I have had this 5.5 gal nano setup for about 2 wks now and I used everything from an established tank except the sand but added about 1/2lb of live sand to seed it but I am getting this nasty brown stuff on my LR and on my sand. I used tap water and found out that might be causing this ther question I have is I dont want to spend $100+ on a RODI unit or even a RO unit so I was wondering if I used some type of tap water filter like on of those inexpensive britta filter if that would help or not ? please help and info would be appreciated thanks :eusthink
A question reguarding a brown algae problem!
- Thread starter amf82380
- Start date
I dont know if any of the other inexpensive filters would do any good. Worth looking into though. Are you too far away from a LFS to purchase water, or does your LFS not sell water? I have a 16g and have always purchased 2 5g jugs of saltwater and a jug of R/O water ever 3 weeks or so...this has never been a problem for me mainly because I go to many LFS (about 5) at least once a week. Just a suggestion that i know youve probably heard before.
Jesse
P.S. The tap water is probably a main contributing factor with the pesky algae
Jesse
P.S. The tap water is probably a main contributing factor with the pesky algae
If you don't need alot of water this could be an option for you: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/P ... 004+113775 . It is basically a DI filter with carbon to remove chlorine. If your water is real bad you will have to replace the cartridges more often but if your water is decent this could be an alternative to a more expensive RO/DI unit.
Sugar Magnolia
New Member
Purple cap and label, bottled distilled from Walmart. 59 cents a gallon.
mikeguerrero
Active Member
I pay 7 dollars which includes tax for 10 gallons of Catalina water from my LFS. I pick up RO/DI from a penquin machine at the grocery. $.33 cents a gallon...
Mike G
Mike G
mikeguerrero
Active Member
Roonmac,
Is your water Catalina or where is the source? For us out here in California, Catalina is a natural source of sea water that we get.
I don't purchase pre-mixed salts....
Mike
p.s I imagine in Florida it has to be natural....
Is your water Catalina or where is the source? For us out here in California, Catalina is a natural source of sea water that we get.
I don't purchase pre-mixed salts....
Mike
p.s I imagine in Florida it has to be natural....
Chances are it is Nutri sea water that is sourced from flordia and out of the ocean just what part I can not remember 
This stuff cost 12 bucks for 2 gallons so for us distilled is the cheapest as well as mixing it is cheaper for us to use
http://www.naturesocean.com/nutri_sea_water.htm
http://www.naturesocean.com/nutri_sea_water2.htm
This stuff cost 12 bucks for 2 gallons so for us distilled is the cheapest as well as mixing it is cheaper for us to use
http://www.naturesocean.com/nutri_sea_water.htm
http://www.naturesocean.com/nutri_sea_water2.htm
mikeguerrero
Active Member
Sadie,
They sell that stuff at petco and other larger chains, but man it's very expensive, too expensive for larger reefs.
If I had nothing more than just a 12 gallon or smaller I would get the stuff, it looks pretty good.
But for my large tank, no way, I would be out too much cash and have to close the shop.
Mike
They sell that stuff at petco and other larger chains, but man it's very expensive, too expensive for larger reefs.
If I had nothing more than just a 12 gallon or smaller I would get the stuff, it looks pretty good.
But for my large tank, no way, I would be out too much cash and have to close the shop.
Mike
Those of you in California now know our pain, Catalina water is available at Petcos for about $10 for 5 gallons. The Nutri-Seawater is our only other choice for pre-mixed unless its bought from a LFS that mixes. My problem is that the nearest Petco to me is a 3 hour drive away.
I have some friends that live nearby that used to use one until careers got in the way of aquarium keeping. They swore by it but I have never used one myself. My first water filter was a Tapwater Purifier (TWP) made by Aqua FX which is basically the same concept only it used a regular filter canister to hold the cartridge and it worked out fine for smaller amounts of water but when I started my 75 gallon it proved to be more cost effective to buy an RO unit. If you order it I would recommend getting spare filters to optomize on shipping. Another good investment is a TDS meter because color changing resins change before they are completely exhausted and a TDS meter can help you get a few more miles out of your filters.