Need advice on RO/DI

[ditka]

ok, so here is the situation.

 

I am about to start up a 12.5g AIO tank and i am trying to determine what i should do for water. I know that the reef gods would demand 0 TDS at all times and therefore RO/DI water is your best bet. I also know that getting a RO/DI system that is worth its salt (haha.. you see what i did there?) is going to cost about $180 after shipping. It would seem a little excessive to get an RO/DI system to produce 2 gallons of water per week for water changes but here lies the dilemma. My local water supplier, Culligan, offers RO water but doesn't seem to offer RO/DI. The TDS on there RO water is always in the single digits and they say hovers around 5... that's not 0...

 

So what should i do? Do i need to splurge for the RO/DI even for my tiny tank or will RO low TDS water be acceptable?

 

thanks for your input!

[AZDesertRat]

My first question is how much is your reef worth to you?

Next is, do you know what that 5 TDS consists of?

 

You might be better off buy gallon jugs of distilled or maybe Culigan offer distilled for about the same price.

 

For me, knowing I have complete control of my water quality is more than enough to sway my decision. Yes a small system makes it harder to justify owning a RO/DI but one thing that helps is the RO makes great tasting drinking water too so you get double duty out of an RO/DI system. No more buying all those throw away plastic bottle of drinking water, fill your own and save money and landfill space.

[Mojorizn]

Yep, an RO/DI unit should be standard on the equipment list. I'v been in this hobby for years and have yet to purchase one myself. For now, I go to the Water Windmill down the street and fill up my 5 gallon jugs.

 

I gotta get one, after the holidays.

 

I vote ... get it now not later.

[naw707]

I use this:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/0PPM-Portable-100GPD-R...=item5888f8bb8f

 

I do about 5 gallons a week for the past 6 months and still getting 0 TDS.

[ditka]

ooohhhh.... That Ebay gem just might do the trick!

 

Did you pick up a tds meter in addition just to verify the quality of the water output?

[naw707]

ooohhhh.... That Ebay gem just might do the trick!

 

Did you pick up a tds meter in addition just to verify the quality of the water output?

 

Well I actually just picked one up a couple weeks ago. So I can say without doubt it does produce O TDS water. And still is producing 0 TDS water.

 

I mean i'm sure those SpectraPure systems are really nice and all. But I have a 12 gallon also and this is doing the trick.

[ditka]

well...

 

I looked at the other offerings of that ebay seller and found this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/50-G-Aquarium-Reef-RO-...#ht_10741wt_905

 

I think this may be a little better bang for the buck than the small system, or at least it will be easier to get replacement filters.

 

what do you think?

[ChrisCT]

i bought poland spring brand distilled water and it tested it with my TDS meter ... got a 14.

 

i also use that ebay model (get spectupure unit after holidays) and my first few batches tested 0, but my latest batch i got a 3.

 

i wont be using poland spring distilled for top off anymore

[Genj]

Spectrapure MaxCap RO/DI system and never look back. You'll be some damn happy that you have your own supply of excellent water you will wonder why you ever screwed around with anything else.

 

Water being only the most important part of your tank.....

[ericm1205]

i just got the BRS 75gpd unit and upgraded it to 150gpd. i love it.

 

 

i used this for a year for my 24g nano and it was awesome. all it is a resin filter and it would be great for you.

 

API resin filter

[AZDesertRat]

With RO and RO/DI you really do get what you pay for and the ebay route is not the way to go. Just for starters look at things like the little dinky very inefficient horizontal DI with a little bit of resin bobbing around in it. Or the fact they do not tell you who made the RO membrane, the most important piece of the system. Or the high micron (5 microns) prefilter and carbons good for maybe 1500 total gallons of water, thats 300 treated gallons and 1200 gallons of waste at 4:1). You get what you pay for.

 

Check out here:

http://www.spectrapure.com/email/customer-...eciation.html#1

or here:

http://www.buckeyefieldsupply.com/showprod...168&Sub=166

or here:

http://www.purelyh2o.com/index.php?option=...18&TreeId=1

or here:

http://www.melevsreef.com/rodi.html

or even here:

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/produc...ers-and-systems

 

Note all tell you who makes the membrane and make no false claims about its performance. They all use high quality filters and full size vertical refillable DI filters and most come with pressure gauges and TDS meters standard.

[bruce922]

I got the mighty mite and love it. It was a little over 100 bucks after shipping. Check it out, the site is airwaterice.

[AZDesertRat]

The problems with the small systems like the Mighty Mite are they do not come with a inline pressure gauge or TDS meter and the filters are not a standard 10" replacement size so do not come in as many desired micron ranges, are harder to find, are smaller so do not last as long and cost more to replace.

 

Any RO/DI can be portable, you can hook it to a kitche or bathroon faucet or garden hose, make a few gallons then stick it in a closet or under the sink. The small systems do not really save much room either since they use the same membrane housing and top bracket as all the others so the only advantage is a few inches shorter height.

 

In the long run they end up costing more due to the filter and DI replacements and having to but the pressure gauge and TDS meter seperate. Yes they work but they are not the bargain some may think.