77 µg/l) even though it's showing 0 TDS.
I honestly still have no idea what silicates are, and what they do. All I know is mine are coming from RO.You are probably aware that silicates do not conduct electricity. Therefore they cannot me measured with a TDS meter.
How you know they coming from rodi?I honestly still have no idea what silicates are, and what they do. All I know is mine are coming from RO.
ATI tests your RODI mine has silicatesHow you know they coming from rodi?
You are probably aware that silicates do not conduct electricity. Therefore they cannot me measured with a TDS meter.
ATI tests your RODI mine has silicates
I honestly still have no idea what silicates are, and what they do. All I know is mine are coming from RO.
Intetesting. In the case of my 3 TDS meters none of them detected the 1400 ug/l Si that Triton ICP detected.Silicate (Si(OH)3O-) is charged and conducts and is detected, as will its positively charged counterion.
If some of it is present as silicic acid, that won't conduct. The pKa is about 9.5, so at lower pH, most will be silicic acid.
Intetesting. In the case of my 3 TDS meters none of them detected the 1400 ug/l Si that Triton ICP detected.
Well, now I am really puzzled. Tested my RODI water and my tank with the silicate test kit from Salifert and levels are very low. I went ahead and installed the MaxCap DI and SilicaBuster anyways. Running BRS high capacity GFO. I also purchased some Purigen and placed that in the sump under high flow. Any thoughts as to how this could be getting in my system? Is Silicon different than Silicate? Thanks again for everyone’s insight on this.