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Zero Water filters?


PieMan2k

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So i found this at target. Basically it claims to be a RO/DI filter for water that acts like a britta filter. I was wondering if I could use this for my tank UNTIL I get a nice RO/DI system. Anyone have any thoughts or experience with these filters?

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it comes with a TDS meter. if the water coming out of your tap has a relatively low TDS to begin with, then it will work fine. if your TDS is high, then you are going to have to change the filter quite often.

 

you can buy a good RODI filter for like $150. why wouldn't you just buy it now instead of spending $35 on an inferior filter and spending the $150 down the line anyway?

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Not Deionization, Ion exchange. I think thats probably why its cheap ;)

 

"Deionization (DI) is a water filtration process whereby total dissolved solids (TDS) are removed from water through ion exchange."

 

The zero water filters don't have reverse osmosis, the deionization process is the same, just condensed into a smaller filter.

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The capacity is very small since it does not hold much resin. DI is best when used after a RO membrane since the RO does 90-98% of the work. Don't waste your money, in the first month or two you will have much more invested in replacement cartridges than the $125 you would spend on a full size reef quality RO/DI.

Consider this, a full pound or 16oz of factory fresh properly packed DI resin will remove 3000 to 6000 total TDS best case. If your tap TDS is the national average 250 that means a pound of DI without the benefit of a RO in front of it to do 90-98% of the treatment will last you 12 to 24 gallons of treated water. The Zero doesn't hold a pound of resin and who knows how long the filter has been sitting on a shelf losing its electrical properties?

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I have used them myself for top of water. They work but they don't last long.

 

Better to save money and get a refurbished spectrapure 90GPD setup IMHO.

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If you have a fairly small tank and low TDS water, you can do just fine with that.

 

My tap is well water and I have around 147TDS. I got 46 gallons out of this filter over the past year (yes, I measure how much water I put through it) before I started registering any dissolved solids. I may have been able to run a little more, but I let the cartridge sit dry for a week (the pitcher was empty) and immediately went from zero to two. That worked out to 32¢ per gallon.

 

My tank is too small to warrant a full RO/DI system and I rent. I didn't want to go modifying my landlords' plumbing, not to mention the lack of space for a storage container.

 

I also don't have chlorine or chloramine to deal with, so that would shorten filter life as well. See if your LFS can get a TDS reading for you and pull up the water report for your town if you aren't on a well (I'll be so upset when I move if I have to start treating water again).

 

If you have low TDS and a tank that is less than 7-8 gallons, this can work out alright. Anything beiges than that would be a serious pain to deal with. You can only add about 2.5qt at a time and it can take 10-15 minutes for that to process. Keep a few jugs of filtered water on hand for emergencies and don't let the pitcher sit empty. It's less water on reserve and you end up with compaction and flow issues due to trapped air in the cartridge.

If this is a very short term stop gap, I'd just buy a TDS meter and get water from the fish store (measure before you buy). It will be cheaper. The water tastes horrible with no minerals in it, so you can't really justify the cost by saying you'll keep it for drinking water. But if you meet the requirements of a small tank, low TDS and a well, or know for a fact that only chlorine is used in your tap water (you can run an air stone in a two gallon bucket to off gas the chlorine to extend the life of the cartridge), this can work out fine.

 

Even if you only get 24 gallons per cartridge, it would still be 62¢ per gallon (not factoring in the cost of the pitcher), which is still cheaper than the grocery store and probably more reliable, depending on where you shop. Check Craigslist and freecycle for the pitcher if you want to save a few bucks. And go with the 23 cup version, it stores over a gallon which makes things easier.

 

I'd agree that if you are planning on getting an RO unit anyway and have access to decent water from a fish store or grocery store, just buy water and save up for a refurbished Spectrapure or something (although I think there is a deal for the new ones that include extra filters that is cheaper). Or pick up a used one from the for sale section here.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Agreed... if things line up Juuuust Right the zero water pitcher can be a viable water source. Here in Roswell the average TDS is only 40-55 and the filter lasts much longer than AZDesertRat's baseline. It was effective for the first couple years of my 9 gallon tank's existence. With caveats.

