Brian041
Diary of a Salty Madman
Which do you use. I know RO units save money in the long run, just curious what everyone uses. I'm a bit hesitant to just buy RO water because it's over $1 a gallon.
RO unit or just buy RO water
- Thread starter Brian041
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aveda6
Newbie Reef
I bought a relatively cheap one on the internet and it's been working great. It's a RODI (reverse osmosis, de-ionized) system and has been in use for quite a while now (a year +) without having to change the media (filters and beads) and the TDS is still zero on the output. I think I paid less than $90 and I change my water every three or four weeks (usually 4 gallons at a time). The hardest part of having one is finding a place to put it. You need a water supply and a drain line. There are units that connect right to the faucet but the one I bought I hooked to a supply line near my water heater and ran the drain line to a drain pipe nearby. Well worth the effort and costs.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
They can easily be hooked up underneath the kitchen sink. Buying water is not only expensive, but you have the hassle of having to lug it around from the store. And all the trash from the empty bottles to deal with. Having an RODI unit in your house is great in case of emergencies (and you will at some point need to do a water change in an emergency!). They do pay for themselves pretty quickly, IMO.
PoppyhinNC
Reefing newb
But what about all that waste water, and does it not jack up your water bill?? I have a 34 gallon Redsea Max and do 5 gallon changes per week, I buy distilled water at 88 cents a gallon at walmart, enough for my weekly water change, top offs takes about 3/4 to one gallon a week and I always keep 10 extra gallons on hand. I gues if you have a REALLY big tank RO/DI is a good thing to have:) I don't mind lugging 8 gallons a week or so:)
Brian041
Diary of a Salty Madman
This is one of the things I was worried about with if I had one.
FishyReef
Broke Reefer!
I have an RO/DI but also have found myself buying distilled water from the grocery store when I need to top off and don't have water made up, or when I'm running low on salt and haven't placed an order for salt. In the long run making your own is far cheaper, but it is time consuming and a hassle when you're living with other people and can't have a dedicated RO/DI hook-up (I have to attach mine to the kitchen sink, which puts it out of commission for about a day). I think regardless of your tank size, you'll still save money in the long run, though I really can't say how much it jacks up the water bill - I'm in an apartment and don't pay for water (and my landlord hasn't come to me to complain about water bills yet so it must not be huge excess). I have on occasion saved the waste water for the lady downstairs who keeps a lot of plants, and some people use the waste water for doing laundry and stuff like that. Maybe you should price out a years worth of water purchases compared to what you would pay for the unit, at least one set of filter changes, and potential excess in water and see which one works out to be more. Also, if you have an LFS (not petco/petsmart), some of them sell RO/DI water quite cheap - like 20 cents a gallon, which is much better than paying $1/g from walmart. Oh, and one more note - I'd be doing 10% water changes weekly instead of every 3-4 weeks to keep your parameters and calcium/alk levels in check!
Brian041
Diary of a Salty Madman
$1 per gallon was the LFS's price. He said just get a big empty gas can and bring it and they'll fill it up (obviously a never before used gas can)
aveda6
Newbie Reef
Just to clarify, I wasn't recommending that you do water changes every 3 to 4 weeks, that was just to show that the unit was still functional after that volume of water.
As for the cost, it depends on your location. The cost per gallon of water in my town is $0.004 (and you can just about double it for the sewer cost so say $0.008/gallon). For every 1 gallon of RODI it takes about 3.5 gallons of water. Therefore each gallon of RODI costs ~$0.028. Obviously you have to add in the costs of the RODI unit but you will still be at a fraction of what you would pay normally.
As for the cost, it depends on your location. The cost per gallon of water in my town is $0.004 (and you can just about double it for the sewer cost so say $0.008/gallon). For every 1 gallon of RODI it takes about 3.5 gallons of water. Therefore each gallon of RODI costs ~$0.028. Obviously you have to add in the costs of the RODI unit but you will still be at a fraction of what you would pay normally.
bjohanson1234
.........
