Ro/di water question
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SeahorseKeeper
Where's the mysis?
I recommend using RO/DI water. Tap water is too unpredictable for my liking. The municipality can have spikes at any given time and this can wreak havoc on a tank. This is especially true for tanks with sensitive inhabitants. Some people do have success with tap water for softie tanks and FO.
GratefulReef
Active Member
I need to get a RO/DI because I dont have free easy access to it anymore as a friend who has a unit is moving south. I have used tap water before, in a pinch with no negative results but I liberally dosed amquel when I did. My freshwater tank gets tap water though, with just amquel added and its always been fine, though african cichlids are prob more tolerant of water chemistry than reef inhabitants. If you cant find a decently priced RO system check your local supermarkets, most have a RO water machine for drinking water, or you can find it on the shelves, albeit more expensive than owning your own system. Check craigslist, online, ebay, etc and shop around til you find one for a good price.
An RO/DI unit is literally the best purchase you can make for your reef. It allows us to create water exactly to our needs. Don't trust grocery stores and (most) fish stores for RO/DI water, many of them will only provide RO water, not RO/DI (DI = Deionization, which removes the remaining dissolved solids the systems misses) and many times TDS will be much higher than we want (0ppm).
RO/DI units aren't terribly expensive, and they're a breeze to install. Check out Buckeye Field Supply and Bulk Reef Supply. Both have good prices and great customer service.
RO/DI units aren't terribly expensive, and they're a breeze to install. Check out Buckeye Field Supply and Bulk Reef Supply. Both have good prices and great customer service.
Nano man
Well-Known Member
In a reef tank ro/di water is a must. I have used tap but that really just induces the algae growth in my experience. Keep an eye on you phosphates if you must use tap.
However, if you can afford a reef tank than what's a few extra bucks for a piece of mind?
However, if you can afford a reef tank than what's a few extra bucks for a piece of mind?
ritter6788
Coral Fraud Private Eye
Great advice given.
RO/DI is a very smart investment and will pay for itself in no time
RO/DI is a very smart investment and will pay for itself in no time
EmilyXLC
Charisma +10
I agree! Shop around & also post in your local reef club's subforum. I was lucky enough to get an RO system for free from a fellow reefer! I had to replace the membrane & filters, but it was a breeze to do & not that expensive. I highly recommend Bulk Reef Supply; they are great to do business with & their stuff is top notch!
I guarantee you will not find a better reef quality RO/DI system than Spectrapure, 25+ years in the businees pays off. You will also not find one for a better price than they have right now on the top of the page at www.spectrapure.com. They are not satisfied to sell you some off the shelf stuff, they research and develop everything they sell and hold many patents, trademarks and copyrights to show for it. None of the others mentioned even comes close.
"Why should I switch vendors and go with SpectraPure?" - Reef Central Online Community
Show me another vendor that does ANY of the above. It all adds up to cost savings for you the end user as well as better water quality. Stack them all up andsee who comes out on top every time.
Do they use absolute rated sediment filters? No.
Do they use 0.5 micron carbon block? Probably not
Do they specially treat their RO membranes to increase both their GPD and rejection rate or removal efficiency? No
Do they bench test their RO membranes for quality control? Definitely No.
Do they custom blend every ounce of their DI resins based on tens of thousands of hours of real world and lab testing? No.
Do they use capillary tube flow restrictors which you yourself adjsut for your ecact water conditions? Probably not
Do they offer a guarantee on the systems performance? Probably not.
There is a difference.
"Why should I switch vendors and go with SpectraPure?" - Reef Central Online Community
Show me another vendor that does ANY of the above. It all adds up to cost savings for you the end user as well as better water quality. Stack them all up andsee who comes out on top every time.
Do they use absolute rated sediment filters? No.
Do they use 0.5 micron carbon block? Probably not
Do they specially treat their RO membranes to increase both their GPD and rejection rate or removal efficiency? No
Do they bench test their RO membranes for quality control? Definitely No.
Do they custom blend every ounce of their DI resins based on tens of thousands of hours of real world and lab testing? No.
Do they use capillary tube flow restrictors which you yourself adjsut for your ecact water conditions? Probably not
Do they offer a guarantee on the systems performance? Probably not.
There is a difference.
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Connie
Valuable Member
RO/DI System is the best investment you can make IMO. Be sure to get a TDS meter also. You will be shocked at the difference in tap water and filtered water. I got mine from Bulk Reef Supply 75gal a day.
It would be prudent to check your communities water quality report to see what they are using for a disinfectant(google). If they're using Chloramines, then you would need to get a chloramine specific carbon cartridge, if it's just Chlorine, then the basic carbon cartridge would be fine. I have been using the basic four stage RO/DI value system from BRS for about 3 years now, with no problem. But over time it would be a good idea to add a dual input TDS meter, a pressure gauge, and the flush kit.
No that is not correct, chloramine carbons are a waste of money in most cases.
Its the ammonia portion of chloramines that is the problem and that is where a good full size vertical DI with good resin and good contact time come into play.
Chloramine and the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
Its the ammonia portion of chloramines that is the problem and that is where a good full size vertical DI with good resin and good contact time come into play.
Chloramine and the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
I would suggest that if you find that your water company uses chloramines as its disinfectant, that you use a good system that is designed to deal with it.
