Electro-Rite and DI water

P

Peekaboo

Some Guy
Jul 14, 2004
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New Westminster, BC Canada
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I have a di setup for our reef aquarium water (one day I'll put in a complete r/o di but we have water pressure problems so it will be costly to get an expert in to deal with it)

We have begun using this water for our freshwater tanks now that it seems our local water company is adding cloramines to otherwise perfect water.

Anyway, I make the water using the di unit, filter it through coral to get the ph to 6.8 (we have a wide range of freshwater fish and tanks this just seemed the reasonable ph to maintain).... and store it in a heated garbage can.

I have also been adding electro-rite. I would continue to do so but it is ridiculously priced here in Canada, given the rate we go through it. I'm wondering if I filtering through the coral adds enough "elements" to the water that I don't need the electro-rite.

Does anybody know about this for sure? Or send me to a good web resource.
Thanks.
 
You can try doing tests to see what the GH and KH is. If you can though, I would still recommend doing mixes of Di and tap water. Not only are you making sure you have good elements, you also won't need as much water conditioner!

I was in the same boat once, and I prefer doing tap + Ro/Di mizes for my freshwater tanks!

Hope this helps
 
pbrack said:
I was in the same boat once, and I prefer doing tap + Ro/Di mizes for my freshwater tanks!
Click to expand...

Yeh I think a mix would be the best solution, except the problem with using any tap water in my current situation is that when the water utility include the cloramines, if I use the water conditioner it breaks down into ammonia. I've tested my water pail after adding fresh tap and conditioner and I get ammonia levels.

When they are just using clorine the mix would be the best, as you say. I guess I could test my tap water every time I use it, and only mix when they don't appear to be using cloramine, but that gets annoying because I have three fresh water tanks and my test might not be that accurate.
 
How high are the ammonia levels? Maybe you can use one of those ammonia removers in a bucket to see if it reduces the ammonia levels without any side effects.
 
I tried the ammonia removers in a bucket-- but it turns out the ammonia "removers" only change the toxic ammonia to the 'non-toxic' kind. So it still tests positive for ammonia and depends on the ph to whether it becomes toxic or not. Its better than nothing, I expect but I still don't like to read any ammonia.
 
I don't think coral alone can add all the elements, since all it does is increas KH, and that's it. I know Ro right from big als is 13 bucks for what seems like a small container, but can do quite a large batch from what I read on the ingredients. This may be the only way out.

Have you tried adding the elctro-rite to your water then testing it? If so, would you mind posting the results...I've always wondered if they worked as good as they seem!
 
I've never tested the GH and KH in my freshwater aquariums, but I guess I should run out and get some tests seeing how I am messing with everything (after it stops snowing!). I'll post results when I get them.

My general theory had been not to mess with GH, KH and PH and just use the tap water so it stayed consistent. (Judging by the fishes reaction, the electro-rite is good--the silver dollars have been in a breeding frenzy since I started the new water regime, the clown loaches are out all the time, and the corey cats and danios are playful as heck.)

Our tap water, judging from the online Municipal database, is actually pretty good when they don't add the cloramine. But that seemed to be seasonal (or some special event) because the cloramine is gone now.

So I'll buy the buffering and hardness tests, and start mixing in some tap water with the DI water. Given the cloramines are gone I can just test my garbage pail once per week for ammonia and throw it all out if they ever start adding cloramine again.

What ratio of tap to di water is recommended?
 
Make sure though that if they do add cholramines, and decide to use electro-rite, that you test everytime so that you have the same pH, GH and kH levels.

As for the ratio, it all depends on your situation. I'd try a few different mixes, then test the parameters to see which one works best. I use a 1:1 ratio, which gets me a pH of about 7.4 and a GH and KH of 5. It may be entirely different for you though.
 
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