Iron & Tannin

[Treeman]

Hi Anthony,

I have a situation with my source water. My 2 options are a well and city water. I have ruled out city because of the cost and treating it. The well is a problem due to iron(rust) and tannin in the water. I have talked to numerous well drillers here and the all tell me the same thing. If you go deep you may get clean water but no volume. And no gaurantees as to the longevity or qaulity of the water. How do I remove iron and tannin? Use Chlorine? Settling?

I will also ask Harbor branch as I was there a couple of weeks ago for their aquaculture school and maybe they can help.

Thank you for your time and it will be a pleasure to see you again in Chicago.

[Anthony Calfo]

Cheers, Matt

Believe it or not... you are likely much safer to use (treated or not) the city water. It will be far more consistent throughout the year due to regulations for potable water. That still does not mean it will not have phosphates or other undesirables in it, but then again... phosphates carried in with tap water are miniscule compared to what is brought in with (proper) feeding of fishes and corals of prepared foods. Point being, the influx of such undesirables is inevitable from a number of angles, and post-treatment of water (skimming, polyp filters, carbon, water changes/dilution) is a must regardless of what source water you use.

Wellwater can be better at times, but even in such (rare) cases, it is at the mercy of sometimes significant seasonal changes, not to mention unregulated and unmonitored sources of contamination. Quite risky IMO.

Treating either is remarkably cheap in the long run (not sure how/why you thought it would be expensive). A two column rechargeable deionizer can be had for under $200 and will provide very, very pure water for mere pennies per recharge. Staggeringly cheap! (Versus RO water which wastes embarrasing amounts of water and is far more expensive with membrane replacements, etc) over time.

While the cost of a deionizer may seem dear initially, it is pale compared to the investment you have or will have in your tank (many thousands of dollars for medium/lerge aquaria).
If your tank is not large enough to warrant this investment, then it is small enough to easily be kept on tap water with use of simple filtrants like Polyfilters and quality activated carbon (plus water changes and skimming of course).

No worries :)

Anthony

[Treeman]

Thanks for the reply Anthony,

The systems will be pretty large. 4 - 2300 gal soft coral/ rbta systems and 4 - 400 gal QT systems. Inside a 30' x 72' greenhouse.

I absolutely will not use a RO system if only because of the waste. On the systems I have now I use the Poly-Bio marine filters but they seem to not filter out as much as I would like.

[Anthony Calfo]

Ahhh, yes. Understood. And as much as I love Polyfilters... they are way to expensive for an operation of this size.

You really are a candidate for a DI unit. In my greenhouse, I went through 3 in 10 years (upgrades, not failure of DIs).

Many good years of service from a Kati Ani model 5 size. Not a drop of waste water, thousands of gallons per charge, and recharges cost less than a cup of coffee. Well... OK... a Starbucks coffee :D Yummy... did someone say Sulawesi beans?

Anthony

[TippyToeX]

Matt- When I make it to FL, you are going to let me go swiming in the softie system right? :D

Didn't know that DI untis produce no waste water. Learn something new everyday.

[Treeman]

Amy, You sure can swim in the tanks but I think it would be more like laying :D as the tanks are 4' x 8' x 12-16" deep. But...hey to each their own :)

And yes DI have no waste water that is why I swore from day one in this hobby(?) I would never use RO. I started using poly bio marine filters (kold-steril) and they are great for smaller systems. TDS is still high but pretty much all good stuff.