Pondering RO/DI..

chipmunkofdoom2

chipmunkofdoom2

Reefing newb
Hey all. I'm looking into getting an RO/DI unit. Back when I got my tank, I mixed up some salt water with tap water (which I've known for years is relatively hard) and tested it. The pH was a little high, like 8.3-8.4, but still okay for just fish and the Alkalinity was a little high, but okay as well. I've been using tap water with an additive since then, but I doubt that's gonna fly if I try to get into corals..

My first question is about the theory... I know RO/DI units remove just about everything, especially if they're 4 stage. What I'm not sure about is how to get the kH back up to an acceptable level. Is there a specific regimen of additives I'm going to have to start with the purified water? I understand the pH and alkalinity are related, but I'm just not sure what I have to do to get the mineral content back in the water so that the pH doesn't fluctuate. One site said most salt mixes can take care of that, but I'm not sure I belive that. I use Instant Ocean.

My second question is... where do you get one of these bad boys without breaking the bank? Haha.

Thanks a lot for all your help.
 
I use RO/DI, and instant ocean, and my water tests just fine. Some salts are better than others, H2Ocean seems to be the new favorite up here. You will have to dose calcium and alk with a reef though, corals need alot of calcium, and the easiest way to keep everything happy is by dosing. Many people use reactors, kalk etc. So far I've done just fine with a two-part additive called C-Balance. One jug for Cal, one for Alk, once a day. Easy as pie.

Some people swear by the units on ebay, I bought a used spectrapure 90gpd for 150 bucks. IMHO, it doesn't matter which one you use, at the end of the day if your water is 0ppm, you are golden. Good luck!
 
Many of us here are using an RO/DI unit from here.
http://www.purewaterclub.com/
With a TDS meter,unit and shipping for mine was under $130.Bifferwine paided even less,maybe under $100.

I use Red Sea Pro with the RO unit.It especially made to compensate for using RO water.Everything has been testing perfectly-calcium,akalinity and pH.The cost difference is only $5 more than the regular type for a 200g. mix.I've use Kent but haven't use other salts with RO water to know the results.
 
Wow, those are pretty cheap. Just about any of the aquarium systems would work pretty well right? They all look about the same...

As far as setup goes, you pretty much just hook them up to the faucet in your sink?
 
Cool cool. It says there needs to be a certain amount of pressure for it to work.. if my sink doesn't pump out enough water, I'll have to buy a pump for it?
 
not in all cases, if it comes out with lower pressure then what they recommend then it just might take longer to get your water made
 
About the KH... the salt mix DOES take care of it. You're in luck!!

I recommend the link provided above. I got a 5-stage, 100 gallon per day unit for $60 plus $40 shipping. I probably make around 100 gallons of RODI a week. You could say mine gets HEAVY, much higher than average use. It has worked great, and I have changed the membranes out every 6 months. It is a fantastic RODI unit for the price.
 
Bifferwine said:
About the KH... the salt mix DOES take care of it. You're in luck!!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info... it's such a noob question that it's hard to find an answer for it. I can just see it now.. like, there's this aquarium pro sitting down writing a guide to RO/DI, and they think "Should I put that bit in there? Nah, you'd have to be a fuċkin' idiot to not know that!"

I'll definitely take a look at that system. Will 5 stage be good enough? They have 6 stages, and I'm really wondering how much of a difference in water quality it'd make, since they all seem to be within the same relative price range. I'd spring for the 6 stage if it'd be better.

As for output, as long as I can make about 10 gallons a week at most, I'll be happy with that.. my little 29 gallon isn't going to need a whole lot of water.
 
The 6th stage is usually the same filtration as the 5th stage. Meaning, the 6 stage unit usually has an extra DI filter (which is stage 5). So it does produce better water than the 5 stage, but a 5 stage RODI unit is already very effective as it is (it should get the TDS below 1). Does the extra DI filter warrant the extra cost? For myself, I decided no, since the difference in TDS between "close to zero" and "between zero and one" wasn't a big enough difference for me to justify buying the extra stage. But if you want the water to be as pure as you can get it, then the 6th stage may be worth it to you.
 
Get the six stage,quicker to reach zero tds.The price difference is very small.Some of the their units even come with extra replacement cartridges[like mine].

Don't forget to get a TDS meter.
 
I have my unit hooked up to the washers water line. The bad water goes in the washer the ro water goes into a bucket. Once I have my water made I do a load of laundry.
 
That's ultimate efficiency! Haha. Thanks again for the input guys. I'm more than likely going with one of the 6 stages, and I may even hook up to the washer's water supply just so I can have my unit out of the way.
 
If you do use the waste water for laundry just be sure that when your finished making water you let the washer fill up and swish round some before you add clothes or they'll bleach.
 

Similar threads

Mike
We're Back!
Replies
0
Views
655
Mike
Mike
J
PULLING-OUT MY HAIR!
Replies
0
Views
2K
Jeff P.
J
M
Novice needing advice!!
Replies
0
Views
1K
montgrl99
M
J
Help With Dying Fish!
Replies
0
Views
1K
Jeff P.
J
J
Help with Nitrates!
Replies
0
Views
1K
Jeff P.
J
Back
Top