New build! Buy water or filter?

[kmcmurtry]

So it looks like I'll be picking up a 120g this morning, and now I'm sort of freaking out about how to fill it. When I had my 90g, I remember mixing tap water for hours, but now I've been long converted on the benefits of rodi water I buy from my lfs, and I don't want to go through a hideous algae bloom like I had to live through previously. I want to start this right. However, I am trying to stay on a budget so 100 gallons of lfs saltwater at $1 a gallon is daunting, I have nowhere to plumb in some crazy filtering equipment into my wall, and I have no idea how others do this cheaply if they do. Any recommendations?

 

[Off The Deep End]

I use tap water with a declorinator, we have pretty good water in Colorado. My .02

 

[Munch]

120 gallon tank? Buy a used RO/DI - no brainer, best savings long term..

I wouldn't use tap water in a salt tank, no matter what the quality.

I think Aquatic Art even had some used ones...

 

[jahmic]

Have space under the kitchen sink?

I have mine hanging on a large cabinet door, tucked away under the sink. A $5 saddle valve from the hardware store is all it takes to hook it up, as long as you have an exposed copper pipe feeding the cold water under there.

 

[SkyDiv3r17]

Well the only way I can see doing it since you don't want to get an rodi system is to get a big water container (like a big garbage can from home depot or something) and buy 100 gallons of fresh water.. Which cuts the cost in half. And add a pump to the bin and just start mixing.. I would recommend letting salt mix in water for over 12 hours. I used to mix it by hand for like an hour. I killed a couple of corals that way because my salinity was at like 30 and since I used a hydrometer, it all seemed fine. So you need to use a pump to mix it! If you have your 90 to mix in, even better.

I didn't really have any place for an rodi unit either.. so I screwed a 2x4 into the wall next to the door and mounted it there. I bet you can find a place for it in the future! But for now, seems like you might just have to haul water back and forth from the lfs.. I have 4 5 and 6 gallon containers to help if you would like to borrow them.

 

[deboy69]

I bought water in the beginning from a LFS and was wonder why I had algae problems turns out the water they were selling had a TDs of 60. So I bought an rodi unit

KCCO

 

[deboy69]

Plus the make rodi that use a kitchen sink faucet for hookup

KCCO

 

[Nmertz1]

Some Safeway/king soopers sell RO water that is only .41 gallon. But with a 120 gal tank you may want your own RO/DI

 

[SkyShark]

Go for the RODI. You don't have to permanently mount it somewhere. Not totally ideal, but you can bring it out and put it away each time you need to "make" water. The BRS units come with multiple adapters so you can attach it to a standard faucet, or a utility sink. I can't imagine trying to wrestle that many containers of water from a store.

 

[kmcmurtry]

Thanks all! This will help me eventually make a decision as stare at my empty tank, lol. Only reason I would even consider the lfs water option is they are about 2 blocks from me. And then I wouldn't have to pick up salt either, though I will have to ask what mix they use if I do.

 

[Djmm1177]

I would look into a kold sterile unit I purchased on 1 moth ago and love it, no wast water and it does 5 gal a min. Pretty sweet!

 

[MuralReef]

I have a rodi and kold sterile unit. I haven't had a chance to run the rodi line from the sink to top off so I have continued to run the kold sterile. I really like it since you don't produce any waste water and it fills much more quickly than a rodi.