Salt Water Tank (180) Filling / Initial Setup Question

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ibjhb

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 25, 2007
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St. Petersburg, FL
Hello,

I hope this isn't a silly question, but I couldn't find the answer after an hour of searching.

I recently purchased a 180 gallon tank that I am going to be setting up for salt water. I'm still plumbing in the filtration system so it is going to be a few days till I can even put water in the tank.

My questions is, should I use the RO system that came with the tank to do the initial setup or should I just grab a hose and fill it?

The main reason I'm asking is because my RO system is SLOW (I think it needs new filter media)... It is only producing 1 gallon of "good" water to each 5 gallons of "bad". Maybe that's normal?

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
Start with RO/DI and keep on going with RO/DI... It would be good to add a silicate membrane.

I figured I would start my tank my tank with tap water and do changes after I got my HI-S RO/DI. I developed diatoms and eventually got red slime algae, it all went away after about a month, but I wasn't happy for that month.

If it is a fish only tank then fill with tap and change with RO/DI. You will be scrubbing anyway. if you start with RO/DI and change with RO/DI then you will not be cleaning the glass as much, maybe just to get rid of the coraline that blocks your view.

As far as ouput, you should get a TPS and pressure guage. Your input pressure may be outside of the units optimal range. Usually it will be too low so you will need a booster pump that can raise it to around 50 PSI (check the units requirements but 50 is normal).

Also your unit could be at its end or it may have dried out (bad situation depending on the membrane). Some membranes once wet, should never be allowed to dry. Other manufacturer's may have done something different and it may only take about a week of water production to properly hyrdate the membrane... again find the units operators manual.
 
I have a similar question, i have a 90g. no RO. how should i go about cleaning it/filling it?

It's not like i can just take it out back and hose it out...

Not me and my 50 year old mom at least.
 
Here's the RO/DI system:

rodi.jpg


Here's my new tank too:

180Tank.jpg


Any idea what "brand" the RO/DI is? There isn't any markings whatsoever on it indicating what brand or model it is.
 
i'm no expert at all, but it looks like this:

OCEANWAVERO-DI.jpg
 
tunerX;2558521; said:
There should be markings on the actual membrane, that will tell you the manufacturer. Then just need to get the info from the OEM.
Click to expand...

I don't know if the previous owner removed any stickers, but there isn't any indication on the unit or the membrane as to the manufacturer. It's really weird.

Also, I'm making about 1:5 good water to bad. Is that a normal ratio? It seems like I am wasting a lot of water...
 
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