Bad Water/Weather.

pupnsuds211 · 02-02-2008, 06:32 PM

so ive been dealing with an old algae issue for quite some time. it completely cleared up, however has since returned as a new form of algae problem.

i fought a terrible slime problem for 2 or 3 months which i solved with 3 seperate doses of Red Slime Remover and 30 gal water changes every two weeks for a month and a half. we traced the problem back to the water ive been using. as ive mentioned in previous posts, i get my water from the marine bio school here at ucsd, theres a spicket by their peir, and many people use it, including the scripps aquarium, which is a public aquarium. Anyways, my lfs said due to the weather conditions as of lately, the trace elements in the water had been MUCH higher than usual, which led to my tanks' coat of slime.

now, after having little to no algae for a month and reverting back to 15-20% water changes every week, a new algae is growing all over the rocks, glass, and, worst of all, substrate. i dont know if its diatoms, because some of it is brown and some of it, like on the sand, is bright red... but its definitely not slime. i know the cause of the problem isnt water movement as i have 2 mj1200s and a koralia #4 in my tank (2 koralias was too much and had a bad effect on my soft corals). i have a remora c skimmer which has been performing great, and i clean the sponge and collection cup every time i do a water change (once a week). the only thing i can think to do is to switch to making my own salt water, which i REALLY dont want to do. so my questions are:

1. Where can i get 15-30 gal of filtered water for cheap EVERY week aside from going to the local grocery store? i dont have the facillity to start filtering my own, unless theres a rediculously simple way that i havent heard of....

2. is there any way to use the water from the spicket ive been getting it from, ie: pre filtering, adding something to my skimmer, getting another filter of some kind, or maybe using a solution of some kind?

3. what is a good, not super expensive salt taht i could buy in bulk? and does it last forever or do i have to store it somewhere if im buying it many lbs at a time so that it lasts?

pupnsuds211 · 02-05-2008, 01:59 PM

anyone? i would really appreciate some input.

las4444 · 02-05-2008, 02:34 PM

I'm no pro, but will wack away at part of this. I have red slime in my tank. I have never used tap or ocean water either. I get all my water from the LFS. That will soon change since my RO/DI unit will be arriving today. It sounds like you cannot facilitate such equipment.

I know having a reef tank that algae can be a problem where as in a FOWLR it more aesthetically unpleasing. I tolerate the small amount of slime that is in my tank. I attempted to rid it with chemicals twice and found it a pain. I pull it off the rocks and stir it into the sand. Most of it will end up in mechanical filtration where most if it dies. My wife thinks it is pretty.

IMO I would not fully buy into the LFS thoughts on increased trace elements. Only a comprehensive test of the water would prove that.

Old tank experts say that these things will balance out as one's husbandry gets better and the tank fully establishes.

I would really watch the amount of food you feed. This is the hardest thing I have had to deal with myself. My fish are all healthy(fat) and I feed them half the amount I did when I started.

Most LFS sell absorbent bags that will go in you dry/filter box aimed at specific element or organics, i.e, phosphates. The ones I use are reusable and only need to be cleaned as needed. I do not remember the brand name, but I will repost after I check it out at home. These special pellets are said not to absorb your desirable elements.

I would not recommend buying salt mix in bulk greater than three months worth. Your only other choice is to buy and ro/di filter which will pay for itself quickly.

I would see what resources you have to test the ocean water. It may cost 30 bucks, but that is one water change versus buying ro water from the store.

Nereaga · 02-05-2008, 05:17 PM

Hello once again....

I will take a stab aswell. I seemed to missed this thread, some how.

1. 15-30 gallons a week is a lot of buying water. If you buy purified water at the store, for a gallon its usually under $1 per gallon. Thats roughly $15-30 for JUST water every week. Lets just say... $10 a week for water. For a year that is $520 just for water.

I am going somewhere with this....I think...

I would suggest a RO/DI filter unit from thefliterguys.biz. They have all you need with filter replacements to last a year. That unit WITH replacement filters is UNDER $200.

