RO water?

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Hi, I need some help on the RO water filters. What is their purpose and do I really need them for a saltwater aquarium? Why can't I use tap water with conditioner? To fill my tank
 
An RO filter removes "impurities" from your tap water. If you use tap water, these impurities will continue to rise in your tank while you replace evaporated water. This will negatively impact the biology of your tank. I would actually recomment not just RO but RO/DI.
 
Reverse Osmosis / DeIonized


The reverse osmosis part typically reduces impurities by about 98 percent with a good membrane while the DI resin removes that last 2 percent.
 
You can find a good system for 150 - 200. I would suggest a 75 gpd unit. However, if you have low water pressure, you'll also need a pressure pump as well.


Also, HERE is a video of the guys at BRS explaining RO/DI.
 
$125 here:
Refurbished 90-GPD RODI System - RODI-90-REFURB

Lots of good information here:
Technical Info

You need a minimum of 40 psi to operate a RO or RO/DI system and the higher the pressure the more efficiently they operate. 50-60 psi is good and 80-100 psi is better. Most utilities have at least 50 psi but to be sure you might pick up a hose thread pressure gauge kit at your local hardware for less than $10.
 
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I have a BRS 4 stage 75PD unit for sale. It has been used to make about 300 gallons. You might want to replace the resin (which is about half colored changed) and the main RO membrane.
 
Never buy a reef RO/DI with the Dow 100 GPD membrane. Most are 90% rejection rate nano filters not 96-98% rejection rate RO membranes. For every 2% you lose you cut your DI life in half. Also don't fall for the "stages" trick, more is not better, actually fewer is better. Look at what each stage contains, not how many there are. You only need 4 stages if they contain high quality filters such as a 0.5 or 1.0 micron sediment filter,a single 0.5 or 1.0 micron carbon block, a Dow 75 or Spectrapures treated and tested version of the Dow 75 they call a 90 and a single 20 oz vertical refillable DI with fresh nuclear or semiconductor grade resin. You don't find many like this so shop wisely.
 
Is this a good one
 

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It is a good reef system not a drinking water system but it is somewhat generic and nothing special. For $6 more the Spectrapure is a much better system. The $6 gets you a specially treated and batch tested high rejection rate 90 GPD RO membrane versus a dry, untested 75 GPD RO membrane. The 90 is enough more efficient you will see your $6 returned over the life of the very first DI cartridge and continue to save from then on.
You will also get a SilicaBuster reef specific DI cartridge which will last probably twice as long as the nomal mixed bed DI cartridge saving you even more money with fewer replacements and getting you true 0 TDS water. Then you get a capillary tube flow restrictor versus a fixed type so you can adjust the waste ratio to an exact amount versus get what you get.

For the $6 more get the Spectrapure. Not sure what your reservations are but they are NOT used systems nor junk. They may have a scuff or scratch on a housing or bracket but everything including the filters, membrane and DI are brand new, it just cannot bsold as new if it is scratched. Listen to the thousands who have purchased one.
 
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Hi,guys.
I have a 6 stage of Ro system for using drinking water and tank
My tds tap water is 300 ppm with hm hanging test kit and after membrane tds reduce to 20 ppm.
Can I using from Di resin mix bed and get zero tds a long time or resin can not reducing tds.:ohwell:
Thanks
 
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If money is a issue you should be able to purchase ro/di water from your lfs. I would still invest in a tds meter $20-$30 to check the quality. Some stores do not replace filters and membranes as needed. Best bet is to buy a ro/di filter for your self though. AZ knows his stuff the filters he is suggesting is probably the cheapest best system you can get for the money versus buying used and needing to replace all filters and membranes at start up. Good luck all questions are welcome.
 
Purple Tang, your RO membrane is not as efficient as it should be and DIresin will not produce 0 TDS water for long so will get pretty expensive. Your RO is only around 93% rejection rate or removal efficiency and it should be around 98% so a RO TDS of 5-6 would be what I would expect. Your DI would last 3-4 times longer with a more efficient RO. As an example, with my old RO/DI my RO only TDS was between 13 and 15 and my DI cartridge lasted 150 gallons. With my current RO/DI my RO only TDS is between 2 and 3 and my DI cartridges last over 1000 gallons.
 
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You still want a tds meter as well. It lets you know how well your filter system is doing. You always want a reading of 000. I know it is a lot to take in as a beginner. Some filter systems use inline tds meters. I personally would not trust them. I have found them to be inaccurate.
 

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