Is a ro/di system worth it?

[Calireefer92]

Hey reefer looking at getting a ro/di system. I have a 112 gallon tank and my brother has like a 80 gallon and as of right now we are going to the aquarium store every week to buy 50 gallons. So my question is a system worth the money and what kind should I get and how would I set it up.

 

[JoshH]

Hands down worth every penny, first you should really look into getting a water report from your area so you know what is in your water before shopping for a particular system. Once you know what's in your water you can pick a system that will work the best for your situation.

 

[Nick30G]

Yes absolutely. It is a huge staple of reefing. If you buy a RODI unit you are laying your foundations for a successful long term reef tank. If you are you tap water you are really setting yourself up for failure. With all the water you buy from the LFS, you could easily buy a RODI unit for and have it on demand immediately.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Absolutely 1000% rodi units are worth it. If you factor in the time and money you spend on not only the water, but gas to get it, and your time to go get it, an rodi unit pays for itself relatively quickly. The best part about making your own water is you know exactly what you're getting. Water from your local fish store may not be as pure as you want as they can forget to change filters. So to answer your question, yes. An RO DI unit, in my opinion, is the one piece of equipment I believe every reefer should own. As far as what kind, that's going to depend on your city's source water, and how much water you're going to be making. A 75 gallon per day 5 stage is the most common

 

[408Dartfish]

Anything over a nano cube to me is worth getting a RODI. Dustin

 

[KrisReef]

I put one in the house for our drinking water and one in the garage for the tank. Hauling bottled water around is time consuming, expensive, and not necessary if you can set up an ro-di where you are at.

I do haul seawater from a hose at the local aquarium, but that is the only water I find worth hauling.

 

[Calireefer92]

I put one in the house for our drinking water and one in the garage for the tank. Hauling bottled water around is time consuming, expensive, and not necessary if you can set up an ro-di where you are at.

I do haul seawater from a hose at the local aquarium, but that is the only water I find worth hauling.

What kind of water storage do you use?

 

[dragon99]

Great investment and will save you tons of money because you won't be in the LFS buying things every week!

Do you know anything about your water (TDS, tap pressure, hardness)? Does your town use chlorine or chloramine? That would help narrow down what to look for in an RO unit

Brute trash can is one of the easiest things to store water in, get the wheeled base too maybe.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rubbermaid...llon-Gray-Plastic-Trash-Can-with-Lid/50437332

 

[eb_reef]

plus how can you go into the LFS each week and not buy something else? I bet you will save a lot by making your own water

 

[KrisReef]

Water storage for inside is a 2-3 gallon tank reservoir that came with the unit, outside I have a 55-gallon drum for top off and salt mixing water that I manually fill. It would be easy to automate, but I have never bothered.

 

[YellowFinsReef]

It depends. When I had my nano tanks during college (13.5G & 20G), I only used $10 a month to get water changes. My LFS is awesome because they use the good salt mix (Tropic Marin) and only charge $1 per gallon.

If you're doing that large amount of water changes (because you have a larger tank), it would be a better idea to get a RO/DI system as a part of maintaining your tank unless you got that kind of money to spend on hauling water changes monthly from the LFS.

Don't settle for the 75gpd units, unless you got all day to sit and wait for the buckets to fill. It took me on average 1hr to 1.5hrs to fill up 5 gallons. I upgraded and got the 150gpd and it only takes 35mins to fill 5 gallons. The units will be $150+.

My suggestion is, save your money and wait for Black Friday. They have incredible sales and I usually see 10-15% (sometimes more) shaved off the units and other products.

I hope that helps.

 

[Calireefer92]

Great investment and will save you tons of money because you won't be in the LFS buying things every week!

Do you know anything about your water (TDS, tap pressure, hardness)? Does your town use chlorine or chloramine? That would help narrow down what to look for in an RO unit

Brute trash can is one of the easiest things to store water in, get the wheeled base too maybe.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rubbermaid...llon-Gray-Plastic-Trash-Can-with-Lid/50437332

I’m gonna upload the one I’m looking at getting I don’t know what I’m looking at for buy them so what is your opinion on this one

 

[lapin]

I would opt for a 5 stage unit because of your water. 100 gpd will be fine for a 125 gallon tank. I believe Corona puts chloramines in the water and the second carbon cartridge will help remove those before they get to your ro cartridge. BRS has one for a little bit more money than what you have listed here. Holiday weekend coming up and they might have a sale. If you find the sediment filter get dirty quickly you can always add on another canister. Yo can also buy the one you have listed and add on canisters if you find you need extra filtering for certain impurities.
Here is the one I was thinking of;
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/5-stage-premium-plus-ro-di-system-bulk-reef-supply.html

 

[dragon99]

That's a good one. It has a booster pump built in which means you don't have to worry about tap pressure.

If you do have chloramine in your water, dual carbon wouldn't be a bad idea, or just make sure to use a higher quality carbon block like these:
http://www.buckeyehydro.com/chloraguard-chloramine-carbon-block/
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-universal-carbon-block-filter-1-micron.html

 

[JamesWeaver]

Water general RD 150. 5 stage with pressure gauge and digital TDS. It was $160 from eBay.

 

[SurfLife]

Here is the one I was thinking of;
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/5-stage-premium-plus-ro-di-system-bulk-reef-supply.html

Used to use that one, its in a old box now. I could not keep the TDS at 0 for more than a week or so testing with multiple tools. I since have purchased from spectrapure and have been at 0 TDS for many months now and I go through a lot of water.

 

[theKoolAidMan]

Yes, absolutely. The ones from Bulk Reef Supply are probably the best balance between quality and price out there. Even if you didn't save money in the long run, the easy is worth it. Hook it up to a tap in the basement (for example) and run the outlet line into a big 32 gallon rubbermain Brute trash bin and you'll have RODI water waiting for you whenever you need it.

 

[GoPitt88]

I wouldnt be without an RO/DI system! I got mine at Bulk Reef Supply, and I'm pretty sure I got it on sale during their black Friday sale a few years ago. I got their 6 stage 150gpd. I think they now have a 200gpd.

 

[Rcpilot]

I've had this 6-stage unit in the past, and will be buying another one since getting back into the hobby. I used their booster pump because it clips right in. Total investment is about $225--$250 for the whole kit. Worth every penny.

Filter Direct RD-102
https://filterdirect.com/rd102-aqua....html?osCsid=fe203b2984c1d936095a61c110030a18

 

[Greybeard]

Hauling water sux.

No way I'd own an aquarium without also owning an RO/DI filter system.

I like the dual purpose systems, allowing clean, filtered drinking water as well as DI water for the aquarium.

I'm a fan of AirWaterIce... I have their Dual Home/Reef system, expanded to include an extra carbon filter and 2 stage DI system.