I just wanted to say what an excellent job you have done with the Podcast and the Website Rob. I have just started subcribing to your Podcast since I purchased my Ipod and I'm only up to episode 20 and I can't begin to thank you for providing such a bastion of knowledge to a beginer such as myself. You stated that you aimed knowledge without the punishment of ridicul by seasoned Aquarist and let me be one to thank you on accomplishing that goal. I am fairly new to the world of Marine Aquariums and have become addicted. I'm 24 years old and live in Bronx, New York where I house my 180 gallon all-glass aquarium. Since listening to your Podcast I have started to see the errors in my quick judgements on filtration, lighting and other aspects of my tank. I am also a victem of impulse buying and not completing all of the homework that I should have down before a purchase. However, from listening to your show I now see the error in my judgments and decided to take the necessary steps to provide my aquatic buddies the best possible environment. From the advice on your Podcast I have decided to plan my redesign of my tanks filtration, lighting, etc. based on an order of priority. As you stated within your Podcast no matter what city your in RO/DI water is preferred. I shelled out the cash and purchased a 4-stage 75gpd RO/DI water purifier and I'm curious to know how much water (in gallons) should I change (the original water within the tank is distilled tap water) and at what frquency I should change it in order to replace the tap water currently in the tank with RO/DI water without sacrificing large amounts of beneficial bacteria and restarting my tanks cycling process. Your advice is greatly appreciated. Keep up the great work.
ZeroCool,
thanks for all the kind words.. it great seeing stories like that..
regarding your water change.
not sure what you mean by distilled tap water.. that's like saying clean tap water...lol
they two dont go together...
any ways, if it IS distilled water thats fine. you can use distilled water without issues, but, its awesome that you have your own RO/DI using, as the long term cost of water will be much less now. so regarding changing the water out, if you are using distilled, just do normal water changes with the RO water.. nothing special to do.
and last but not least,
Welcome to Talkingreef...
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Rob, its great to hear from you. I will continue with the normal water changes as you instructed. However, I'm having a few issues with setting up the 4-stage RO/DI Purifier. It seems that I may not have enough water pressure coming from the kitchen sink where it is installed resulting in plenty of waste water but a slight trickle of Purified Water. Are their any solutions that you can provide me with. It would be greatly appreciated. Also a side note will you be focusing any of your podcast on aggressive fish only with live rock aquariums? Thank you for all the help. Keep up the great work. Maybe I will make it on the Podcast interview one day. :-)
Rob, thank you for the advice. I currently have an Aggressive Fish Only with Live Rock and I'm thinking of eventually transforming it to include polyps. But this transformation is somewhere down the road. I will keep you posted about the pressure issues. Maybe a Podcast on RO/DI units installation/troubleshooting should be considered for newcomers to the hobby such as myself if one has not been made. (I have yet to catch up with all the Podcast). Thank you.
that's a great idea..
i actually have a little video i will be doing on RO membranes..
will be a short fun one.. and should be soon.. (well soon for me, is not the same as soon for everyone else...lol)
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Great video idea Rob- I *need* that one, maybe you got the idea from me? I was on the phone last night with one of my reef buddies and he was trying to explain the different chambers and stuff and what they do. I just hook it up and make water and haven't tried to understand it! Also I need an idea of which ones to change and when- and I know it depends on how much ya make, but a general guideline to follow would be wonderful!!
Thanks Rob!
p.s. I haven't changed any filters in my RODI since I bought the unit about a year and a half ago, but I will be changing all of them soon AND buying a TDS meter My poor skimmer is working overtime trying to keep up with that yucky water!
Welcome aboard TR ... looking forward to your inputs etc. We are a happy bunch and glad to have you aboard ... even if there is a 50/50 chance that your a Yankee's fan
"Just a Whole Bowl Of Wrong" 
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My poor 
