Remineralize Distilled Water

Garf

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Salinity control would be my bet. Are you able to test it, both your tank and the bought water? If you’ve done a water change and used freshwater instead of salty, well, that would do it. How much do you allow it to evaporate between topping it off?
 
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AydenLincoln

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Salinity control would be my bet. Are you able to test it, both your tank and the bought water? If you’ve done a water change and used freshwater instead of salty, well, that would do it. How much do you allow it to evaporate between topping it off?
I have an ATO and I realize that now. Mystery solved!
 

sfin52

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I believe so.
Reef Complete® is a concentrated (160,000 mg/L) optimized blend of ionic calcium designed to restore and maintain calcium to levels found in natural seawater without affecting pH. Calcium and carbonates are essential to all coral growth. If either becomes deficient, coral growth will cease, followed by a rapid decline in coral health. To prevent this you must provide calcium (Reef Complete®) and carbonates (Reef Builder™ or Reef Carbonate™).
Reef Complete® also includes magnesium and strontium in amounts proportionate to typical utilization ratios (100:5:0.1, Ca:Mg:Sr). This allows one to maintain these two important elements while maintaining calcium
You need to test calcium. Adding just calcium is going to sky rocket your cal levels. Simple water changes will keep levels stable.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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I got off track and started a whole other discussion on someone’s post oops. Anyway, so I started to top off with distilled water when I accidentally spilled my bucket of fresh RODI water/used it all, and it dropped my calcium and magnesium levels, etc., to critically low levels. I even talked to my lfs about this and started adding Reef Complete to my top-off water, and everything has been good. After doing some further reading, it’s recommended that remineralize distilled water most mentioned freshwater because the water is too pure, but I did read some articles about adding minerals to distilled water in a reef tank. Others have mixed things to say. Please note I’m referring to top-off water, not saltwater which has the added minerals in the salt mix. Does anyone else do this too? Thoughts? And I’m aware RODI water and distilled are both pure forms of water. This is based off my personal experience and some reading.

It is never appropriate or desirable to add such products to seawater. It will slowly disturb the ionic balance of the seawater and provides no benefit at all.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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Yes because I used fresh RODI water first and levels were all good and then I started using distilled but never added anything and my levels dropped low. I got it tested at my lfs and in addition to testing myself and they told me it was probably the cause (it’s also where I get my saltwater and did get my RODI water) and when I started adding minerals to my distilled water everything went back up and has been stable so it’s the only logical explanation I can see. So now I have a happy tank and corals that seem to be growing faster than before despite my tank being a few months old.

Sorry, but that is not a correct cause and effect.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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Read the rest of the thread. It was diluted.

I read the thread. I was just noting that your conclusion was not correct.

I do not want readers of this chemistry forum to be misled into thinking that adding pure fresh water for top off to replace evaporated water is ever a cause for declining levels of anything in the water. It is NEVER necessary to add anything to top off water.

The only way it causes declines is if you add more than actually evaporated out. Then, of course, everything declines because you added too much.

You can also sometimes choose to add things a tank otherwise needs by putting it in the top off, or you can just dose those.
 
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sfin52

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I would check that to make sure your salinity isn't low. The other possibility is that you bought sw from your lfs that had low salinity. I would double check to make sure the salinity is right. Accidents happen.
 
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AydenLincoln

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I would check that to make sure your salinity isn't low. The other possibility is that you bought sw from your lfs that had low salinity. I would double check to make sure the salinity is right. Accidents happen.
Again it’s no longer an issue and everything is fine now! :)
 

Double monti 61

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I do not believe that mineral loss is due to evaporation I use distilled water as top off water and have never had any problems but I use a slow drip method.
 

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Randy Holmes-Farley

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Thanks. I do add it to my top off and my levels have been good.

I’m not sure what you mean. You want to keep adding Reef Complete that way? Not remineralizer, right?

That’s ok, but adding calcium is only half the story. Alkalinity additions are also essential, or if alk is ok, there’s no reason to be adding calcium since it cannot deplete without consuming a fixed amount of alkalinity.
 
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AydenLincoln

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I’m not sure what you mean. You want to keep adding Reef Complete that way? Not remineralizer, right?

That’s ok, but adding calcium is only half the story. Alkalinity additions are also essential, or if alk is ok, there’s no reason to be adding calcium since it cannot deplete without consuming a fixed amount of alkalinity.
Yes! But it’s fixed now so I probably don’t need to/won’t.
 

sfin52

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Again it’s no longer an issue and everything is fine now! :)
It may prevent an issue down the road. I've seen containers lfs overfilled with rodi water. I would strongly recommend you test before doing a water change. It just may save your tank.
 

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