r/o unit? or take down my tank

ok look this should help..first find a grocery store that allows you to fill your own water, most any local grocery store will..second get some gfo or some kind of phosphate removing media, running carbon will help clean it up a little..next you need to start doing water changes everyday..in a 75 gallon i would do maybe 2or 3 gallons whatever is easy for you, just a few gallons everday to start to lower your trates and phates to start starving out that algae...

ok another way and i dont know if i should tell you this but if you do please please read and study how to successfully to do this..you can keep your ph around 8.5 using limewater or kalk to disolve the nitrates and phosphates, buffers dont work and end up increasing other things you dont want increased (randy holmes fairley stated this)(this method will show results faster)..another way to lower your trate and phates is by dosing vodka as a carbon to help break down the nitrates and phosphates...dosing vodka takes about a month to start seeing changes but def works...also dosing vodka is easier than dosing kalk till you see a change in .2 ph..both of these either dissolve trates and phates or break them down..

 

also dont give up..its really not that hard to battle this stuff..im more than happy to help you do this..again if you use the kalk method you should get a ph meter that is dialed in correctly to successfully accomplish this..another thing to help to from now spreading as bad would be to reduce your lighting schedule..you could do a lights out for 3 days..regardless if you have corals, they can safely go about 3 days without lights, some people do more but 3 days is safe..and then after those 3 days start turning your lights on for a few hours and if your start seeing the algae coming back turn them back off..

 

You have to have RO-DI and get a TDS tester. The one for $24.00 is well worth the investment. The only way to know where your water is at. I Have had good results with the Filter guys. They explain things well.
The Filter Guys

 

$11 for 8 gallons....that water better change itself for that price....before i got my RODI I bought premixed RODI water from the LFS here and it is only .69 a gallon...Def get an RODI...it will pay for itself

 

I got a few things for my algae too,

GFO Reactor= $33.99 (Sale 15% off)
1 Pound GFO= $21.60 (Sale 10% off)
Maxi Jet 1200= $24.99

The total for all that plus shipping was $91.00. Not bad when i just got it yesterday and it lowered my phosphates already .05 over night! Can't be more satisfied!

 

I run a Pure Water Club portable RO/DI that hooks up to the faucet on the sink (In my laundry room) It costs like $60 or something and works very very well. I fill a 5 gallon water jug in about an hour, I think it's a 100 gpd unit.

For what it's worth I tried the lug method for all my water for my 20 gallon setup, and that got rough, let alone with a 75. The LFS here gets $0.50 for RO/DI, $0.70 for instant ocean at 33 ppt (for FOWLR folks) and gets $0.95 per gallon for SeaChem Salinity (the most awesome salt on the planet) at 35 ppt.

One thing nice is they have 24/7/365 emergency service ($25 to open the store, free with a $100 purchase) and they have "OMFG" water change service, a 500 gallon trailer mounted water tank with 78 degree water $50 plus water, but well worth it if you have an OMFG tank crash.

 

Whoever designed those PureWaterClub units is on crack. The whole thing is horizontally mounted, strike one (less efficient). Expected rejection rate after the RO: 93%, too low - strike two (membranes by the good companies are rated 96%+). But the best is that the unit has a prefilters, then 2 carbon stages (unnecessary to have more than one), then RO, then DI....then another carbon???? Are they serious?

I think you need to get a TDS meter and see how that unit actually performs, because I doubt it's gonna be anything good. Actually, strike 4 on this thing; it has no TDS meter and no pressure gauge built in to the unit, so you don't even know how well it performs.

 

ro/di

i got mine off the filter guys online i make about 15 to 20 gallons a week making salt mix for a change and top off what i do is run the wast into the washer fill it then use it to water plants and other stuff so you try not to just run it down the drain ro di unit will make your life with your tank a little bit easy good luck!!!!;D

 

To answer your original questions:
No, you run the water only when you want to make RO or RO/DI water.
Yes, you only run it when you need it
The average RO membrane you will find in most units is capable of making 75 GPD or about 3 gallons per hour under normal conditions. Yes they are not speed demons but it takes time to force pure water molecule through the membrane.

If you cannot afford a RO or RO/DI unit at this time, look for a Water & Ice type store that sells just that. They are found all over the southwest US and many other places too. RO water costs about 25 cents a gallon and is usually filtered well, these stores and owners are proud of what they do. I have found most of them are more than happy to pull a TDS or conductivity meter out andshow me how well their filters work.

You can also buy RO water from a vending machine but this would not be my choice if at all possible since you are at the mercy of the machine and its maintanance or lack thereof. Vending machines don't normally get inspected by any health authorities, only for accurate weights and measures so have no standards they must meet. Again these are usually a quarter a gallon.

A third option is bottled RO or better yet distilled water from the grocery or WalMart. It may be a little more expensive but has shown to be good quality.

If at all possible I would start saving for a RO/DI system if you plan to stay in the hobby and be happy. A good reef quality unit is less than $200 including a TDS meter and pressure gauge and will make your life much easier. I would stay away from the Purewater Club and other ebay quality systems, with RO and RO/DI you really do get what you pay for and they are pretty low quality and do not perform well over time. Pay close attention to what the unit contains as far as filters, not how many as that is deceiving. Its what is inside that counts.

The suggestion for Spectrapure would also be my first chhoice, they have been in business doing the same thing in a brick and mortar storefront for over 25 years unlike the ebay vendors that come and go and sell imported units out of a warehouse somewhere.
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The CSP-DI is hard to beat at $199 and the MaxCap is the best unit in the business bar none.