Clueless about R/O Systems

[beball504]

Okay...I've never heard of R/O until I read the forums in this site. I'm just starting to learn about R/O... so will anyone be kind enough to give me some hints or recommendations on some good R/O systems that won't hurt my pocket? Is it really necessary or will I be able to raise my fish off just tap water? Any suggestions and/or comments are greatly appreciated.

[Billdemart]

Hey there beball,

 

I am a newb to this forum, and a newb to Nano-reefing but I have had several saltwater aquariums and I would say tap water is a BIG no-no. Especially with the sensitivity of some corals/reefs.

 

Algae of all sorts of beautiful (sarcasm) colors will become a huge problem eventually if you use tap water. I would advise against it highly.

 

You can get an RO/DI unit at any LFS or probably cheaper online and I will do some research about which one you want if you would like. It's going to be based on your budget. They can get pretty pricey but like I said they are pretty important.

 

I started my first saltwater tank with tapwater because I was a noob and didn't do any research

 

I ended up with some hellacious algae problems, but I had some hardy damsels so they survived just fine.

 

Before I got an RO/DI unit I bought RO water from the grocery store. This got to be a pain in the neck although for a Nano reef it might be easier. I had a 55 gallon tank that evaporated like mad.

 

It's all up to you though. My opinion is DON'T use tap water.

 

Good luck!

 

Bill

[chvynva916]

I just bought a 4-stage RO/DI unit from www.aquaticreefsystems.com for $140. That is dirt cheap. I bought a TDS meter (measuring the crap in a water). The water from the unit is roughly 50x "cleaner" than the RO stuff I was buying from the store and roughly 200x cleaner than my tap water. If this is a hobby you plan on continuing in the long run, you'll eventually want one.

[Billdemart]

beball you may also want to check out the "Beginners Articles" on this very website. I am reading them now and they are extremely informative.

 

Check this one first...

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/articles/waterchanges.php

[Billdemart]

Hey chvy I see one for 160 plus s/h. Which one did you get for 140?

[skeletor]

spend the time to really find out about how to tune it also.... you may want to check the water pressure at your place because you'll need at least 70psi to the RO or it don't work right. so, if ya got less you are also up for a booster pump and that will be as much as a 5 stage RO/DI unit. I have an ebay style $149 unit, 1st stage is a 1 micron.

 

Also, feed water really needs to be at 77F for it all to work right, so if your water is colder it doesn't work as efficently as possible and you make more waste water, plus good water production slows to a dribble and it's already slow enough..

 

These things do not work fast, and it is not good to run them in short bursts to make a gallon here or there. I evap about 1/4 to 1/3 gal per night and I run my RO/DI and make at least 10 gals of water which i store and use when required.

 

this is just how they work so you should follow the directions or you'll find youself making lots of waste water, not much good water and replacing cartridges..

 

so, lots of things to know about RO/DI..

 

My local super market water is crap and no place around here has DI water. You might find it's way easier and cheaper to get a couple of 5gal jugs and head off the the LFS every couple of weeks until you can decide if you want to spend anywhere from 100-300 $ on something you syphon out of the tank and pour down the toilet anyway.. or, try to find another reefer close to you who has one ;-)

 

-skeletor-

[WorldNation]

if u want, you can get RO water for FREE at PETCO. our store has a ro water line so i steal water from there every time i work

[beball504]

Hey thanks alot for the quick reply guys. Well, first of all concerning the issue of the psi of my water...how in the world do you check that? And second, I live in New Orleans, which stays pretty warm around the year except winter time. So I don't have to worry about the water getting cold (I think). And I did a little searching and found a 5 stage RO system on ebay that's really cheap by AquaSafe. Here's the site:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=20758

 

Tell me what you guys think of this product. I also looked at some products at MarineDepot.com:

 

http://www.marinedepot.com/a_ro__index.asp?CartId=

 

I'm looking to spend about $150 max. What do you guys think about the 3 stage Captive Purity and Kent? Oh, and another thing. Does it necessarily have to be RO/DI? How important is the DI because I'm finding that it's much more expensive to get a RO with DI system. Thanks for all your help guys.

