Aquascaper 600

I generally like to do 50% changes a week like most on this forum to be fair. Especially when I have fish in there. Not sure you’ll be able to change my mind on that so may need to agree to disagree here

I just know in my house that leaving canisters of water around wouldn’t work dogs kids etc lol. This is why I want a system go flush through enough water in under an hour to do my water changes.

It's not a question of changing your mind. I'm trying to tell you what the issues are and how unusual it is for someone to contemplate running a 800 gpd RO system. I have no experience in doing such a thing but would guess that there might be a lower quality of RO water produced since it's going through so quickly, these systems were mainly used for window cleaners and domestic work etc. . .

Also because you're running a pressure pump with it there might be issues in the long term. These pumps are under a lot of stress so I would imagine they won't last for a long time, it's another added complication to the system.

Advanced Aquarist said:

It's not a question of changing your mind. I'm trying to tell you what the issues are and how unusual it is for someone to contemplate running a 800 gpd RO system. I have no experience in doing such a thing but would guess that there might be a lower quality of RO water produced since it's going through so quickly, these systems were mainly used for window cleaners and domestic work etc. . .

Also because you're running a pressure pump with it there might be issues in the long term. These pumps are under a lot of stress so I would imagine they won't last for a long time, it's another added complication to the system.

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Fair enough, I'm just trying to work out how to do this in a way that makes it easy and compatible with family life This seemed like the best option but I guess not. For what its worth this unit would potentially go on to be used on more tanks including 2 120gs and potentially 4 2 foot cubes.

Do you have a way of shutting the RO water off when its feeding into your storage tank? Is it possible to put the unit on some kind of electrical timer?

Wills

Tonight after maintenance - staghorn is definitely coming back (too be expected) fine green thread algae is easy to remove but it is getting everywhere. Green dust and spot seem to be cutting back. In possitives, the plants are all growing again after the upset of no Co2, and the black out I did.



Wills

Wills said:

Do you have a way of shutting the RO water off when its feeding into your storage tank? Is it possible to put the unit on some kind of electrical timer?

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Float valve with pressure solenoid as used in under sink units. That's the easiest way to do it and literally idiot proof.

Why did you do a black out? Was it for BGA?

Personally I would go with the direct flow option.
I believe that one big change per week is better than multiple small changes. I currently change 220 litres per week and do not have the space for a large enough storage container so use jerry cans kept in the garage. With a 150GPD unit I spread my water changes over 2 days and the biggest usage of time is refilling jerry cans (for next week's change). In theory I could do this in a single day (with 150GPD but not with 50) but that would leave a window where my fish would be at risk if I needed to do an emergency water change in any of the tanks.

All very well while we are in lockdown. I did recently consider upgrading to a direct flow system but decided I could not justify the extra cost right now. Bu I most likely will do so when I am no longer spending every weekend at home with nothing better to do with my time. We also use the RO for drinking, cooking, etc and I don't bother with DI. The water out of the RO unit has a typical TDS of 7-14, out of the tap it is >300

Advanced Aquarist said:

Float valve with pressure solenoid as used in under sink units. That's the easiest way to do it and literally idiot proof.

Why did you do a black out? Was it for BGA?

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It was to weaken the algae in the tank ahead of dosing excell - its not worked in my tank but hoping when I do the RO switch over I will get some peroxide to kill it off. It did work to an extent and it dealt with some green algae issues I was having at the time. Since reducing the Co2 and ferts its kept it at bay but not eradicated it.

seangee said:

Personally I would go with the direct flow option.
I believe that one big change per week is better than multiple small changes. I currently change 220 litres per week and do not have the space for a large enough storage container so use jerry cans kept in the garage. With a 150GPD unit I spread my water changes over 2 days and the biggest usage of time is refilling jerry cans (for next week's change). In theory I could do this in a single day (with 150GPD but not with 50) but that would leave a window where my fish would be at risk if I needed to do an emergency water change in any of the tanks.

All very well while we are in lockdown. I did recently consider upgrading to a direct flow system but decided I could not justify the extra cost right now. Bu I most likely will do so when I am no longer spending every weekend at home with nothing better to do with my time. We also use the RO for drinking, cooking, etc and I don't bother with DI. The water out of the RO unit has a typical TDS of 7-14, out of the tap it is >300

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Thanks for this helped a lot - I know you've told me but can you remind me what you use to remineralise the water?

