HELP! RO/DI Storage and Ammonia

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cltenthusiast

Member
I am having to completely reboot my tank and this issue that I have had was a large concern. I ran a brute container full of RO/DI from my system and it quickly turned into an ammonia farm. Has anyone else had this issue and if so what can I do about it? As far as water quality playing into this problem my city water report says they use chlorine and not chloramine in the water so that doesn't seem to be the issue. I bought the container from Lowes and did clean it out but it was not specifically for food storage so I wonder if that was the problem. Any and all advice is appreciated.
 
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DaveK

Well-Known Member
Many people use Brute trash cans with out a problem.

I'm not quite following your post. Did you fill the container with water from your aquarium system, or from your RO/DI unit? Gid the water in your aquarium or the Brute trashcan become the "ammonia farm".

Here are a few things to check -

You should discard the first 50 gal or so from a new RO/DI unit. This often has a lot of garbage in it.

A new Brute trashcan or any other container to be used for SW mixing, should first be seasoned to make sure it's not going to leach anything. To do this fill it with tap water, and add about 1 lb of rock salt (yes, use the non-aquarium the cheep stuff) per 3 gal of water, and let it stand for a day. Then drain that water and scrub the container again.

If this was your first batch of water,I would discard it, do as above and try again.
 
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cltenthusiast

Member
DaveK said:
Many people use Brute trash cans with out a problem.

I'm not quite following your post. Did you fill the container with water from your aquarium system, or from your RO/DI unit? Gid the water in your aquarium or the Brute trashcan become the "ammonia farm".

Here are a few things to check -

You should discard the first 50 gal or so from a new RO/DI unit. This often has a lot of garbage in it.

A new Brute trashcan or any other container to be used for SW mixing, should first be seasoned to make sure it's not going to leach anything. To do this fill it with tap water, and add about 1 lb of rock salt (yes, use the non-aquarium the cheep stuff) per 3 gal of water, and let it stand for a day. Then drain that water and scrub the container again.

If this was your first batch of water,I would discard it, do as above and try again.
Click to expand...

I filled the container with water from the RO/DI system and that was after at least 100 gallons had gone through it. I was primarily going to store the water fresh and mix salt as needed for changes and the rest would go to topping off the tank. I was researching this heavily tonight and found that someone suggested constant agitation otherwise the water started to smell like cat pee after a day or so and this is what I experienced. It seems that I need to go with a new container and season it like you suggested and from there plan to have a power head running in there constantly.
 
Mayja

Mayja

Social Media Moderator
RS STAFF
cltenthusiast said:
I am having to completely reboot my tank and this issue that I have had was a large concern. I ran a brute container full of RO/DI from my system and it quickly turned into an ammonia farm. Has anyone else had this issue and if so what can I do about it? As far as water quality playing into this problem my city water report says they use chlorine and not chloramine in the water so that doesn't seem to be the issue. I bought the container from Lowes and did clean it out but it was not specifically for food storage so I wonder if that was the problem. Any and all advice is appreciated.
Click to expand...

I had this happen to my RO/DI Brute container as well. Mine is the food safe variety (grey 32 gallon). I realized that something contaminated the container and the batch needed to be tossed out. I took the bin outside, washed it with bleach and hot water, blasted it with the hose numerous times, and let it dry in the sun. I haven't had an issue since. I also make sure to keep a tight lid on the container at all times. We added a spigot to the bin so I don't have to open it unless I'm servicing the heater or the float valve.
 
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DaddyTLi

Active Member
I was just thinking about my brute 32 gal salt water I made last week but did not have a chance to change the water yet. I was going to check the Nitrate and Ammonia. I have my pump cycling the water after 3 days of idle.
 
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Mandy11

Active Member
I store 80lts of RODI that is never agitated. Never had a problem.
The first thing I would be doing is running a TDS meter on you RODI system and making sure it is at 0.00.
The only thing I can think is that the water was not filtered properly in the first place ?
Or the container is not food grade.
RODI and pre-mixed salt water should be able to be stored without any problem for a long time if needed.
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
If it helps... before I bought an ro/di unit, I would get sw & ro/di from lfs and store it for two months at a time, no problems... :nessie:
 
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