liveclown Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 How much does a good quality, for home use, R/o unit cost?? Which brand or actual product would you recommend?? How much does it cost to maintain?? Replacement filter media and such?? Would it be cheaper to just keep on toting and buying from the local fish stores?? Im sure many of us would like this question answered,lol. Link to comment
xenon Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 How much does it cost you per year to buy RO/DI water from your LFS? Link to comment
liveclown Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 WOW...im not really sure. Its almost a $1 per gallon for R/0 but the water is not just for toppoffs, which for me is not significant. It is the water changes. My 25 would be like...2 gallons every 1-2 weeks. I would say maybe 3 dollars a week and 12 a month x that by a year. $144 Does this look like it would clean enogh crape to benefit?? http://store.seacorals.net/kemababoreos.html Link to comment
bonsaidarrell Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 How much does it cost you per year to buy RO/DI water from your LFS? Also, is your LFS some place you go to/go by frequently enough anyway, or would it be special trips? Think both about the gas and other auto expense, as well as your time. Link to comment
liveclown Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 I dont mix my saltwater and for that distance, yes, but for r/o I get it from a petstore that usually only sells its R/O. It is only like 10 minutes away. The others.. 20-30 up and another 20-30 down. Those are for salt. I gues I could start to mix. I dont like the frequent trips. What do most people use to carry home and store their lfs r/o water Link to comment
Phixion Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 $144 is a bit. You can get a handful of decent to good units for around $130 plus shipping. I'd say it would basically pay for itself in a year factoring the water cost alone, but more like a half year once you factor in the current price of gas just to get to the LFS... Is it worth it? Without a doubt, you better believe it! Not to mention most LFSs that some of us have tested at least here in So. Cali, neglect their filters and maintenance and it's quite rare to find LFS RO/DI that's under 60-100 TDS... Just some food for thought there. That itself can save you in un-needed algae treatments, test kits and filter media that you might not otherwise need. So the cost factor goes well beyond just the actual water cost itself. I forgot to add in that with your own system, you can have fresh RO/DI basically ANY time you want, including those times in a pinch when a 20 minute round trip drive won't cut it, or inclamate weather... Link to comment
xenon Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 You can get a cheap RO/DI system but it's not worth it. Been there done that. If you stick with the name brands (spectrapure, purelyh2o, thefilterguys) it will last you for years! Keep in mind that you will need to replace the filters at least once a year and the membrane every 2-3years. Link to comment
Diatome Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 My LFS is selling RO for 30 cents. I have used it for a long time but I still made the leap and definitely am glad I did. It's here when I need it and I can control what is coming out of it. When the filters are in need of changing at the LFS or anywhere, I don't want to wait. Link to comment
liveclown Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 I would still need to by my dry salt mix though,..... How much and how often do the filters need to be replaced?? What products would you recommend for home use.?? Links to them would be great. What do you all think of this one?? Any good?? http://store.seacorals.net/kemababoreos.html I think this to me at least, is more of a convenience thing. I would like to always be able to have all the things I need. Salt mix, clean fresh water, a saltwater mixing tank,. I want success with frowth of my water though and my question is... would my water I make and upkeep be sufficient enough Link to comment
jewbilee Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 wow.. $1/gallon!? My LFS is 25c a gallon for the water... and then I buy a $20 bucket of salt. I did the calculation it cost me like.. $20 a year including salt since the salt should last me for like.. 2 years Link to comment
masterbuilder Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 When I ran the numbers for my use, it turned out that the breakeven was 3 gallons per week. For my numbers I compared buying distilled water at $.85 per gallon vs. buying a midrange R/O unit for approx $190 I also included replacing the filters every 18 months (something everyone forgets to mention). Mark p.s. The $190 R/O unit will more than likely run closer to $250 when you count every "nut and bolt" you purchase to get up and running. Link to comment
thebrainbot Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 I don't think its worth it for a nano depending on the costs. My LFS sells RO/DI water for $.50/ga and premixed salt at $1/ga. Their mixed salt is crappy, but then again, the only time I had someone do that was for my first fill and it didn't matter that the params were way off. If I was doing anything larger than a 24g I would probably invest in one. You also need to consider if the costs of using that much water in your houses is worth it. I'm not sure how much water the higher end systems waste, but I still hear you waste 2-3 gallons per 1 gallon of clean water. Some people collect that to use in their washers or gardens... but its also a hassle. Link to comment
xenon Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 That is a really crappy RO unit. You should buy an RO/DI system. The DI is very important IMO. This is what you should be looking at. http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~act...es~vendor~.html Link to comment
Diatome Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Definitely go with RO/DI. I shouldn't still have the habit of the RO only when typing. I have a Frankenstein system and it still does better than my local and their water beats anything I can buy anywhere else. Spectrapure is what I will be purchasing but I just got some stuff from Bulk Reef Supply and you might check them out or check out teh Mighty Might several people on here have. Link to comment
DrCooper Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 I have Mighty Mite and couldnt be happier Link to comment
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