 

The big one being that the filters need to be replaced well before the included TDS meter reads 002. Way sooner. As the rat states the filters are not stored in such a way to prolong the resin's life. I found that I had swap them out every month and a half regardless of what the tester read or nuisance algae would start popping up.

 

But it was a great approach to minimizing the startup cost when I was new to reefing and just getting over the semi-hidden sticker shock of even a small tank. Nowadays it's used to make really clear ice for cocktails... so not wasted $ even later. ;)

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I found that I had swap them out every month and a half regardless of what the tester read or nuisance algae would start popping up.

Really? I haven't noticed this with mine, but I've also had this filter running a year and a few days. I do have to lightly scrub the rocks every other water changes as I feed my Acans, Tubestraea, and Ricordia quite heavily. I feed at least two cubes of mysis as well as some other stuff every week with a total system volume of one gallon. Nitrates and phosphates stay relatively low with two 100% water changes once or twice a week (I think the live phyto helps), but I still get a little bit of algae growth on the rocks and glass (no coralline to speak of). I need to change the filter once the replacements come in, so I'll see if there is a difference.

 

Does Roswell use chlorine or chloramine in their tap water? I'm wondering if that has an effect.

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Public Works says no(on chloramine... yes we use chlorine), but the system straddles Cobb AND Roswell and has two major treatment plants... the one that answered my call seems a little small to provide all the water for both regions.

 

It's also possible that local digging/line work introduced surges of contaminants on a semi-routine basis. There's been a lot of expansion in the areas between me and the river in the past couple years.

 

Regardless, I switched over to the DI machine at Whole Foods a year or so ago. It always tests 0 and is serviced at least every 11 days. At 38 cents a gallon it works out favorably against filter media for the abovementioned nano tank. Mind you, if I add another tank I'm probably going to switch to a RODI rig just for the convenience factor alone.

 

Edit: Beer, I just reread your post... it's also likely that the 10-20% changes I was doing allowed a slow buildup of whatever. In your case you're completely reseting the chemistry each change to just whatever gets through that batch's filtering, so probably are getting better overall results than I with the zero water.

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Yeah, possibly. With a complete reset, probably seeing better results, but would be seeing bigger swings and changes if there were inconsistencies.

 

At 38 cents a gallon, you're about where I am getting 65 gallons or so out of one filter. But two tanks, or anything over 7-10 gallons would get old. I keep three gallon vinegar jugs as backups that I rotate through as I do water changes. It takes a little while to filter a gallon and I tend to get side tracked and forget about refilling the second time (can filter about 2.5 qt at a time), so I end up having to run a couple gallons the second time around.

 

After I move in the spring and go to a larger tank, I'll probably end up going to an RODI system unless I end up somewhere temporarily where I have to limit tank size.

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I use a Zero filter for my 10G. I do 20% water changes once a week and everything is growing like mad and seemingly happy. However, I am only using it for now because I own an apartment in Vancouver and I don't have a set up to run tubes all over the place. In the next few months when I buy a new house (basically so I can upgrade to a bigger tank and have a fish room haha) I will certainly just set up a proper RO/DI station.

 

As a mini solution it has worked well for me so far.

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  • 4 years later...
Brandonlyautey@gmail.com

I have a 13.5 Evo fluval tank. I do 3 gallons of water change per week with zero water filter. Never had any issue. It works with small nano tanks.  But if you have larger  that that just buy an r o d i system. I am open to feedback. 

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  • 1 month later...

My RO/DI is mounted to a piece of plywood, that was actually used as a display board, as it has a hole cut in it for a Handle. Also the RO/DI came with Faucet Adapters, which my wife Complained about it being temporarily hooked to the Laundry sink. Also they have the two Outlet shut off valves that can be swapped out for the single outlet valve, which I have now.. I was going to make a kick stand for it, but I just hang it up.

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