What type of saltwater do you use?

[AydenLincoln]

I’m curious to see what others use. Having to carry buckets back and forth to the store is a pain but works for me and my nano. I’m going to buy a RODI sometime in the near future maybe this weekend at RAP. And for anyone who may use tap water straight from your sink which is not recommended what do you treat it with?

 

[BanjoBandito]

4 stage RODI system to make the base, then reef crystals for the mix.

 

[Aspect]

7 stage RODI system, overkill but worth the peace of mind, into a 55 gallon barrel with a float valve and of course reef crystals for the salt water. I don't test trace elements because I only have soft corals, but it keeps my ph consistenly at 8.1

 

[redfishbluefish]

RO/DI and plain old purple box Instant Ocean. Only the best!

 

[afrokobe]

6 stage RODI here, I cant imagine lugging buckets of water up and down my condo stairs

 

[The_Skrimp]

I use a 5 stage RODI and reef crystals. I can't justify to myself paying more for salt when everything in my tank is happy with RC.

 

[ScubaFish802]

RODI from a BRS unit, IORC Salt

 

[exnisstech]

RO/DI and plain old purple box Instant Ocean. Only the best!

Same here. I spliced the output line before the di canister and ran tubing for the fridge ice maker and a faucet for drinking water so it made the purchase easier to justify. Actually my Gal thinks the RO system was for her because she doesn't drink tap water

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Same here. I spliced the output line before the di canister and ran tubing for the fridge ice maker and a faucet for drinking water so it made the purchase easier to justify. Actually my Gal thinks the RO system was for her because she doesn't drink tap water

I did exactly this. Got tired of 50 dollar filters for my refrigerator.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

I’m curious to see what others use. Having to carry buckets back and forth to the store is a pain but works for me and my nano. I’m going to buy a RODI sometime in the near future maybe this weekend at RAP. And for anyone who may use tap water straight from your sink which is not recommended what do you treat it with?

Be happy rodi is much more widely available and cheaper at the hobbyist level now. (Relatively anyway)

OG days for me back when I started on my own in the 90's it was just tap water and conditioner. Pops had a full house filter and we just used that for his tanks. You say something like that out loud now, its fish abuse, lol.

You have a 20g? That shouldn't be a ton of water lugging, I wouldn't think anyway? Maybe 10g every 4 weeks or so?

I routinely see guys buy 50 gallons of water a week, now that's a LOT.

 

[SPS2020]

5 stage RODI and ESV B-Ionic Salt mix.

 

[Dani305]

From the ocean that I buy from LFS.

We have a RODI for top offs and such.

 

[JNalley]

I’m curious to see what others use. Having to carry buckets back and forth to the store is a pain but works for me and my nano. I’m going to buy a RODI sometime in the near future maybe this weekend at RAP. And for anyone who may use tap water straight from your sink which is not recommended what do you treat it with?

not for nothing, but if you buy a RODI from an Aquarium show, you're gonna pay a markup. Just get an AquaticLife for $70, hook it up under your kitchen or bathroom sink, and call it a day. It's $70, and when it goes bad, you can buy new filters (~$58), or just replace the unit

 

[Karen00]

Am I the only vote that uses tap water? Yep I use tap water and so far it's been fine but I have good water here. I treat it with Prime. I top off with distilled bottled water. I might try mixing up with the distilled as well to see if that makes a difference. I'm keeping softies, a few sps and one nps. My tank is only a 5g so I've been thinking of buying one of those home water distillers that I would use to make my saltwater. Having said that it's probably cheaper to buy from Walmart than make my own given I still have to pay for the water that comes out of my tap.

 

[JNalley]

Am I the only vote that uses tap water? Yep I use tap water and so far it's been fine but I have good water here. I treat it with Prime. I top off with distilled bottled water. I might try mixing up with the distilled as well to see if that makes a difference. I'm keeping softies, a few sps and one nps. My tank is only a 5g so I've been thinking of buying one of those home water distillers that I would use to make my saltwater. Having said that it's probably cheaper to buy from Walmart than make my own given I still have to pay for the water that comes out of my tap.

you can easily distill your own water with a large pot, a large ceramic bowl, and an upside-down glass lid. But when the cost of a RODI unit is $70, and you only have to replace it every 6months - 1 year (maybe longer if your water quality is good) it may be worth the investment in a RODI

 

[Karen00]

you can easily distill your own water with a large pot, a large ceramic bowl, and an upside-down glass lid. But when the cost of a RODI unit is $70, and you only have to replace it every 6months - 1 year (maybe longer if your water quality is good) it may be worth the investment in a RODI

I have a hard time with justifying the amount of RODI rejection water. I know people use it for things like washing clothes but I don't do enough washing to justify that. Can it be used to water plants without ill effect or does the concentration of the waste make it lethal to plants over time? I'm talking house plants and garden because I also don't have enough house plants to use all of the waste water.

 

[SPR1968]

Well I use RODI and the standard Red Sea salt in both my systems

It seems to work ok

 

[JNalley]

I have a hard time with justifying the amount of RODI rejection water. I know people use it for things like washing clothes but I don't do enough washing to justify that. Can it be used to water plants without ill effect or does the concentration of the waste make it lethal to plants over time? I'm talking house plants and garden because I also don't have enough house plants to use all of the waste water.

It's perfectly acceptable to water plants with the wastewater, many people do that

 

[redfishbluefish]

Yes it's safe to use for watering plants.

I'm one of those who uses it to do wash. I collect in a 55 gallon drum that contains a MAG18 pump, and then have to trick my top loading washing machine to do the original fill of water. I also use it for the rinse cycle. That sliver of white in the lower left corner of this photo is the washing machine.

Now I I also installed a sillcock (outside water faucet) so that I could pump the water outside to water the plants/lawn. But I found that the MAG18 wasn't strong enough to pump up that high....water just trickled out. You can see the hose going from the drum up to the sillcock.

 

[Karen00]

It's perfectly acceptable to water plants with the wastewater, many people do that

Awesome! Thanks. I will reconsider getting a unit. I thought I read it's not good as a permanent source of water for plants so this is great news. Downside... More money needed for hardware. LOL I thought I was finally past that phase. Haha.