Ok to use reverse osmosis water?

[Lanceman]

You know the jugs of purified drinking water. Says it's RO water. That's what I have in my 20 long...is this ok?

 

[Koh23]

Not sure on your market, here, drinking water in jugs or bottles are not rodi water....

Probably demineralised water, cleaner than tap, but how clean.....

 

[LeftyReefer]

Most reefers end up installing RO/DI water systems in our homes. Which is RO (reverse osmosis) filter, along with a DI (deionization) filtering stage to produce 0 TDS water.

Those jugs of RO water at the store are just run through the RO stage only, but not a DI stage, so it is probably pretty low in TDS but may not be 0 TDS.

in all likelihood, its fine. but if you plan to stay in the reefing game, a home RODI system is the way to go.

Not sure what you are paying for those, but Walmart has RO machines in the store. Take your own containers and you can fill them up for like 39 cents per gallon.

 

[Lanceman]

Most reefers end up installing RO/DI water systems in our homes. Which is RO (reverse osmosis) filter, along with a DI (deionization) filtering stage to produce 0 TDS water.

Those jugs of RO water at the store are just run through the RO stage only, but not a DI stage, so it is probably pretty low in TDS but may not be 0 TDS.

in all likelihood, its fine. but if you plan to stay in the reefing game, a home RODI system is the way to go.

Not sure what you are paying for those, but Walmart has RO machines in the store. Take your own containers and you can fill them up for like 39 cents per gallon.

Awesome ty, yeah they are 1$ a jug. As far as the rodi thing I'm not sure if it's worth it if I just have a 20nano...?

 

[New&no clue]

Awesome ty, yeah they are 1$ a jug. As far as the rodi thing I'm not sure if it's worth it if I just have a 20nano...?

In the end it all depends on what you want to keep. But for starting out with fish only it's probably fine.

 

[Lanceman]

In the end it all depends on what you want to keep. But for starting out with fish only it's probably fine.

Well I have a bunch of coral rn. My tanks been up for about 4months now, was stable but now I'm getting diatoms or something and idk why..

 

[New&no clue]

Well I have a bunch of coral rn. My tanks been up for about 4months now, was stable but now I'm getting diatoms or something and idk why..

What type of corals do you have?

Diatoms is pretty common even with RODI water.

 

[Lanceman]

What type of corals do you have?

Diatoms is pretty common even with RODI water.

Ok, I've got hammer, lepto, cyphastrea, GSP, birdsnest....mushroom...toadstool. I'd really hate to loose them. Some seem good and others don't...the hammer is very droopy and thin..

 

[BrandonS]

what's your water change schedule? test results? calcium, mag, alk, nitrates, phosphates? do you have a tds meter to measure the water you are using before you mix it with salt?

 

[New&no clue]

Ok, I've got hammer, lepto, cyphastrea, GSP, birdsnest....mushroom...toadstool. I'd really hate to loose them. Some seem good and others don't...the hammer is very droopy and thin..

I would always recommend RODI. You can buy cheaper systems on Amazon for under $100. They are small and easy to set up. While the upfront cost is higher, you will probably save money in the long run, especially when you factor in the coral loss that could happen with more sensitive ones.

 

[Lanceman]

I would always recommend RODI. You can buy cheaper systems on Amazon for under $100. They are small and easy to set up. While the upfront cost is higher, you will probably save money in the long run, especially when you factor in the coral loss that could happen with more sensitive ones.

I live in an apartment complex...am I able to hook it up? Is it pretty simple? And how many stages do I rly need

 

[New&no clue]

I live in an apartment complex...am I able to hook it up? Is it pretty simple? And how many stages do I rly need

This one is good, and it comes with a facet connection, so you just screw it into your facet when in use. When you're done store it under the sink.

 

[Lanceman]

This one is good, and it comes with a facet connection, so you just screw it into your facet when in use. When you're done store it under the sink.

Does anyone actually know why that's so much better than RO water? For big tanks it'd obviously pay off but...anyone use hydrogen peroxide for algae before?

 

[afrokobe]

Does anyone actually know why that's so much better than RO water? For big tanks it'd obviously pay off but...anyone use hydrogen peroxide for algae before?

the reason it is so important is because you dont know what's in your RO water or in your tap water. One person's RO water can vary wildly from another person's. Unless you perform a water test, we wouldnt be able to tell you how much better it would be. Also with reefing, so many things can go wrong and water being a pretty easy thing to get right, you should try to minimize any mistakes that can happen. Using non RODI water can have varying degrees of impact

 

[BrandonS]

Does anyone actually know why that's so much better than RO water? For big tanks it'd obviously pay off but...anyone use hydrogen peroxide for algae before?

hydrogen peroxide is a whole other post. lol.

The main reason for going RO/DI instead of just RO is that the DI strips the last bits out of the water. My RO membranes get my water down to 4 TDS from 280ish. That last 4 TDS can mean a bunch of stuff. many of which can feed cyano, diatoms, algae, ext.. stuff like silicates, nitrates, phosphates, etc.. best way to know for sure is to test your water. ICP test is preferred. However in most cases it's just cheaper (especially 3-5 year term without factoring in livestock costs) to go RO/DI then spend time and money to determine if you need to.

I live in an agriculture town with mostly well water from the city. So that last 4 for me is silicates and nitrate. I have my own RO/DI 5 stage to get down to 0 and take out those silicates, etc..

 

[dedragon]

Does anyone actually know why that's so much better than RO water? For big tanks it'd obviously pay off but...anyone use hydrogen peroxide for algae before?

ro doesnt bring down the total dissolved solids (TDS) of tap water to 0 and di helps get it down to 0. Yes people do use h2o2 for that but not diatoms, diatoms are usually an issue with very new tanks and h2o2 dosing cud prove more harmful than helpful for you

 

[Lanceman]

ro doesnt bring down the total dissolved solids (TDS) of tap water and di helps get it down to 0. Yes people do use h2o2 for that but not diatoms, diatoms are usually an issue with very new tanks and h2o2 dosing cud prove more harmful than helpful for you

Gotcha, so get a tds meter and get to 0 haha

 

[Lanceman]

Gotcha, so get a tds meter and get to 0 haha

Ty

 

[dedragon]

deionized water at the supermarket is usually what people buy

 

[Lanceman]

hydrogen peroxide is a whole other post. lol.

The main reason for going RO/DI instead of just RO is that the DI strips the last bits out of the water. My RO membranes get my water down to 4 TDS from 280ish. That last 4 TDS can mean a bunch of stuff. many of which can feed cyano, diatoms, algae, ext.. stuff like silicates, nitrates, phosphates, etc.. best way to know for sure is to test your water. ICP test is preferred. However in most cases it's just cheaper (especially 3-5 year term without factoring in livestock costs) to go RO/DI then spend time and money to determine if you need to.

I live in an agriculture town with mostly well water from the city. So that last 4 for me is silicates and nitrate. I have my own RO/DI 5 stage to get down to 0 and take out those silicates, etc..

Ok, thank you