• Welcome back Guest!

    MARSH is a private reefing group. Comments and suggestions are encouraged, but please keep them positive and constructive. Negative threads, posts, or attacks will be removed from view and reviewed by the staff. Continually disruptive, argumentative, or flagrant rule breakers may be suspended or banned.

First RODI unit (1 Viewer)

Users who are viewing this thread

BrennanMuns

Guest
Joined
Apr 30, 2020
Messages
41
Reaction score
38
Location
Cypress
Hello all- I keep a variety of coral from LPS to SPS and have on treated tap water for quite awhile. Seeing the deals on amazon, I went ahead and bought an RODI unit. I’ve always had trouble with hair algae and high phosphates. Are things in my tanks really about to improve significantly with this?
 

ITreefer

Supporting Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2017
Messages
1,007
Reaction score
1,025
Location
Houston/Cypress
Hello all- I keep a variety of coral from LPS to SPS and have on treated tap water for quite awhile. Seeing the deals on amazon, I went ahead and bought an RODI unit. I’ve always had trouble with hair algae and high phosphates. Are things in my tanks really about to improve significantly with this?
Hard to believe you wouldn't see a significant difference. Tap water is loaded with TDS.
 

Tenny

Supporting Member
Build Thread Contributor
Joined
Jul 18, 2018
Messages
755
Reaction score
588
Location
League City
It'll certainly help (as long as you stay on top of filter changes, etc). Will it remove them? Depends (like everything in this world). If you feed heavy and what not... then no. Really to remove hair algae you may want to try a fluconazole treatment.
 
Joined
Apr 20, 2017
Messages
871
Reaction score
354
Location
Tomball
An RODI unit will help to some degree but not specifically to reduce or eliminate any current issues you are having. Depending on the how your filter is setup, ie: the types of pre-filters, total number of stages, what kind of DI Resin used, even the inlet water PSI all ultimately determine the quality of product water you're able to produce. Most municipal tap water supplies have fairly high TDS levels, there could be ammonia, chlorine, chloramines, fluoride, phosphates, any number of different types of metals, organic compounds, arsenic, and even possible radioactive contaminants, etc. A RODI unit if setup correctly can remove up to 99.9% of the various contaminants found in source water. By removing all these contaminants prior to mixing in your salt, you will have better control of what goes into the system and thus can make it easier to fix issues water parameter stability and to some degree nutrient levels.

If you're having issues with nuisance algae like hair algae, you would need to either treat the system with fluconazole at @Tenny suggested, also look into how this became an issue to begin with. Also look into possible livestock options that will naturally control it as well. Getting the phosphates down to a manageable level is also important as is adding macro-algae that will out compete the nuisance algae for nutrients ultimately preventing them from getting a foot-hold in your tank.

So, yes having an RODI helps, but don't expect miracles with having it now. More accurately, a RODI is an extremely valuable tool for keeping a successful reef tank.
 
OP
OP
BrennanMuns

BrennanMuns

Guest
Joined
Apr 30, 2020
Messages
41
Reaction score
38
Location
Cypress
An RODI unit will help to some degree but not specifically to reduce or eliminate any current issues you are having. Depending on the how your filter is setup, ie: the types of pre-filters, total number of stages, what kind of DI Resin used, even the inlet water PSI all ultimately determine the quality of product water you're able to produce. Most municipal tap water supplies have fairly high TDS levels, there could be ammonia, chlorine, chloramines, fluoride, phosphates, any number of different types of metals, organic compounds, arsenic, and even possible radioactive contaminants, etc. A RODI unit if setup correctly can remove up to 99.9% of the various contaminants found in source water. By removing all these contaminants prior to mixing in your salt, you will have better control of what goes into the system and thus can make it easier to fix issues water parameter stability and to some degree nutrient levels.

If you're having issues with nuisance algae like hair algae, you would need to either treat the system with fluconazole at @Tenny suggested, also look into how this became an issue to begin with. Also look into possible livestock options that will naturally control it as well. Getting the phosphates down to a manageable level is also important as is adding macro-algae that will out compete the nuisance algae for nutrients ultimately preventing them from getting a foot-hold in your tank.

So, yes having an RODI helps, but don't expect miracles with having it now. More accurately, a RODI is an extremely valuable tool for keeping a successful reef tank.

Won’t the RODI unit eliminate phosphates entering through my tap water? My nitrates are at the floor- I’ve actually be struggling to raise them for my zoa’s. I have a sea hare who is currently combatting the algae menace, but after a couple of weeks I haven’t seen a major reduction despite him getting fat. I’m running a sump with Chaeto and have been for awhile, but I haven’t seen a major improvement or major growth in the Chaeto despite using a grow light.

Due to the fact that my RODI unit may not produce the perfect results I want due to psi and any other factor that may matter, would it be wise to treat my water post RODI with prime?
 
Joined
Apr 20, 2017
Messages
871
Reaction score
354
Location
Tomball
They can, but not always. Even after passing through multiple stages low levels of TDS like phosphates still be present in your product water. Just ask @Unlimited Color Corals about the seasonal phosphate issues they had to deal with and their RODI system. ;)

Depending on the test kit you may be getting a false nitrate reading. Some kits have difficulty with ultra low levels of nitrates. If you have not tried other kits, that might be something to look into, but honestly none of them are 100% accurate. Other things to consider are uptake from your tank. Things like the macro algae, zooxanthellae and anaerobic bacteria could be consuming it faster than you can introduce it into the system. If you want to pump the nitrate levels up, just go get a bottle of Spectricide stump remover and use this calculator to figure out the right dosage. Just go slow and take your time to raise the nitrates to where you want them. Just know that this will likely result in an increase in the hair algae growth.

You mentioned issues with the phosphates being high. What are your levels at? I thought mine was always too high to keep SPS but my tank for the past 2 or so years now has sat at 5-10 on the nitrates and 1-2 phosphates. Every time I tried to lower them I got a dino bloom for my troubles. So I stopped trying to lower them and just kept everything stable. And to my surprise the acros, montys and such had acclimated and colored up and are growing well. And I can also grow chaeto like crazy, so much so I'm pulling out 2.5 to 3 gallons worth every couple months, yet my levels stay elevated. So as long as my corals are happy and colorful, and no other issues then they can stay elevated.
 

Unlimited Color Corals

Platinum Sponsor
Joined
Jun 29, 2013
Messages
167
Reaction score
218
An off the shelf RODI system will not knock out phosphates. The membrane will not remove it and a carbon block will not pull them out. You have to treat specifically for phosphates with a different solution. We have never been able to pull them out with resin either we have always resorted to pulling them out with GFO as the first additional stage in our RODI system. People call us crazy and think we over do things but I just want the best water possible. Also in the early months of the year in Houston and the incoming phosphate levels are through the roof then they taper off towards the end of the year. It happens EVERY year and I attribute it to fertilizers.
 
Top