I think after a bit of reflection I'm going to go for the big unit - makes life easy, accept its not going to give me absolute purety as a slow unit with storage would but if my water hadnt been such an issue (variable kh and high nitrate) I'd have liked to stick with tap water. If this means I always have a bit of algae so be it - I think sometimes in this hobby you have to find some compromises as too much complexity really grinds you down and ultimately leads to a neglected tank. As long as my hardness and ph are stable and the nitrate is removed from the water I'm ticking the boxes I want to. It also helps resolve my super hard water which gives me options to keep the fish I want rather than the fish I have to

Wills

Wills said:

Tonight after maintenance - staghorn is definitely coming back (too be expected) fine green thread algae is easy to remove but it is getting everywhere. Green dust and spot seem to be cutting back. In possitives, the plants are all growing again after the upset of no Co2, and the black out I did.

View attachment 132216

Wills

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Tank looks good!

Hair algae can be annoying, but it is easily removed, as you said.

I definitely like the rearranged version better than the original. This way looks like it’s a mountain pass or something.

Wow, Wills, that is one beautiful tank. Sorry about your algae woes, but wow.
T

Wills said:

It was to weaken the algae in the tank ahead of dosing excell - its not worked in my tank but hoping when I do the RO switch over I will get some peroxide to kill it off. It did work to an extent and it dealt with some green algae issues I was having at the time. Since reducing the Co2 and ferts its kept it at bay but not eradicated it.

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I wouldn't use excel if I were you. Yes it will kill certain algae but I rather fix the problem than treat the symptoms. I don't like it because it's toxic stuff and doesn't need to be in the tank. It's also marketed as a alternative carbon source. Blackout usually only work for BGA and won't do much for green filamentous algae.

seangee said:

We also use the RO for drinking, cooking, etc and I don't bother with DI. The water out of the RO unit has a typical TDS of 7-14, out of the tap it is >300

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The DI is a post filter for water prepared for water changes. In my under sink it just contains straight RO water for drinking/cooking etc . . . I bleed off to a post DI to fill the water tank.

The last time I looked into RO membranes was over 15 years ago with a very knowledgable person. Not having kept up with them but I would guess that the 400 gpd membranes used might be of the high flow type, which means they sacrifice quality of water output for speed. This means that the TDS out will probably be much higher than 14 or so, but we won't know until he measures the output.

Wills said:

I know you've told me but can you remind me what you use to remineralise the water?

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I use Salty Shrimp GH+/KH+ which raises GH/KH in the ratio 2:1. I have recently started using Salty Shrimp GH+ in the soft water tanks. I never used to bother but the plants do seem to be better for it. I had high tech tanks in the past and used to mix my own ferts but TBH I am more interested in the fish these days. So I have no idea what's in the Salty Shrimp and don't particularly care. I just want an easy life (and healthy fish and plants)

Advanced Aquarist said:

Not having kept up with them but I would guess that the 400 gpd membranes used might be of the high flow type, which means they sacrifice quality of water output for speed. This means that the TDS out will probably be much higher than 14 or so, but we won't know until he measures the output.

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Yes the standard membranes only go up to 200GPD. The 400GPD ones do NEED to be pumped so if the pressure is high enough should do a good job. The direct flow filters work by daisy chaining the membranes (waste is sent through a second membrane). I experimented with this on my system and it does actually work without any quality degradation, and you get less waste. It did not work out for me as the two canisters I had had different control valves (one mechanical and one solenoid) and I could not figure out a way to make it stop when my storage tank was full. So I did get double the throughput but it just kept pumping everything to waste once the tank was full. I probably could have persevered and figured out a way but let it go.
When / if the time comes I can live with the reduction in quality. I have rock hard water like you and I keep soft water fish. The nitrate in my tap is also at 50ppm so like @Wills all I want is nitrate reduction and significant softening of the water.

PheonixKingZ said:

Tank looks good!

Hair algae can be annoying, but it is easily removed, as you said.

I definitely like the rearranged version better than the original. This way looks like it’s a mountain pass or something.

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WhistlingBadger said:

Wow, Wills, that is one beautiful tank. Sorry about your algae woes, but wow.
T

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Thanks guys really appreciate it. Algae is so much better now than it ever has been and I think given the plant growth I'm seeing I hope it does not get any worse between now the RO machine being installed. I think once I start adding fish some of it will start getting eaten too. I've seen fish eat thread algae before even if they are not algae eaters

@seangee checked out the salty shrimp stuff definitely looks like the stuff I want. I want to increase the Kh a little too just to stop my Co2 fluctuating the Ph too much - do you think this would be ok to add? https://www.pro-shrimp.co.uk/nt-lab...s-kh-up-ph-stabiliser-180g-0733809002042.html

WIth this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06Y5QZBTL/?tag= I don't believe you will need a separate pH stabililiser if you are planning weekly water changes. Out of stock at Pro Shrimp now but available on Amazon. That's the one I use in the shrimp tank at the recommended dosage.

Stunning!