Reverse Osmosis System

[-603FiShHoBbIeSt-]

I've been looking at starting up a Reverse Osmosis System to try and purify my tap water because I'm starting to think that my tap water contains high levels of nitrates and that is why I'm having a hard time keeping nitrates down in my 125 gallon setup. I've been looking at the RO unit that aquatic life offers, I'd like to get a 50 gallon plastic barrel and setup the RO unit to that so I have 50 gallons of pure water for when I do my weekly water changes. Anyone have experience or advice with RO unit setup?

 

[squint]

bulkreefsupply has good quality RO systems for the money. I used RO for about 13 years but stopped because there were no real benefits. You have to periodically test for chlorine breaking through the carbon stages and ammonia making it past the DI (if you have chloramine). Then you have to remineralize properly. Most commercial products only add gH and not kH back to the water. If you want soft water you have to monitor pH closely to see that it doesn't crash.

Most adult fish will tolerate thousands of ppm nitrate without harm. It's basically non-toxic except to the eggs and fry of certain species, mostly salmon/trout.

 

[-603FiShHoBbIeSt-]

bulkreefsupply has good quality RO systems for the money. I used RO for about 13 years but stopped because there were no real benefits. You have to periodically test for chlorine breaking through the carbon stages and ammonia making it past the DI (if you have chloramine). Then you have to remineralize properly. Most commercial products only add gH and not kH back to the water. If you want soft water you have to monitor pH closely to see that it doesn't crash.

Most adult fish will tolerate thousands of ppm nitrate without harm. It's basically non-toxic except to the eggs and fry of certain species, mostly salmon/trout.

Thank you great info !

 

[fishguy306]

I recently started using an RO/DI unit. I got tired of my tap water killing my rays so I bought a 150 GPD system to drip. I will also be adding a storage tank for water. Eventually it gets to the point where you spend enough on fish it is worth doing. Yes it results in more work to get your water back where you need it to be but at least then you know exactly what is in your water.

 

[-603FiShHoBbIeSt-]

I recently started using an RO/DI unit. I got tired of my tap water killing my rays so I bought a 150 GPD system to drip. I will also be adding a storage tank for water. Eventually it gets to the point where you spend enough on fish it is worth doing. Yes it results in more work to get your water back where you need it to be but at least then you know exactly what is in your water.

very true, good point as I myself find myself latley spending a lot more money on fish

 

[Yoimbrian]

Not to state the obvious, but if you think your tap water has high nitrates, you should test your tap water directly for nitrates.

Just in case it's not the problem...no need to waste money...

 

[-603FiShHoBbIeSt-]

Not to state the obvious, but if you think your tap water has high nitrates, you should test your tap water directly for nitrates.

Just in case it's not the problem...no need to waste money...

Yah tested my tap water this morning and came back negative for high nitrate levels

 

[duanes]

If you are in the US, the MCL for nitrate sent from a drinking water plant, is 10ppm.
You can google your cites "water quality report" and usually see what their average nitrate level is.
When I lived in Milwaukee, it was often <1 ppm.
Your tanks high nitrate level may just mean 1 weekly water change isn't sufficient for your tank size, stock and nitrate level goals.
I always tried to keep my tanks between 2 - 5 ppm nitrate, and to maintain that level, I had to do @ 30-40% water changes every other day.
My aim was breeding certain rare species, and when I exceeded those nitrate levels, I found spawns would be weak or deformed, eggs not hatch, or the fry survival rates were lower than I preferred them to be.

 

[-603FiShHoBbIeSt-]

If you are in the US, the MCL for nitrate sent from a drinking water plant, is 10ppm.
You can google your cites "water quality report" and usually see what their average nitrate level is.
When I lived in Milwaukee, it was often <1 ppm.
Your tanks high nitrate level may just mean 1 weekly water change isn't sufficient for your tank size, stock and nitrate level goals.
I always tried to keep my tanks between 2 - 5 ppm nitrate, and to maintain that level, I had to do @ 30-40% water changes every other day.
My aim was breeding certain rare species, and when I exceeded those nitrate levels, I found spawns would be weak or deformed, eggs not hatch, or the fry survival rates were lower than I preferred them to be.

Okay yah I just started doing 40-50 percent water changes every other day, I’ll also check my towns water treatment plant page if I can find one and figure out what the nitrate levels are in the tap water

 

[duanes]

What city (or county if that's how water is distributed) and what state are you in?