RO vending machines

[saltguy21]

Recently I have noticed an abundance of RO water vending machines in the area. I have heard they are inspected quite frequently by the state of Ohio and must maintain high quality standards. The cost for a gallon of RO water is $.25 which seems a viable optin compared to purchasing an RO unit. Any one have any thoughts?

 

[kelly]

WELL WITH 3 GALS OFTOP OFF WATER A DAY AND 30 GAL water change every two weeks inabout 2 mos time i would have paid for a ro unit. for me it wouldnt make any sense. by the way what part of ohio you in cause ive never seen a ro vending machine here in the cleveland area

 

[Scooterman]

.25 cents a gallon is cheap, when you start making several lager wc's plus 10 or more gallons of top off, the filter replacements do add up. So price a new unit plus figure your amount of ro water needed, then figure in replacement filters plus shipping each time, then decide which is more practical.

 

[bc_slc]

I used them prior to puchasing my RO filter. They were fine to use and well priced. Their biggest drawback is having to haul the water back and forth from the store to home. The ability to make my own water and avoid that became priceless.

 

[sryder]

ive never used machine water but i have heard that some of them use copper tubing for plumbing. this could be a problem if true. steve

 

[plack]

I know someone who measured it with a tds mter it was also recently aftr it was "serviced" and it read 70 ppm pretty bad !

 

[Llarian]

70? Damn, I get better quality out of my tap.

-Dylan

 

[Blazer88]

I've always used my local Safeway's for my RO water. I have about 15 gallons of it left and a TDS meter on order to see what it reads. I just got a RO/DI unit and look forward to NOT having to haul water back and forth, plus knowing exactly what I am putting into my tank is important. Unless you know what you are putting into your tank, I would avoid if possible.

 

[Woodstock]

ALWAYS take your TDS meter whenever you go out to purchase water... I once had a bad algae outbreak when i was buying ro/di water from a LFS I didn't even dream to test their water... I now know better! Thank goodness I now have my own ro/di unit

 

[My2heartboys]

ALWAYS take your TDS meter whenever you go out to purchase water... I once had a bad algae outbreak when i was buying ro/di water from a LFS I didn't even dream to test their water... I now know better! Thank goodness I now have my own ro/di unit

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OK, please pardon my ignorance (which I am rapidly trying to correct and it is making me wish I had paid more attention in my high school chem. class). :exclaim:

I know that TDS means total dissolved solids--what does this have to do with algae?

I am currently trying to read my way through a water chemistry chapter in the book Natural Reef Aquariums.

Anne

 

[My2heartboys]

Recently I have noticed an abundance of RO water vending machines in the area. I have heard they are inspected quite frequently by the state of Ohio and must maintain high quality standards. The cost for a gallon of RO water is $.25 which seems a viable optin compared to purchasing an RO unit. Any one have any thoughts?

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I have also noticed them cropping up everywhere. I purchase my water from the closest Food 4 Less machine. Of course I have just started my aquarium so haven't had a chance to have problems yet.

I will admit that when you are managing a smaller tank--50 gallons and below-it does seem to be a viable option. Granted for the intial fill-up we got some water from one of the club members--unfortunately did not get quite enough. I am sure the clerks that night thought I was totally nuts. It took 3-4 additional trips. :shock:

Anne

 

[NaH2O]

I know that TDS means total dissolved solids--what does this have to do with algae?
Anne

Anne - Welcome to Reef Frontiers!

If you are seeing a TDS reading, then chances are there is P and N in the water, which is wonderful food for algae growth. Algae needs only a few things to live....P, N, and light. Hope this clears it up a bit.

 

[My2heartboys]

Anne - Welcome to Reef Frontiers!

If you are seeing a TDS reading, then chances are there is P and N in the water, which is wonderful food for algae growth. Algae needs only a few things to live....P, N, and light. Hope this clears it up a bit.

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I assume P is phosphate and N is nitrate. I did not realize that TDS needed to be checked on RO water. Another test kit to buy!!!!

Anne

 

[Kensn]

Anne, you can get a TDS meter rather cheap, under $30 if ya look around online. They are a "pen" type meter. Very easy to use. Here is a pic of the one I use I found on the net.

 

[NaH2O]

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I assume P is phosphate and N is nitrate. I did not realize that TDS needed to be checked on RO water. Another test kit to buy!!!!

Anne

P is Phosphorus and N is Nitrogen....so it is really forms of P and N. N can be from Ammonia, Nitrite, and/or Nitrate.....Phosphates are PO4, as examples.

TDS meters are good to have, IMO. The one I have for my RO/DI unit is an inline model, so I can check water leaving the RO membrane, and the final output after the DI. Here's a link to mine: AquaFX Inline TDS Monitor

 

[Blazer88]

I have the same pen-type TDS meter shown above, I think it was about $20 shipped from ebay. Any ways, I checked the batch of water that I got last week from Safeway and it only read 2, not bad. And my tap water was only like 35, which I think is also pretty low for tap. Now that I have my RO/DI unit, it gives up a big goose egg on the TDS. So now if I have any more algae problems I know it isn't coming from my water It seems the water from Safeway is pretty good, but who knows how consistant they are with maintence on them and I may have gotten lucky that time. But an RO/DI (and TdS meter) is well worth the money.

 

[My2heartboys]

OK, after hauling at least 4 gallons of water home twice this week, I will admit it would be nice to have an RO machine at home. Maybe someday.

Anne

 

[plack]

checkout e-bay !

 

[My2heartboys]

checkout e-bay !

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Yeah, unfortunately, we're not quite ready for it yet. On the upside---at least I don't have to worry about going to the gym and lifting weights. :lol:

Anne

 

[Jiddy]

Anne, you can get a TDS meter rather cheap, under $30 if ya look around online. They are a "pen" type meter. Very easy to use. Here is a pic of the one I use I found on the net.

I bought this unit from ebay from a silverfox, the unit was good but the seller was *word*. And i only paid $10 for it on ebay