5 Stage Reverse Osmosis Chloramines System Demo - Bulk Reef Supply - YouTube
BRS 5 Stage Chloramines RO/DI System - 75GPD - Chloramines Systems - Reverse Osmosis Systems - Bulk Reverse Osmosis Filters & Systems - Bulk Reef Supply
5 Stage Reverse Osmosis Chloramines System Demo - Bulk Reef Supply - YouTube
BRS 5 Stage Chloramines RO/DI System - 75GPD - Chloramines Systems - Reverse Osmosis Systems - Bulk Reverse Osmosis Filters & Systems - Bulk Reef Supply
Again, chloramines are not the issue many will have you believe. Testing has shown any good 1 micron or less carbon block using todays carbons and extrusion process are more than sufficient for the purpose of removing the chlorine portion of chloramines. Its the ammonia that is tough to remove and since RO membranes are only marginal at removing all forms of ammonia including nitrites and nitrates, you must rely on a good well designed DI system for its removal. You will not find better DI resin that Spectrapures custom blended reef specific MaxCap and SilicaBuster DI resins engineered for just this purpose. Other vendors do not have the test facilities or experience to be able to do this so sell prepackaged resins. Spectrapure has made the statement that they reject more resin shipments than most vendors even sell and I believe it, they are truly innovators in the industry.
http://www.3reef.com/forums/spectra...tridges-rodi-pure-water-production-88217.html
http://www.3reef.com/forums/spectra...amines-ro-membranes-carbon-filters-75699.html
http://www.3reef.com/forums/spectrapure/chloramines-72246.html
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1336345
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=200056
http://www.3reef.com/forums/spectra...tridges-rodi-pure-water-production-88217.html
http://www.3reef.com/forums/spectra...amines-ro-membranes-carbon-filters-75699.html
http://www.3reef.com/forums/spectrapure/chloramines-72246.html
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1336345
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=200056
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byronious
Active Member
Okay bear with me if these are stupid questions. :squigglemouth: We have a water softner fot the whole house and a reverse osmosis filter at our kitchen tap. Is this water de-ionized and okay for mixing with synthetic salt?
Thank you
Thank you
No, a water softener is not a deionizer. Softening is called ion exchange meaning it removes so ions such as calcium and magnesium and replaces them with sodium or potassium. Believe it or not, the TDS or total dissolved solids content of softened water is usually higher than the tap water was to begin with since the ion exchange is not an exact 1:1 ratio. Basically softened water makes a RO membrane last longer and work better since sodium is easier for it to remove than calcium and magnesium are. The membrane will not scale up or foul as fast as with hard water. Pretreatment is basically what it is for an RO.
Depending on how efficient your RO system is, you could install an add on DI system after the RO for your tanks.
There are a couple options between $55 and $85 in the sales flyer here towards the middle of the page:
http://www.spectrapure.com/email/customer-appreciation.html
Depending on how efficient your RO system is, you could install an add on DI system after the RO for your tanks.
There are a couple options between $55 and $85 in the sales flyer here towards the middle of the page:
http://www.spectrapure.com/email/customer-appreciation.html
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Shakeel
Community Member
I remember when I was I jammed for water back when I didnt have an rodi unit and the lfs were closed those five gallon jug refill station came in very handy.
FAQs | Glacier Water
FAQs | Glacier Water
Vending machines are hit and miss as far as quality plus most are RO only and not RO/DI so there will be TDS present. They are treating for drinking water which tastes better if some minerals are still present wheras with a reef system we want to eliminate all TDS. If you purchase water anywhere, including a LFS, grocery, vending machine etc, get yourself a handheld TDS meter and test it before loading the jugs up. Meters are as low as $15 in the RV/automotive department at WalMart or $20-$25 for a better one at places like Buckeye Field Supply or Spectrapure.
Since my tank is tiny and LFS is nearby, whenever I go purchase salt water, I would buy some RO/DI along. Good advise on the TDS meter, which I will pick one up just to double check. I don't think it's worth the trouble using tap water, and ended up buying all those chemical test, which in a long run cost more and very inconvenient.
Question: Examples of inexpensive and expensive TDS meter, perhaps? Thank you in advance.
-Alan
Question: Examples of inexpensive and expensive TDS meter, perhaps? Thank you in advance.
-Alan
Buckeye Field Supply has good HM Digital handheld meters starting at $20 such as the TDS-3 or TDS-4TM or the new series whose name has escaped me. Spectrapure has the HM TDS-3 in their flyer for $25.
Look for a meter with no less than +/-2% accuracy, reads in single digits up to 999 or by tens up to 9999, that is auto temperature compensated and has a built in digital thermometer so it can serve dual purposes. Cheaper meters are 3+% accuracy, some read by twos or more so are not as accurate and are not temperature compensated and do not have the temperature function to do so.
I use the HM Digital COM-100 myself, it is much more accurate, can be calibrated in many different modes, reads down in tenths so is 10x more sensitive in high purity waters and is auto temp compensated and has the thermometer function. Its more like $59 but I'm anal about my water quality and like the best if it is affordable.
Look for a meter with no less than +/-2% accuracy, reads in single digits up to 999 or by tens up to 9999, that is auto temperature compensated and has a built in digital thermometer so it can serve dual purposes. Cheaper meters are 3+% accuracy, some read by twos or more so are not as accurate and are not temperature compensated and do not have the temperature function to do so.
I use the HM Digital COM-100 myself, it is much more accurate, can be calibrated in many different modes, reads down in tenths so is 10x more sensitive in high purity waters and is auto temp compensated and has the thermometer function. Its more like $59 but I'm anal about my water quality and like the best if it is affordable.
