total noob to SW

[J-Ranko]

good job on the tang and mandarin. i cant blame you on the damsels. Yes timer is very important, you can buy them cheap at Ikea. They have the 15 minute increments that can be used for powerheads too. Dont do chemicals yet, a good schedule of water change can go a long long way. RODI? if you dont have it, dont sweat it. Just go to albertsons or any store that sells 35 cents/gallon rodi... that helps. Also if you can invest on a good refractometer, i highly suggest it.

Does Albertsons really sell RO/DI or just RO? I know a lot of grocery stores and drug stores sell RO water from machine dispensers, but I would say the water quality from those machines are not generally ideal for reef tanks. If it was just RO water, I wouldn't buy it unless I can confirm its suitability with a TDS meter.

 

[Katchupoy]

Does Albertsons really sell RO/DI or just RO? I know a lot of grocery stores and drug stores sell RO water from machine dispensers, but I would say the water quality from those machines are not generally ideal for reef tanks. If it was just RO water, I wouldn't buy it unless I can confirm its suitability with a TDS meter.

You are correct, the last time i checked was forever ago... I will check it again with my tds, and report back here again. If i remember it right, that they are better than tap water. i will report back in a momment.

 

[kickside]

Does Albertsons really sell RO/DI or just RO? I know a lot of grocery stores and drug stores sell RO water from machine dispensers, but I would say the water quality from those machines are not generally ideal for reef tanks. If it was just RO water, I wouldn't buy it unless I can confirm its suitability with a TDS meter.

You are correct, the last time i checked was forever ago... I will check it again with my tds, and report back here again. If i remember it right, that they are better than tap water. i will report back in a momment.

So I shouldn't use the water from the store??

 

[Chingon]

i use to buy those water that u can buy from safeway..i think its ro/di water not sure i will ask my husband...i used it for a while with no problem...

luisse25

 

[ReefLogic]

nice....welcome to the club dude. This is an great site to be a part of. Much better than most if not all of the alternatives.

 

[J-Ranko]

So I shouldn't use the water from the store??

The best water for your tank is RO/DI or distilled. Few stores besides a LFS sell RO/DI water. Most stores sell only RO water. But RO water is still way better than tap water. In terms of purity:

Distilled > RO/DI > RO > tap

If RO/DI or distilled is not practical or within your budget, then you should definitely get RO water.

By the way, are you familiar with the differences between RO and RO/DI?

 

[Katchupoy]

Ok I just checked our safeway and albertsons. Glaciers, 35 cents per gallon, registered 0 on my TDS meter. I believe its RO only but way way acceptable to using for reef. I also have RO only filter and been using that for years. And also using tap water prior to that which has 25 on my TDS meter.

Hope this helps.

 

[J-Ranko]

Thanks for verifying. I'm surprised it's reading 0 given it's only RO. The source water is probably close to pure to begin with.