I'm setting up a new system using well water. I have an excellent water analysis indicating the cations, anions, etc in my water. Does anyone know of a good resource for permissible water chemistry ranges for a reef aquarium. It seems nuts to strip calcium, mg etc out of the water with a $250 unit just to put them back in. I have some sulfates and iron. I'm ok with testing alkalinity NH3 etc... Any suggestions.
RO/DI necessary for well water?
- Thread starter Cliff
- Start date
charlieB
Reefing newb
I would definitely use the RO/DI over well water, especially if you are setting up a new system do yourself the favor of starting out with good water. As far as "stripping out" the minerals just to put them back in, you will be putting them back in with proper proportions anyway with your salt mix so you aren't losing anything by purifying the well water.
d2mini
Reef enthusiast
You want zero TDS with a reef tank. Can you pick up a tds meter? Even though you don't necessarily want to strip calcium and magnesium, there tends to be lots of other stuff that will reek havoc in your tank in the form of algae. So it's better to start with a clean slate. Your salt mix will replace everything you need and then you may need to supplement additional elements if your corals are consuming them.
d2mini
Reef enthusiast
Not the cheapest out there, but you can not go wrong with anything from The Filter Guys
Great product and great customer service.
Great product and great customer service.