5 gallon buckets work too.
I lugged water for a few years. It gets old real quick. I spent 5 bucks a week on water. My RO unit was about 150 after all the extras. Like a fitting to attach to under the sink, auto shut off valve, float valve, then a 15 gallon rubbermaid container for RO storage. Never run low on water because of the storage tank. Saved more than the value of the unit in less than a year.
I too buy water at Walmart. It's right down the street from me. I usually buy 10 gallons a week. This allows for one water change and top-off water. It's not much trouble getting it into my apartment, either, as I can carry 5 at a time.
It's also pretty cheap.
As for an RODI unit I would obviously prefer to have one, but living in an apartment and not being DIY-inclined at all, I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't know how to hook it up and I definitely don't know how to do it without damaging the pipes/taking it with me without damage when I move out.
Another thing that confuses me is where I'm supposed to store this water. I don't want a giant bucket in the center of my kitchen while I'm "making water" and I don't have a place to store a vat of water.
Therefore, no unit for me. :-/
It's also pretty cheap.
As for an RODI unit I would obviously prefer to have one, but living in an apartment and not being DIY-inclined at all, I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't know how to hook it up and I definitely don't know how to do it without damaging the pipes/taking it with me without damage when I move out.
Another thing that confuses me is where I'm supposed to store this water. I don't want a giant bucket in the center of my kitchen while I'm "making water" and I don't have a place to store a vat of water.
Therefore, no unit for me. :-/
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Cathic
Fish Wrangler
Where do you store all those gallon jugs then? I store my RO/DI water in a 15g bucket underneath my aquarium.
And for some quick math
5g a week x 52 weeks = 260g x .88c = $228.80 on RO a year
10g a week x 52 weeks = 520 x .88c = 457.60 on RO a year (obviously double the top)
add in sales tax etc.... and the cost is higher.
I paid $140 for my unit a little over a year ago... hell ive already saved money....
add in $44 on filter and DI resin refills replacements and im still doing pretty damn good. Add in the cost of what my water bill went up (something like $2 a month...) and Id say im still below what it costs for the upkeep of my 75g.
And for some quick math
5g a week x 52 weeks = 260g x .88c = $228.80 on RO a year
10g a week x 52 weeks = 520 x .88c = 457.60 on RO a year (obviously double the top)
add in sales tax etc.... and the cost is higher.
I paid $140 for my unit a little over a year ago... hell ive already saved money....
add in $44 on filter and DI resin refills replacements and im still doing pretty damn good. Add in the cost of what my water bill went up (something like $2 a month...) and Id say im still below what it costs for the upkeep of my 75g.
Well when I get home from the store I do a water change. Which uses about 6 of them. The other four go underneath a table near my tank. The couch largely obscures this area from view so you can't even see them.
I wouldn't personally even want a big vat of water under my table or anywhere really. My apartment is very small.
And yeah I know it's cheaper to get a unit, but I see no reason for it. The decrease in annual cost isn't worth the added hassle to me.
I wouldn't personally even want a big vat of water under my table or anywhere really. My apartment is very small.
And yeah I know it's cheaper to get a unit, but I see no reason for it. The decrease in annual cost isn't worth the added hassle to me.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
If it's worth the money to you and it works for you, that's fine!
I bought ro/di water from LFS for $.50 per gallon and later purchased a ro/di unit as it was very cost effective to make my water at home. I told my wife that it was worth spending the $130 on the unit because then I would reduce the need to visit the LFS and bring home all the extra stuff I found while I was there.
PoppyhinNC
Reefing newb
I store my water in the garage, and I store a couple of Top off under my tank in the cabinet
Toolman
RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH
I just walk across the parking lot our car wash uses RODI for the final rinse It's Free :bounce:
2XAl
Salt Addict
I have been lugging 5-gal buckets for about a year now, finally investing in an RODI unit since I'm beginning to cycle a 90, lugging buckets in your car gets real old real quick.
