Hard Water

I noticed my yellow tang was looking a bit white today so I decided to test the water and found that the water hardness was off the chart, about 425ppm - all other parameters looked fine

I read some discussions and it seems that everyone has RO/DI machines - I plan on making the investment - and going forward, I'm never going to use tap water again

Usually when I do a water change I purchase water from the LFS. But not always. Sometimes I mix tap with a conditioner.

And yes my town has hard water, so I know the culprit, but what should I do to correct the situation in my tank?

 

I buy Distilled water from walmart...i know its not perfect but it keeps the fish alive and well. I just ordered an RO/DI unit.

You can get them real cheap...go to bulkreefsupply.com or filterguys.biz

basic system will be around $150 ...pretty good deal.

I would never use tap water form any city....i don't even drink it.

 

You are going to create problems down the road if you keep using that water. Your TDS should be 0.

 

Tds?

 

Total Dissolved Solids, got it - I"m learning by the minute ;D

I get those to zero ASAP

 

What is TDS?

 

Thanks Otty +1

Awesome tank BTW

 

u are measuring KH right? GH levels will be off the chart. had to ask, i did the same thing when i first starts saltwater.

 

ro/di systems with tds meter should have 98% efficiency, if the difference is greater than 10% its time to change the filters