Cleaning

[JollyRoger]

How do I clean this since I can't use sand sifters? Also I have used tap water since established in feb of this year and I just switched to ro is there any danger of build up of heavy metals in the gravel I know I have unmixed salt traped.

[CMD2213]

What do you mean used tap water? To ro or to ro/di
What are your pars?
how Much flow is going through your tank looks like debris sits on the bottom?

Any corals or livestock currently in it?

[Drama D]

Exactly^^^
Using just ro is no bueno, id say that would be 3rd or 4th choice on my list as far as water goes. You can slowly change the water out by doing wc with ro/di water or if this is unavailable then go with distilled water found almost any local grocery store. Or go get some jugs and visit scripts.
I would suck as much of that crap out of my tank and perform wc daily until params start improving. Bottle of prime may be your friend as well as some carbon and phos/nitrate media like purigen and phosguard.

[Drama D]

That sand bed imo is to chunky/big and is trapping alot of deterious I would remove it and replace with a smaller grain sand, not to small though

[CruiseX]

To answer your questions.....I don't think you have to worry about any build up there since there really is no way to trap anything on the bottom of you tank with that debris. Typically you can worry about having trapped gases, etc. in a deep sand bed. In any event if you are looking to clean it without taking it out you can use something like this: http://www.petco.com/product/2762/Py...t=OnSiteSearch I went with a local option in case you are dead set on getting this done and doing so ASAP. Keep in mind this will displace/remove a fair amount of water out of you tank. I have one of these and they work fine if you are interested in borrowing one.

Now, moving forward you really want to ditch the tap water. SD Country has terrible tap water and most of the water districts use chloramines. Chloramines are created by adding chlorine and ammonia to the water as the last step in the treatment process of public water. Chloramines help prevent microbial contamination from occurring in the water distribution system. So, by using tap water you are pretty much adding back the very items you are trying to continually remove from you system.

You can get RODI from AW for only $0.30/gallon. That seems expensive, but really how much water are you back filling per day? This is what you should be using in some fashion. If you don't want to buy the water then your next course of action is to get your own RO/DI unit and make it yourself. If both those are are a no go for you, then you are looking at getting into other water options which are not going to be as good. I am willing to bet you spent a grip of cash on your tank/setup/livestock/etc. A few bucks here and there for water is no big deal.

Finally, if you can I would ditch whatever it is you're are using on the bottom of your tank in favor of a sand bed. There are plenty of threads on here for adding sand to an already established tank. Again AW has great prices on live sand. If you don't want to go the live route you can always go with dry aragonite. If not you could always go with a bare bottom tank.

[OhioStreetz]

^^^^ +1 Like cruiseX said try and ditch the rocks or gravel and replace with a sand bottom if you can.

[JollyRoger]

Cool thanks I will switch the gravle out. So to confirm using just ro is bad? Why? It's got to be better then tap

[CruiseX]

Yes RO water is bad for your tank, but I guess in your situation vs. tap water it would be an improvement. In any event RODI is essentially pure water. It has all impurities removed to included any dissloved solids and trace elements. This might be an issue, but really no because you add those trace elements back to the tank with a salt mix or by using Scripps water, or whatever your salt water solution is. This is also why RODI water is bad for drinking, because all the minerals have been removed from it and it could leech minerals from your body, plus it tastes bad. In the end, just get RODI water since it is your best options. There is tons to read about on the web WRT to RO vs. RODI vs DI water.

[JollyRoger]

I have a ro system how do I add DI to it

[CruiseX]

Depends on what you have. Should be able to add a DI stage. What system do you have.

[CMD2213]

Is there anything in the tank currently or was there before?

[Sancho]

I have a ro system how do I add DI to it

Do you want to use it for both drinking and your tank or is it just for the tank? The reason I ask is you really dont want to drink RO/DI. So plumbing it is a little different. This is how I set mine up.

[Sancho]

No matter what RO system you have they all work the same. If this is a fish only RO unit just add a DI Canister to your last stage. You can pick them up at Aquatic Warehouse or online. If this is your drinking water system you will need a couple T's and a check valve to prevent DI water getting to your faucet. Also Available at AW. You will also need a shut off valve of some sort. Mine goes into a ATO reservoir with a float valve to shut it off. It looks a little confusing but I assure you very easy to do. I would also recommend getting an in line TDS meter so you know that you getting 0 TDS water.

[JollyRoger]

I have this

[Sancho]

I have this

so are you drinking water from what you have?