LavenderTi Posted December 27, 2022 Share Posted December 27, 2022 Hi all, last time I was reefing was back in the midwest. My incoming TDS was near 500 and my output was ~50 before the DI. The Portland water report shows TDS 22-38. I don't use much water for my Fijicube 22.4. Could I get away with just a triple canister DI setup? It seems much simpler to just filter through versus having to deal with the effluent water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjmdh Posted December 27, 2022 Share Posted December 27, 2022 Several people run pre-filters (carbon, etc) and large DI canisters without running an RO unit. Rudy @ @goldenbasketreef runs his make up water that way. Here is the discussion: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bicyclebill Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 Chlorine is the main thing to worry about isn't it? I'm in Tigard, and they were using chloramines up until a few years back when they switched to chlorine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjmdh Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 33 minutes ago, Bicyclebill said: Chlorine is the main thing to worry about isn't it? I'm in Tigard, and they were using chloramines up until a few years back when they switched to chlorine. Catalytic carbon filters remove both chorine and chloramine. Supposedly 99.9% effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electrokate Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 Portland is using chloramines. Anyone else testing Portland's water for phosphate? I am seeing it, and I think the buffer they use to maintain neutral Ph is phosphate based. My RO unit is not removing the phosphate, unfortunately, was using a pre filter then carbon followed by RO and DI on the resulting RO, and still getting phosphate. So I switched to a setup of prefilter-carbon-carbon-RO and no DI, same result. Now wondering if it is just my test kit. The waste water is so pure after two carbon filters that I use that on my freshwater tanks, and the RO is not killing crystal shrimp or dart frog tadpoles so I think it is pretty good. But my SPS is dying off and there is a lot of algae. I also use the waste water on quarantine tanks with LPS and soft coral and they are doing great, but again tons of algae. When I was reading about the DI options I think I saw that chloramines would use them up rather quickly resulting in more expense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obrien.david.j Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 2 minutes ago, Electrokate said: Portland is using chloramines. Anyone else testing Portland's water for phosphate? I am seeing it, and I think the buffer they use to maintain neutral Ph is phosphate based. My RO unit is not removing the phosphate, unfortunately, was using a pre filter then carbon followed by RO and DI on the resulting RO, and still getting phosphate. So I switched to a setup of prefilter-carbon-carbon-RO and no DI, same result. Now wondering if it is just my test kit. The waste water is so pure after two carbon filters that I use that on my freshwater tanks, and the RO is not killing crystal shrimp or dart frog tadpoles so I think it is pretty good. But my SPS is dying off and there is a lot of algae. I also use the waste water on quarantine tanks with LPS and soft coral and they are doing great, but again tons of algae. When I was reading about the DI options I think I saw that chloramines would use them up rather quickly resulting in more expense. I'm on the west side (97229) and I get my RO water tested monthly, as part of my ICP testing. No phosphates have been detected in the past 12 months I've been doing this. I like your idea of triple checking your test kit. Maybe a club member is close enough, or just take a sample to one or two LFS's - and have them check. For SPS die off and Algae problems - Argh, that's the classic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LavenderTi Posted December 28, 2022 Author Share Posted December 28, 2022 Here's my plan based on the previous post and info I've received. I'll use a gate valve to control flow through the system. 6 stages: sediment, catalytic carbon, sediment, cation DI, anion DI, mixed bed DI. All refillable containers except the sediment. I'm going with 2.5 x 10 due to my somewhat low water volume requirements. The kit BRS sells comes with the TDS meter so that will have readings at: the inlet to DI, before the mixed bed DI, and output of the DI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electrokate Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 23 hours ago, obrien.david.j said: I'm on the west side (97229) and I get my RO water tested monthly, as part of my ICP testing. No phosphates have been detected in the past 12 months I've been doing this. I like your idea of triple checking your test kit. Maybe a club member is close enough, or just take a sample to one or two LFS's - and have them check. For SPS die off and Algae problems - Argh, that's the classic. The SPS that didn't completely die is recovering after water changes but the algae is still booming, testing with API kits shows high phosphate and nitrate... I am in SE near the reservoir at Powell Butte. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LavenderTi Posted November 28, 2023 Author Share Posted November 28, 2023 So things have changed and I’m using way more water now that I have the 110 gallon tank. My incoming TDS have been consistently over 50 and closer to 60 the past few months. Is this because Portland Water Bureau is supplementing the water with another source? How long does it typically take to switch back? It’s burning through media much faster than I anticipated. I’d prefer to not have to purchase an RO unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeardUp Posted November 28, 2023 Share Posted November 28, 2023 (edited) I was wrong. Looks like pwb started blending their 2 sources of water starting in August. https://www.portland.gov/water/news/2023/8/23/portland-water-bureau-begin-groundwater-augmentation Edited November 28, 2023 by BeardUp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeardUp Posted November 28, 2023 Share Posted November 28, 2023 (edited) Also, they might have had to switch to ground water only during the fire. Edited November 28, 2023 by BeardUp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electrokate Posted November 28, 2023 Share Posted November 28, 2023 They are presently switching from the well field to Bull Run and usually increase the ammonia during the transition, seems like it’s usually earlier but there was the fire. You could try making the first stage a chloramine rated carbon prefilter, just don’t forget to change it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted November 28, 2023 Share Posted November 28, 2023 On 12/27/2022 at 2:05 PM, LavenderTi said: Hi all, last time I was reefing was back in the midwest. My incoming TDS was near 500 and my output was ~50 before the DI. The Portland water report shows TDS 22-38. I don't use much water for my Fijicube 22.4. Could I get away with just a triple canister DI setup? It seems much simpler to just filter through versus having to deal with the effluent water. I have a great deal on a RODI system if you look at my recent thread plus lots of di resin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LavenderTi Posted November 28, 2023 Author Share Posted November 28, 2023 30 minutes ago, The ReefBox said: I have a great deal on a RODI system if you look at my recent thread plus lots of di resin Haha, I was looking at your 150 GPD system yesterday. I was calculating in my head how many gallons it’d take to offset the cost versus using more DI resin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted November 28, 2023 Share Posted November 28, 2023 23 minutes ago, LavenderTi said: Haha, I was looking at your 150 GPD system yesterday. I was calculating in my head how many gallons it’d take to offset the cost versus using more DI resin. Well it’s a 99% membrane so not much water loss!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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