RO/DI System questions

[cableslave]

Hey all! I'm brand new here so please be gentle lol. So I've had freshwater tanks off and on pretty much my whole life and I have been taking care of my moms 65g freshwater for her for quite some time. She has a rainsoft ro system that she uses. I was recently pretty much given a 65g saltwater tank with basically everything included. He said he was just tired of dealing with it all the time. I told myself even if I end up not being able to keep up with it I could sell it for prob 5-10Xs what I paid for it.

Ok ok so for my question.... I know enough to know that I need to get myself a rodi system and i have been searching around the web looking at them. I'm old enough to know that you usually get what you pay for but I came across a used but never taken out of the box a.o. smith ro system. The model is an a.o. smith ro 4000. I realize that it doesnt include a di but I would be paying like $50 for the whole setup. Includes a tank and faucet for it as well. I've looked around on the web and cant find one thing about it where people were using it for an aquarium so I'm assuming it's not what I should get. But if anybody knows anything please let me know. Anything would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Brad Miller]

Welcome to R2R...
Rodi is the only way to go...
Look at Bulk Reef Supply (BRS) for a good one that you replace only the media you use up and not cartridges.

 

[Billldg]

Welcome to R2R!!! I would recommend getting a RO/DI system. An RO system is good for drinking water, the DI part is what removes desolved solvents and impurities in the water. Not removing these can cause a number of issues down the road.

 

[Big G]

If there was one step of saltwater aquarium equipment I would not try to cut corners, it would be on RODI. Basically, in saltwater aquariums, we manage water quality. It comes first. Everything else comes after: fish, corals, inverts, macros, etc.

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

Welcome aboard!

I agree, get an RODI unit.

 

[cableslave]

Thanks for the quick replies and the welcomes everybody. I kinda figured it wasnt what I needed but thought I would ask anyway. I wasnt sure if I could add the di on to it. I'll keep looking around.

 

[Hemmdog]

Welcome to reef2reef! For sure get a RODI unit. Check out bulkreefsupply or marinedepot

 

[JoshH]

Hello!!! Welcome to R2R!!!

I definitely echo the above and say a quality RODI system will benefit you long term right from the get go. The A.O system looks like it only takes proprietary filters and you will be stuck with those filters in the long term and you won't be able to select certain filters that can benefit you long term. Also you will have to purchase a DI stage as an RO system won't get rid of everything (Also mentioned above).

Let's start out by asking where you get your water from? City or well??

 

[dbl]

Welcome to R2R and to the salty side of the hobby. No need to repeat what's been said above.

 

[RobW]

Welcome R2R! Like everyone else said... get an RO/DI. I also agree with them when they say "check out Bulk Reef Supply" 7 stage is the way to go in my opinion.

 

[cableslave]

I have city water myself but well could be possible. My dad still has his well from before the township he lives in required him to hook up to the city water and sewer system. He only uses the well for watering his lawn now.

 

[hdsoftail1065]

Great feedback and advice from everyone above, nothing more to add other than Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[Brad Miller]

@cableslave
Here is a brs add on 3 stage di that you can use with the ro that you have.
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/triple-di-saver-with-triple-tds-meter-brs.html

 

[JoshH]

I have city water myself but well could be possible. My dad still has his well from before the township he lives in required him to hook up to the city water and sewer system. He only uses the well for watering his lawn now.

Oooo options. Always good to have My next Question will be what is a good solid budget we are working with here?

Oh and I will add, you certainly can use the A.O system for your tank, it's just really not ideal as you will have to buy other parts anyway and you're pretty limited on other filter selections.

 

[MTBake]

Welcome to R2R

Lots of good advice above.

 

[RobW]

So now that we all agree on the Ro/di system. What exactly do you have for equipment? Let's get you going in the right direction.

 

[cableslave]

65g tank with stand
Aquatop ph-22
Aquatop cps-12
Fluval 406 filter
Fluval sea & marine 48"-60" led (not sure of a model# dont see it it on it anywhere but it's not the new one with bluetooth)
Hydro 300watt heater
Also around 80lbs of live sand and 80-100lbs of live rock
Came with 2 clowns as well (not sure of the exact species but they look like the basic orange and white)....like I said I'm a noob so I'm not up on all the scientific names yet so be nice lol.
He also gave me a bucket of Omega sea premium reef salt 46.5lbs

Sorry for the delay had no idea I would get such quick replies on here ✌

 

[JoshH]

Deleted

 

[cableslave]

I dont have a huge budget. Single dad with 2 kids here lol. I was trying to stay under $200 but I also dont want to buy junk so if I need to save for a couple/few weeks i will. I also have realized by reading around that I prob need a protein skimmer but I was really wanting to get the rodi dealt with 1st. Hauling water sucks. I had thought about getting one of the little 4 stage ro buddies for $60 just for now until I could upgrade to something better.

 

[RobW]

Oh, when you said you got a setup, I didn't realize it was a running set up with live stock. I thought you just got the gear and was looking to set it up. So that's pretty cool. I've never had any experience with the canister filters so I cant really comment on them. My first tank was some old ratty 55 gallon acrylic tank with a wet/dry system that a fellow employee gave to me. I had it up and running and started to get things going. No education on saltwater tanks. Just dove in head first and went through some trial and error. Then I replaced the old acrylic tank with a glass one. What a difference! Joined a forum after that and really started to make sense out of the basics and then took it from there. It's a great hobby. Everyone's experiences are different. But, we are all here to help.