My findings......

[Mystical Lady]

Since adding my lights (t5setup) I have been fighting HA. I was also using Tap water and fighting the nitrites/nitrates battle, I never could get 0 on either. It just so happened my POS filter BioWheel quit on me one evening so I went to Petco to buy a replacement(dats my story and.......) anyway, the one I bought (Marineland HOT Magnum bio pro) may not be a fancy-mancy one but it sure seems to do better than the Biowheel I had..... I also for the last 2 weeks have started using distilled water for water changes .... I have a RO/DI system suppose to be delivered today (woo-hoo) that is, if UPS can get thru all this ice here in Hagerstown

....... so what I have found is:

WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!

I don't know if it is because of the better filtering system(compared to what I had) or NOT using tap water........ but the HA seems to be dying off little by little and the snails are taking care of the rest........ My water parameters are now GREAT.... Nitrites are now 0, something I have never been able to achieve. Also my PH seems to have risen.... I could never get over 7.8 before....

I look forward to taking water tests and smile alot more afterwards ........

I cant wait till the RO/DI system is hooked up and the distilled water jugs disappear....

Edited February 14, 2007 by Mystical Lady

[madmax7774]

RO/DI is the single best investment I ever made for tank. Next you'll be wanting a TDS meter to tell when your filters need replacing.

Don't you run a protein skimmer? what size is your tank?

John

Edited February 14, 2007 by madmax7774

[lanman]

My RO/DI system arrived yesterday. I'll be trying to hook it up today. I have excellent quality well water, so I probably need it less than most - but whatever it takes! What is 'HA' - Hellacious algae? Or maybe 'Hair Algae'? I had some starving turbo snails in my little tank - they ate anything that even resembled algae. I had this cute little stalk of green macro-algae on one of my frags - until the turbo found it. I have one rock that I bought that has green furry algae (probably hair algae?) on it in my new tank. It's pretty, but I hope it doesn't spread all over. The new tank, using experienced live rock, has had NO brown algae or anything. The first one had a brief attack of brown stuff - and every once in a while I will see some on the acrylic, but never much.

 

bob

[lanman]

Since adding my lights (t5setup) I have been fighting HA. I was also using Tap water and fighting the nitrites/nitrates battle, I never could get 0 on either. It just so happened my POS filter BioWheel quit on me one evening so I went to Petco to buy a replacement(dats my story and.......) anyway, the one I bought (Marineland HOT Magnum bio pro) may not be a fancy-mancy one but it sure seems to do better than the Biowheel I had..... I also for the last 2 weeks have started using distilled water for water changes .... I have a RO/DI system suppose to be delivered today (woo-hoo) that is, if UPS can get thru all this ice here in Hagerstown

....... so what I have found is:

WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!

I don't know if it is because of the better filtering system(compared to what I had) or NOT using tap water........ but the HA seems to be dying off little by little and the snails are taking care of the rest........ My water parameters are now GREAT.... Nitrites are now 0, something I have never been able to achieve. Also my PH seems to have risen.... I could never get over 7.8 before....

I look forward to taking water tests and smile alot more afterwards ........

I cant wait till the RO/DI system is hooked up and the distilled water jugs disappear....

 

Okay - I hooked mine up. Small problem - one of the connectors on the automatic shut-off valve broke in shipping. Took a picture to send, in hopes they will send a replacement. However - it appears to be a low-pressure connection that was broken, so I hooked it up anyhow. I have cold water from the well, and fairly low water pressure. It took about 10 minutes before I started to get a trickle. A LOT goes out the drain. So far, more than 10 times the amount that gets through the filter. But it does seem to be picking up speed slowly.

 

I ordered mine from Air, Water and Ice, Inc. (www.airwaterice.com) The instructions are quite poor. "Waste the first three hours of production." "Replace membrane when the TDS is climbing, or DI starts to produce an odor odor." Fortunately hookup is simple, so I didn't really need the instructions much. It's heavy - hanging it on the wall was the hardest part. Needs a 2nd person to make it real easy. Looks like I have about a pint or so in the bucket. But of course, I have to waste the first three hours production. I'll be topping off with RODI water tonight!

 

bob

[davelin315]

Stop pumping water!

 

You've got to run the water through each stage of the carbon first to rinse the carbon out (one stage at a time) and then you need to run this rinsed water through the membrane. The next step is that you need to let the membrane rinse and then rinse your DI cartridge with this as well. If you run it without clearing each stage you'll clog and waste some of the life of each stage.

 

Also, if you're using well water, you will probably need to add a booster pump. The ideal pressure is in the 70PSI range for a RO membrane. Also, if it's cold, it won't run as well. The ideal temperature for the water to pass through the membrane is around 74 I believe.

 

If you're only getting a trickle, that may not be a bad sign if you have a low gpd membrane, it may simply be the amount of water that you're going to get, but I would watch out for what the actual part that broke is. I'm not sure which one it is, but there is a flow restrictor on the waste line that will make sure that the water flows through the membrane rather than around it. This also reduces the effectiveness of the membrane. I know you said it's the auto shut off, but I'm not sure where this would be.

 

Good luck, and if you didn't rinse the carbon stages (one at a time) before running the water through the membrane, you may want to do a reverse flush on the membrane with water that runs through the properly rinsed carbon filters (not sure if you add chlorine to your well water, but chlorine will be the death of a RO membrane).

[Mystical Lady]

I also got my RO/DI yesterday.... wow, much bigger and heavier than I thought it would be.....I purchased mine from 'thefilterguys.com'..... instructions seem to be good but we'll see once I start drilling stuff......lol....... this will truly be a " if I can do it anyone can do it" project....... I am not much on the DIY stuff anymore, esp. plumbing...... but I am excited to be this close to 'good' water for the tank

[Sugar Magnolia]

I'm wondering why you were (are?) using a biowheel. There's alot of cons about using biowheels in a marine environment. A few years ago it was a hot topic...the theory being that it would lead to an increased nitrate level.

[Mystical Lady]

I'm wondering why you were (are?) using a biowheel. There's alot of cons about using biowheels in a marine environment. A few years ago it was a hot topic...the theory being that it would lead to an increased nitrate level.

 

I started with the Biowheel because I didn't know any better...... I am still a newbie and thought it was the best....... then I found this site the rest is history.......