Rodi system or distiller

Cbones1979 · Mar 22, 2020

Currently I’ve just been Using water changes with distilled water for my 20 long mixed reef tank. So maybe $10 per month in distilled water, maybe a couple bucks more. Does it make sense to distilled my own water or go rodi? What systems are suggested and easy to setup?

dtruitt · Mar 22, 2020

I got one of the RO buddy units from Chewy for $80. It's slow as molasses, but for a 20g system it should be more than adequate. ROI in 8 months for you.

The upshot is that you can always make water, so you dont need to worry about getting stuck at home due to weather or other factors. In times like this, it's kind of hard to get distilled water at the grocery store anyway

The downside is that you will need to keep up with your cartridge maintenance, and depending on your tap water quality, you may need to add conditioner or take other measures to insure that your RO water is adequate.

Overall, I would suggest you get some sort of RO system, but it wouldn't be at the top of my list in your situation considering how affordable distilled is for your system.

mrlavalamp · Mar 22, 2020

I like having RO around to drink, but my area has REALLY bad tap water (700+ tds).

I have always bought my RO systems through a dude on ebay (filtersdirect). Been using them for over a decade with no issues (but I always buy replacement filters/media from BRS, usually because I am picking up something else there anyways).

If you dont mind another thing to maintain I say go for it!
On a small system the "break even point" on your time/investment is farther out, but having control of what is actually in the water protects your livestock.

As a chemical engineer I have seen drinking water distillation units with large amounts of copper in their condensers, trace copper wont hurt people, but we all know what it will do to reefs. When you buy water you are trusting someone else with the health of your reef.

Cbones1979 · Mar 24, 2020

What a good lower cost unit

mrlavalamp · Mar 24, 2020

I get mine from filterdirect on ebay ( 150 gallon per day).

I have bought a handful of filters and parts from them over the last 10 years. no problems.

Mr Fishface · Mar 24, 2020

I bought ro buddie from amazon a while back. Wasn't much at all, 60 maybe? Has served me well for years. It is very slow so it takes lots of time for me to mix up large amounts of water. But for a smaller tank its great!

Cbones1979 · Mar 24, 2020

Mr Fishface said:
I bought ro buddie from amazon a while back. Wasn't much at all, 60 maybe? Has served me well for years. It is very slow so it takes lots of time for me to mix up large amounts of water. But for a smaller tank its great!

So better to get 3 or 4 stage?

Mr Fishface · Mar 25, 2020

Cbones1979 said:
So better to get 3 or 4 stage?

Well RO buddie comes as 3 or 4 stage itself (if you use the DI filter or not) but its output is like 50 GPD or something. If I had to get a new one for myself, with my larger tank, I would get like a 5 stage filter that makes more like 100 GPD. However if I was only going to have a small tank, I would get the RO buddie again.

Amanda1990 · Mar 25, 2020

Just think of all the gas and time involved with you getting distilled water... get a RO unit buddy!

Cbones1979 · Mar 25, 2020

Amanda1990 said:
Just think of all the gas and time involved with you getting distilled water... get a RO unit buddy!

Lol. My wife brings home distilled when she grocery shops but I figured I’m spending 120$ per year in distilled and hope to keep tank for years so it makes sense

Cbones1979 · Mar 29, 2020

So my unit is on the way. When making water do I put it in a big garbage can or a bunch of buckets? Currently I only have a 5 gallon bucket I use to mix saltwater.

Cbones1979 · Mar 30, 2020

got It hooked up!

mrlavalamp · Mar 31, 2020

Looks good!

I dont mean to pry, but I cant help it. The outlet there is GFCI protected right? The worry wort in me suggest putting a waterproof in use cover on it too, but mainly just want to make sure you are protected from a major shock hazard here.

Cbones1979 · Apr 1, 2020

mrlavalamp said:
Looks good!

I dont mean to pry, but I cant help it. The outlet there is GFCI protected right? The worry wort in me suggest putting a waterproof in use cover on it too, but mainly just want to make sure you are protected from a major shock hazard here.

Thanks. Yeah I’ll add a cover jic

Mikeltee · Apr 1, 2020

I say that you buy a setup to distill your own water. After whipping up a few weeks worth it will serve double duty to make yourself some homemade vodka(gin rum bourbon scotch). That's just what the doctor ordered in times like these! Let me know when you have a batch. I'll gladly sample it for you.

Cbones1979 · Apr 4, 2020

Mr Fishface said:
Well RO buddie comes as 3 or 4 stage itself (if you use the DI filter or not) but its output is like 50 GPD or something. If I had to get a new one for myself, with my larger tank, I would get like a 5 stage filter that makes more like 100 GPD. However if I was only going to have a small tank, I would get the RO buddie again.

Now that I have should I test the water to see if it’s really has nothing in it?

Mr Fishface · Apr 5, 2020

Cbones1979 said:
Now that I have should I test the water to see if it’s really has nothing in it?

If you have the ability, sure. Why not. I never had that option myself but it did work much better for my tank even just by looking and watching things.

mrlavalamp · Apr 5, 2020

Cbones1979 said:
Now that I have should I test the water to see if it’s really has nothing in it?

You can take some water to a local fish store for testing.

What they are willing to test for and how much it cost is up to them though. Most do it free if you are buying fish and corals there though.

There is always icp testing too.