Do I need less Co2 with softer water?

You've only decreased your KH. Your pH drop is probably the same, if you haven't adjusted the CO2, so you're just working in a different range. I find that after that kind of change in water composition, the pH monitor needs recalibration.


The osmotic difference might be a bit of a shock to your livestock. I'd raise the percentage of RO by maybe 10% with each change.

 

Yeah, it just changes the range you're working in -- if you think you're going to keep going further with higher percentage blend of RO, wait on recalibrating the probe until you're where you want to be. The swing will probably still be accurate, but I've noticed the baseline setting drifts a bit over changing water composition.

 

I would suggest setting up a fully automated RO station be your next priority if possible, I had been there trying to make 40g of RO + periodically pumping the brine water to my back yard. It's dreadful and usually waste a whole day babysitting the process. And it's absolutely no joy doing that in winter.


Everything becomes much easier when I got my RO station setup like most reef people have, minus the need for extra barrel for salt mixing..


I can complete pure RO water changes on all 3 tanks(120P hi tech, 60F and 10g shrimp tank) under 40mins like a breeze, using a cheap pump sending water to tank from the reservoir. Comparing to all sorts of gadgets I have wasted money on in this hobby, it is for sure the best investment/DIY project I have ever done.

 

kilauea91 Can you explain this more in detail please? It maybe something worth of investing for me. Elimination of waste water is a huge plus. Is this just a system you simply buy? Can it be hooked up in the hose in the backyard? These run at about $600 correct?

 

No it will require some DIY. Please give me a couple of days to collect some info and photos, I'll explain my RO system in a new thread as I don't want to go off topic here, probably in "Article" sub-forum. Stay tuned.

 

Since we are talking about RO system in this thread so I will just follow.


Here is my RO setup major component list:


RO unit


booster pump with pressure shut-off switch


Brute 32 Gallon can - RO reservoir with float valve


Rubbermaid 32 Gallon outdoor trash can


sump pump with float switch


garden hose - length depends on your need


PVC pipes, adapters, union(1/2" and 1")


garden hose bibb


drip irrigation polyethylene tubing


My system is pretty much similar to what you can find on internet/youtube. I place the RO filters and reservoir is in the garage to minimize temp fluctuation.


My RO unit has dual membrane filters, one of them is recycled from my old RO filter. By doing this, it can double the permeate output while reduce the brine waste by half to make it closer to 1:1 permeate/waste ratio. My house water pressure is a bit less than 50psi To run a dual membrane unit, 60psi or above is recommended so I added a booster pump adjusted to about 75 psi while running. The booster pump has a pressure switch which will cut off the power once the permeate line pressure reach 40 psi or above when the float valve inside the reservoir is closed.


The brine water travels 30ft in distance through irrigation polyethylene tube to another trash bin in my backyard, and I placed a sump pump retrofitted with a float switch bought from Home Depot. Just keep in mind there are 2 types of float switch - for draining or refilling. You will need the former. Sump pump output is connected to a regular garden hose send to water my backyard lawn/garden. I would throw some mosquito dunks in there to prevent larvae in the summer.








Here is the pipe connection feed to the tank. 1" PVC pipe is connected through a Uniseal bulkhead near the bottom of the brute can wall so the water is gravity fed. It was fitted with a union so that it is easier to disassemble in case you need to clean the reservoir. The water line split into 2, one goes to a hose bibb/faucet so you can have a manual source to RO water. I found it very useful when I need water to top off my tanks with a small bucket.The other line is connected to a union valve remain closed until you are refilling the tank doing water change.Then it's connected to a used eheim 1260 pump cost me $40 off craigslist, The pump output spout can be hook up to water changing hose. I need to overcome a head height of about 9 feet to my tank, The eheim pump can do just right.


I can do water change fairly quickly with minimal effort with this, the only thing I need to do is to connect the water changing hose, open the ball valve and turn on the eheim pump and doing the reverse when done. Tap water feed and the waste drainage is completely automatic. Just keep in mind that my brine water line has to push through 30 ft of 1/4" polyethylene tubing meaning increased back pressure of the RO filter, it may shorten the RO membrane life. But as we all know California is suffering from severe drought in the past few years(hopefully we will get a big relief this year) so importance of better utilization/ of the water is above all else to me.


I sourced almost all the parts and components from Bulk Reef Supply or Home Depot. It took me about 6 hrs to hook up all the things. BRS has many useful youtube video on how to setup RO system with the booster pump and pressure switch, there are quite a lot of Youtube videos where people showing their RO station.


Not only the tap water here is like liquid rock(KH/GH > 10), I found it's very inconsistent through out the year. TDS measurement run wild ranging from 200 to 450 depending on the season, which is why I decided to go with RO.


If you can do dripping water change setup that would probably be the best. But my wife doesn't allow me to drill holes in the house so I gave up the idea.

 

I live in East Bay of San Francisco Bay Area. We Bay area folks are not equal. SF/Oakland and surrounding cities get 100% Hetch-Hetchy reservoir water in Yosemite, dubbed "magic water" by local SFBAAPS club. TDS is in double digit ppm and soft. Other Bay area tap is usually a mix with other local sources, The further away from SF/Oakland,the less percentage of the magic water you get in general. Even in my city(Fremont) not all resident get water from the same source, Residents in north may get a tiny share of Hetch-Hetchy in the mix, we sad folks/hobbyist in the south only get "surface treated water" according to regional water report,


I have 3 tanks, 120P(~60gallon) high tech planted, a 10g CRS and a 60F(~8gallon) Taiwan bee. I do water change with 100% remineralized RO(with Equilibrium/Salty Shrimp) on all 3.


I only do water changes when cleaning the canisters filter on shrimp tanks, (every 3 month on average). Usually 1-3 weeks on 120P, depending on my fert dosing and I top-off


all 3 with pure RO.


Double membrane with proper inlet pressure indeed double output rate and reduce waste. It can get the 32G brute fill-up from empty in about 4 hours. In the beginning, I used


a cheap aquaticlife RO intended only for my CRS shrimp tank and another now retired 10g (Synthogonus/Erio) tank, I can't help starting to use the RO in 120P after seeing its benefits


A year later, I decided to put together this system just to save time and labor.

 

You can call me a control freak who always take thing in his own hands . But seriously, like I mention before, my tap water is very inconsistent over time, pure RO is my way of eliminating one of the variables and save some headache. At least it has been working very well for me. And believe or not, My household water usage is only ~80% of the average usage of like sized household according to my water company. I also found using RO is quite forgiving if you slack in water changes when you have other more important stuff to attend to.


Shoot me a pm if you get the chance to come to meet. I would love to show you my tanks.


Here are the picture of them in the current state:


Not much of a scaper, but plants grow very well and is getting there: High tech 120P





My no fert/no carbon/low light CRS tank, the monte carlo has grown to 5" thick bush that I had to cut the middle open to see my shrimps.





Taiwan bee tank, again no fert/carbon/low -med light





Forgot to mention, this is a small planted "iwagumi" style bowl for my wife's office since she keep nagging me to get her one. Again, another low light/no fert/no tech "tank"