# Does anyone use RO from the store?



## Puddjuice (Mar 11, 2004)

I found an RO unit to buy but my grocery store sells RO for 29 cents a gallon. This seems much more cost efficient. Any opinions or suggestions? I only run a 10 gallon so its not really going to add up at all buying a gallon a week.


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

the thing with grocery store RO water is that they are supposed to change the filters regularly to keep the water actually clean.

instead, they get lazy and dont change them often enough. so that RO water you paid for is basically tapwater run through a filthy filter...thus making it dirty tap water.

IMO, unless you know that they change their filters all regularly, you should go with the RO system for your own house. plus it makes it so much easier as time goes on. and soon enough you will have paid off the RO system instead of continually buying water from the store.


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## Puddjuice (Mar 11, 2004)

Puff said:


> the thing with grocery store RO water is that they are supposed to change the filters regularly to keep the water actually clean.
> 
> instead, they get lazy and dont change them often enough. so that RO water you paid for is basically tapwater run through a filthy filter...thus making it dirty tap water.
> 
> IMO, unless you know that they change their filters all regularly, you should go with the RO system for your own house. plus it makes it so much easier as time goes on. and soon enough you will have paid off the RO system instead of continually buying water from the store.


I personally know the filters will be changed regularly because it isn't a grocery store machine, it is a Culligan machine in the store.


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## jasert39 (May 1, 2003)

if you know the filters are changed regularly than go for it, it might get a little old for after a while but im sure its fine for now. I like the idea of knowing if I need some water tonight than I can go home and get it but I am supplying a 200 gallon system. I think for your usage it would work...at least until you have the extra cash laying around to get your own RO/DI


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

Puddjuice said:


> the thing with grocery store RO water is that they are supposed to change the filters regularly to keep the water actually clean.
> 
> instead, they get lazy and dont change them often enough. so that RO water you paid for is basically tapwater run through a filthy filter...thus making it dirty tap water.
> 
> IMO, unless you know that they change their filters all regularly, you should go with the RO system for your own house. plus it makes it so much easier as time goes on. and soon enough you will have paid off the RO system instead of continually buying water from the store.


I personally know the filters will be changed regularly because it isn't a grocery store machine, it is a Culligan machine in the store.
[/quote]

we have Culligan machines in our grocery store. they dont get changed regularly. but that could just be our area/store/ local culligan company being too cheap or lazy.

buy a TDS meter and test their water just to make sure. the last thing you want is a bunch of algae growing in your tank because the RO water you paid for isnt 100% clean.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

Puff said:


> *buy a TDS meter and test their water just to make sure. the last thing you want is a bunch of algae growing in your tank because the RO water you paid for isnt 100% clean.*


exactly

i use RO from the fish store for along time and it was ok but a royal pain int ehneck and even then i still noticed a big difference in my tank from using the LFS ro and now using the RO/DI im making at home.

you will never regret spending 180 - 220 bucks for an RO filter.. for some people its the difference betwen being able to enjoy the hobby and getting so frustrated that you give it up.

even if you get an RO unit now a few months down the road when you can afford it get the DI stage upgrade it makes a difference, that last 3 - 6 percent of tds that isnt removed is most likely the nasty stuff that you really really dont want in your tank.


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## Puddjuice (Mar 11, 2004)

Puff said:


> the thing with grocery store RO water is that they are supposed to change the filters regularly to keep the water actually clean.
> 
> instead, they get lazy and dont change them often enough. so that RO water you paid for is basically tapwater run through a filthy filter...thus making it dirty tap water.
> 
> IMO, unless you know that they change their filters all regularly, you should go with the RO system for your own house. plus it makes it so much easier as time goes on. and soon enough you will have paid off the RO system instead of continually buying water from the store.


I personally know the filters will be changed regularly because it isn't a grocery store machine, it is a Culligan machine in the store.
[/quote]

we have Culligan machines in our grocery store. they dont get changed regularly. but that could just be our area/store/ local culligan company being too cheap or lazy.

buy a TDS meter and test their water just to make sure. the last thing you want is a bunch of algae growing in your tank because the RO water you paid for isnt 100% clean.
[/quote]

Either or it's better than my tap water I run right now. I wish I had the money to buy an RO today but it will take a tad longer than that lol.


