Preflushing GFO - RO/DI, or is tap OK?

[JT101]

I know that all the instructions on any GFO will tell you to pre-flush it to rinse out any fines and dust, but do you have to use RO/DI for this? I think the answer is yes, because you don't want to "pre-load" the GFO with whatever PO4 might be floating around in your tap water, but I just wanted to get some opinions out here...:scratch:

Thanks
John

 

[jedimaster1138]

but do you have to use RO/DI for this? I think the answer is yes

I use RO/DI.

Pretty much the only time non-RO/DI goes near my aquarium is when I rinse my filter socks. In that case, RO/DI isn't feasible. I rinse them in my sink, under as much pressure as my faucet can generate for 15 minutes+. With RO/DI that wouldn't work out too well. I do however rinse and soak them later in RO/DI though before they are used.

Actually that's true in general...whatever I clean or rinse or soak eventually gets rinsed in RO/DI before it's used in the tank. Cleaning out my pump motors and such comes to mind. I might hose them down in the sink, but rinse and soak them in a bucket of RO/DI before they go back into the sump etc.

 

[DaddyReefer13]

i typically use the water taken from the tank when doing a water change

 

[Mike389]

theres alot of phosphate in tap water that will be absorbed by the gfo... I use ro water to pre rinse the gfo

 

[Tonyscoots84]

Use RODI and be done with it

 

[JonnyJ]

i typically use the water taken from the tank when doing a water change

+1

 

[44santababy]

i use gfo and carbon in a canister (like a ro/di) piped to my return and when i switch out the media i just remove the hose from my sump and run it into a bucket until the water clears and then i put hose back in sump. Basically using my tank water...will need to refresh what you removed water wise.

 

[JT101]

Thanks all. I'm going with RO/DI because 1) I guess tapwater preloads the GFO with Po4 and 2) I would imagine that used tank water is still going to have PO4 in it anyway.

 

[skene]

I do a WC prior to... then flush the GFO with the old tank water.

 

[CHEMCHEF]

I use Tap.