[nut.meg]

Yeah - we sell RO water for $1 (75 cents US) a gallon. Considering I only change a gallon a week, that's a mere $52 canadian a year. Mind you, I gotta lug the stuff home, but I don't have to worry about replacing membranes. Plus, my water pressure sucks since I live in an old house.

 

I started my tank with tap water, but water changes are done with RO water.

 

Meg

[Vincerama]

Don't forget....

 

You can DRINK the RO water!!

 

So if you get an RO system with a faucet and if you don't change that much water out, you can still drink and cook with the very clean water!

 

As a matter of fact most RO units are probably sold for making drinking water!

 

I live in a hundred year old apartment in San Francisco (built in 1890, burned down in 1906 earthquake and rebuilt 10 years after that) so I'm thinking that my pipes are probably pretty crappy, so even if the municipal water system is really good (it is) the old pipes probably make it full of impurities.

 

So consider that you are getting the RO or RO/DI unit for ALL the living things in your house! That might make the price less painful.

 

I also wonder about the DI part. I just bought an RO from an eBay store and they had DI units as well, but I was too cheap to want to buy DI "filter replacements" as well. Does the DI make that much difference? I know I can retrofit in a DI unit (for like 40 bucks) but would the reef life notice?

 

V

[chvynva916]

Billdemart,

 

The one you saw was the one I got I think (the value line). They have great customer service and when I called they had some kind of special. I also got a TDS meter for half off. As for the water temperature, as long as I run my unit with water warmer than 70 F I get decent flow and between 0-1 ppm TDS (pretty damn pure). As far as water pressure, as long as you have decent water pressure in your house you are probably fine. In PA we have fairly strong pressure (and REALLY hard water) but maybe its different in LA. As for drinking RO/DI water, I'm not sure thats a good idea. It smells and tastes really weird (almost like good vodka) and ESPI claims it gives you the ######s

 

In conclusion, buying the aquaticreefs unit with a TDS meter was one of the best decisions I feel I have made for my tank. Its nice to know I have super-pure water that I can test whenever I want. This way if I have tank problems, I can pretty much right away eliminate my water source as a cause.

[Vincerama]

RO/DI water smells and tastes weird? Hmmm...maybe it's the DI?

 

It should taste almost like distilled water, shouldn't it? And these RO things are sold specifically for drinking! I have some non-hobbyist friends who have RO units for drinking water.

 

Of course, since municipalities generally add stuff like flourine/ide (?) in the water for your kids teeth, you might want them drinking from the tap. And you shouldn't use RO for freshwater tanks because you are not adding supplement (ie; instant ocean) to that water so the fish lack required trace minerals.

 

Could the lack of trace minerals be why the water tastes unusual (we are used to tasting all that stuff in tap water!)?

 

Incidentally, here is a good article on Reverse Osmosis for anyone wondering what the heck is going on...

 

http://science.howstuffworks.com/question29.htm

 

V

[chvynva916]

I'm pretty sure its the DI part. If you look at many spring waters or drinking waters, they add elements to make the water taste "fresh". Even store bought distilled water may have stuff in it from the pipes it is run through. RO/DI you make at home (sub 1 TDS levels) IMO smells a little like vodka. You can drink RO water, but I don't think RO/DI kits are for drinking.

[liquidfunk]

I recently did buy an RO/DI unit from Aquasafe on ebay.com, I just recieved it yesterday, so I dont have it setup yet, but i will let you know once I get it all worked out. Thus far Ed has been really fair and honest in dealing with me ( i kinda screwed up while ordering) so I think its a good outfit. as far as the unit goes, it looks real quality. Its heavy duty, and I feel it should work excellent... I bought the 6 stage 75 gal RO/DI unit with the tank, faucet, 21 extra filters, TDS meter, and shipping for less than $250. VERY good value compared to anything else Ive seen.... good luck!

[Billdemart]

I bought 15 gallons of RO/DI water from Publix today for 10 bucks. 69 cents a gallon before tax. I haven't had a tank in a long time but Im sure they didn't have DI water when I had my last salt tank.

[beball504]

Hey keep me updated with the Aquasafe unit k liquid...thx. Oh and is that a package that you bought from Aquasafe? Because I went on ebay and it didn't say anything about a package with the extra filters and tds meter. So did you auction it from ebay or did you order it straight from Aquasafe? Which method do you think is better/safer? Thanks for the replies guys.