Reverse Osmosis

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For the price of one off of ebay (~ $100 or less) it would be on the very top of my list. Preventing all of the nasties that are in tap/well water from getting into the tank in the first place is a heck of alot easier then trying to get rid of them once in there. I guess it is along the lines of how important is it to you on the quality of air you breath. I can't think of any better preventitive measure against alage in a new tank than RO/DI water. In the grand scheme of things it is a really good bang for the buck. Ummm... did I convince ya yet? :D

Ken
 
(Wow a really hard sell here)

OK......I have a TDS meter and my tap water shows a low, but significant amount of solids at 68. After my RO/DI, that I did get off Ebay, and have had over 800 gallons through, it only shows a reading of 4. I think around 10 and it is time to change filters. Also if ya want to get fancy it can be hooked up directly to your sump under your tank to replenish evaporated water, which you will want to do daily, automaticly via a float valve.

(wipes forehead)

Ken
 
I would say very important, unless you have access to an excellent source of distilled water at a cheap price. Keep in mind that not all distilled water is pure. It must be tested before I feel safe using it. Tap water, either city or private well, contains a lot of minerals, particles and compounds that not only are unsuitable for reef tanks, but in many cases can be deadly. RO units remove some of these contaminates completely, and decrease the amount of others. For completely purified water you need a DI cartridge after the RO membrane. There are several models available that include both in the same package.

Here's a good article on RO/DI systems... http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/rhf/index.php

Clayton
 
Kensn said:
(Wow a really hard sell here)
Also if ya want to get fancy it can be hooked up directly to your sump under your tank to replenish evaporated water, which you will want to do daily, automaticly via a float valve.

(wipes forehead)

Ken
Click to expand...

Sweeeet - I like that idea, are there any drawbacks? :doubt:
 
Drawbacks.....ummmm......can't think of any. Cheaper in the long run over buying any other source of water, which as mentioned above may not be all that pure (alot use copper piping which can leech copper), convenance of having it on demand at the house, good for all tank inhabitants.....can't think of a one....

Ken
 
Nope, have just had a tank without one before, and can testify to the results after purchasing one. I guess you are not used to the happy, friendly and informative responses here at Reef Frontiers. I took me a while to get used to it too. :D
 
Kidding!!! I am thrilled with your information!!! Thanks a bunch, find my other questions and help me out there too!!! :) I am so new to this that any and all advice is welcome!
 
If you're going to get one on eBay, try the seller AquaSafeCanada or AirWaterIce. They have great units. I bought from Aquasafe and had it here in two days since they are located just over the border from Bellingham. Here in Bellevue my water shows a TDS of 20 and after more than 18 months of water changes and top-off's I still get 0 TDS coming out of the RO/DI unit.
 
Ken you brought something up that I was wondering about. You said your tap TDS level is 68, yet your output TDS is 4. That's seems rather high even for RO alone; and it seems extremely high for RO/DI. Do you happen to have a 100 gpd unit? If so that explains it. Most of the 100 gpd membranes on the market are the 1812 series by Dow. These reject 90% of TDS compared to 98% for the 50 and 75 gpd membranes. If you want lower TDS levels you can simply replace your membrane with the 1812-75 model.

Clayton
 
Thanks, It just start to show any at all. But I was just considering buying a new unit instead of replacing all the filters. I will definitly keep this in mind when I purchase. Excellent info!!!

Ken
 
Check out http://www.airwaterice.com/ and take a look at their stuff. If your unit has the standard 10" filter housings for the sediment, carbon block and DI you'd be better off just replacing the filters. Some of the units on ebay are cheaper though and use the throw-away kind.

Clayton
 
Let us know what you think! In my part of the country, you really need an RO/DI unit. I even added an extra stage on mine, because the TDS is so terrible. We reach almost 500 after our water softener, and my RO/DI unit brings the water to 0. I can only imagine what the tank would look like with that nasty water.....and we are really high in chloramines. You can also check your local water report to see what your phosphates, nitrates, etc. are.
 
Well I can only think of one somewhat negative thing about RODI units and that is that they produce quite a bit of "waste" water that contains all the "stuff" that you filter out. That is what has kept me buying my water from a local water store. My problem with the waste water is that I cannot simply flush it as I live in a rural area with a lagoon septic system that will not handle the extra volume. I am limited in running the water onto the ground given that I live in northern British Columbia and the water would freeze in the winter. I have been talking to my local water store and they think they can get me a unit that does not produce quite as much waste water. It is more expensive but I am going to invest in one as water is running me close to $100/month.
 
I would not own a tank without one! I use the waste water to water the garden/flowers/etc. Ok Maybe I don't use it for that, but the wife-e does :D. Where I live the water is the worst in the start, we are around 690-890 on the TDS meter. Not the best for corals lol.

I use to buy it, but when I evaporate 10-15 gallons a day, and change 50-100 gallons per month, plus adding water when I ship corals, I go through a TON of water, so for me its a must!

I would say if you have to use more then 15-20 gallons a month, then its worth it to get one, if not, go to your LFS and get ro/di from them. The ones at wal-mart, grocery stores you can trust, they can go FOREVER in-between chaning out the filters.

Again I would not have a fish tank without one.

I hope that helps.

Scott
 
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