I live in an apartment and have mine hooked up to the kitchen faucet. VERY easy to hookup for anyone. It screws onto the sink and then it has a waste water line. installation is done.... That easy.

These units reject 3 gallons of waste water to every 1 gallon of PURE water. So if you pay for water on gallonage, you may want to go another route. ALTHOUGH, If you have a laundry room with a washer, you can drain the unit into the washer, and fill it up for a load of water without wasting perfectly fine water down the drain....

Forgot, new replacement filters and resin is $40 for each additional year of operation..

2. I'm not sure about adding more chemicals into that water. I would look into another source for water, IMO.

3. I would agree with Las4444 about the salt. I would only buy as much salt as you can use in a couple of months. Salt mixes may go bad after an extended period of time.

pupnsuds211 · 02-08-2008, 06:05 PM

wow thank you both so much. i was looking into salt, however my only question is what is the best way to mix it? the few times i mixed my own water there was a lot of salt still left int he bottom despite some rigorous water movent on my part. I have 6 five gal water jugs that i use to fill my tank. as far as the salt itself goes, does it matter if i use the salt that is made "esp for reef tanks" i cant think of the name of it right now, or does it really matter? nereaga, how long does it take you to fill 30 gal of filtered water using your kitchen faucet? thats what i would end up using unless i could use the bathtub faucet haha.

i will look into a filter as soon as im done writing this post

also, im sure there are 50 different ro/di systems... which one were you talking about nereaga?

thanks again!

Nereaga · 02-09-2008, 11:41 AM

Hello,

IMO, the best way to mix up SW, would be to get a 20-30g rubbermaid storage bin, a heater, and a powerhead(300gph). This should have you set for mixing water. I never manually have to mix mine up, the powerhead does it overnight usually.

The unit I have makes about 3.12g per hour. Not very fast, but if it was going through the filter fast, it would not be as pure as you need it.(Thanks Unclejed for wording) I usually start to fill my 30g bin and then go to bed(7-8hrs), when I wake up its just about filled up.

I have this unit and HIGHLY recommend it:

http://www.thefilterguys.biz/ro_di_systems.htm

It is the second unit from the top.

For the filter package I got for it was on this page:

http://www.thefilterguys.biz/filter_packages.htm

Second one from the bottom. ($34)

Then you need resin aswell, found here:

http://www.thefilterguys.biz/di_resin.htm

The second one from the top. They are $6 a piece. I would get two of them.

You also would need a kitchen facuet adapter found here:

http://www.thefilterguys.biz/tap_water_fittings.htm

7th one from the top. ($12)

This should be all you need to make the purest water available to consumers.

HTH,

Brad

pupnsuds211 · 02-10-2008, 01:05 AM

wow... thank you so much. so glad i know about this site, and that it has all these helpful people!

few questions:

i have a hose right ouside my door, could i use that instead? or is there some reason the faucet is better? and, do you, or anyone for that matter, know if the hose attachment can be connected to the hose itself or if it had to be to the spicket?

how do you transfer the water from where you have the 30 gal container near the sink to the tank(s)? My tank is a good 10 ft from my kitchen sink and 20 ft from the outside hose... with the hose attached, the spicket is about 40 ft away.

how often do i need to replace the resin and filters?

Nereaga · 02-10-2008, 08:26 AM

The adapter that I listed needs to be used with the kitchen sink. If you write those guys an email and explain your situation, they would be glad to help you out with explaining some options for you. They have GREAT customer service!

My tank is also a few feet away from my kitchen sink, maybe 15ft. I just end up dragging the bin across the floor, next to my tank.

The filters in the unit should be replaced yearly. The resin all depends on how bad your tap water is. If it has more junk in it, the resin will be used up faster. I have pretty bad tap water, about 300ppm, which I think the average is around 200ppm or so. My resin lasted me 6 months and then it needed to be changed.

Also you might want to look into getting a cheap handheld TDS meter. This will let you know when your resin needs to be changed. I think they are $20.

Brad