Transition tank from Tap to RO/DI water help

[ahill3780]

Hey everyone. I have just received and installed my Kent Marine Deluxe Maxxima Hi-S 35GPD RO/DI unit w/Dual TDS Meter and it has been running for about 20-30 minutes now. This is my first RO/DI setup and usage. I have it installed properly and there are no leaks or drips anywhere.

Input from hose: about 63 PSI
TDS: In= 35ppm Out= 0ppm

My first question is: The instructions say to discard the water from the first 2 hours the unit has been running. Is this critical or just a precaution?

My 55 gallon tank has been running aged Tap water since I set it up originally and I, of course, want to replace the total volume with RO/DI filtered water.

My second question is: What percentage of WC's should I implement 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25% at a time, and how quickly should I proceed?

I am of course aware that I need to mix the salt in with the RO/DI filtered water and bring it up to the tank's temperature before using it for WC's.

Thanks for the tips everyone!

 

[JENnKerry]

My first question is: The instructions say to discard the water from the first 2 hours the unit has been running. Is this critical or just a precaution?

It would be like taking brand new carbon and not rinsing it out first before putting it in your sump or filter.

My second question is: What percentage of WC's should I implement 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25% at a time, and how quickly should I proceed?

Most people seem to do 5-10% weekly water changes, but it all really depends on the person, and the bio load of your tank. We do about a 15% once a month on our tanks.

 

[poppin_fresh]

No need to make any drastic changes to your WC routine. Keep doing them as you usually do.

 

[ahill3780]

Thank you for the clarification on the first question - makes a lot of sense when you put that way.

OK, so I want to do about a 5 gallon WC per week. Would it be best to do this all at once, or to stagger it at 1 gallon per day of the week? Or does it simply not matter?

 

[poppin_fresh]

Do 5 at once and be done with it. Your tank wont go into withdrawls or anything because you are now using RO.

 

[ahill3780]

Great, thanks for the help guys (and Jen)!

 

[JENnKerry]

Actually it's Kerry