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## Puddjuice (Mar 11, 2004)

I can still buy an RO unit in the long run, I just don't have the money to throw out for one right now. If the grocery store water is going to be better than the tap I am running right now it only seems logical because I would be using the best water I could get.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

Puddjuice said:


> I can still buy an RO unit in the long run, I just don't have the money to throw out for one right now. If the grocery store water is going to be better than the tap I am running right now it only seems logical because I would be using the best water I could get.


i thkn the point we are trying to make is that there is no guarentee the RO from teh grocery store is any better then your tap water.

teh least you should do is get a hand held TDS meter to atleast know what the water quality from the grocery store RO is. Also ask your LFS if they sell RO or RO/DI by the gallon, most of them will if they are any good, it might cost a bit mroe then the grocery store but if you have a handhled tds meter you will be able to tell which is giving you cleaner water..

DO NOT buy the tds meter from an LFS i have never seen one at afair price considering you can get on eonline for 30-40% less even with shipping.

for RO water you should be getting TDS reading of below 10ppm anything over 20ppm and you are still introducing enough stuff to show signs in the tank. of course its hard to say what it is in the water thats giving the reading but what ever it is you dont want it.


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

after going through my RO/DI i get constant readings of 0ppm









my tap water is 13ppm right out of the tap, but id rather it be 0ppm, or maybe 001 or 002 at the most.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

Puff said:


> after going through my RO/DI i get constant readings of 0ppm
> 
> 
> 
> ...


damn my water is 312ppm out of the tap 7-12 after the RO. that is "city water" my parents have a well and its about 70 ppm

ro/di 0 and since starting to use the ro/di (was using lfs ro) i have sen a reducion in nusance algea growth in my system.

im pretty sure part of the reason is vodka and sugar dosing but my skimmer has been going nuts cranking out the absolute worst smelling stuff i have ever encountered.

my cheato was growing at a good rate but now its getting white spots and pretty much all algae growth has slowed or reversed 
.

it can be decieveing, your nitrates might be very low or nothing at all but if you can observe algae growth you have nitrates evenif they are not being read by tests. im pretty confidetn my nitrates are super low at this point and my sps looks sweet.

unfortunately i have not been taking alot of pitures but in the background you can see the nusance algae, a few weeks agou it was much denser and covered a larger arae and as you can seet eh tips of this millie are super blue and polyp extension is nice.. to the right is a new frag i got of pocillipora, this should devlop into a dark green w/ orange. the last poci i had was a crazy hot pink but thats history now.









three days of skimmate in a 1liter bottle and it smells so bad, like three day old death.









but the coral is super happy 








here it was 6months ago


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

wow. big difference there nismo!! and that is some NASTY sh*t being pulled out of that water!! (skimmate)

the thing with my tap water is that it has low ppm, but has a crapload of nasty phosphates. im pretty sure i could get away with using my tapwater if it wasnt for the damned phosphates!


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## redbellyjx © (Jan 26, 2004)

I dont use RO from my LFS. Everytime I ve gone there Ive tested it, and its always about 7 pmm TDS.


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## Puddjuice (Mar 11, 2004)

I bought a few gallons from the grocery store to start cycling in RO water untill I get my RO/DI unit. I didn't get the water from the machine, it's made by Ice Mountain and comes in sealed gallon jugs. Unfortunately this is all I have to work with right now and the ppm's in this has to suck because I am noticing more diatoms after doing a water change with it.


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

Puddjuice said:


> I bought a few gallons from the grocery store to start cycling in RO water untill I get my RO/DI unit. I didn't get the water from the machine, it's made by Ice Mountain and comes in sealed gallon jugs. Unfortunately this is all I have to work with right now and the ppm's in this has to suck because I am noticing more diatoms after doing a water change with it.


try to pick up a refractometer off of ebay or something. then test that water! if it doesnt register EXTREMELY low ppms, then take it back and tell them that it isnt properly filtered.

i get the bottled water for drinking at my house (in the huge jugs) and it always reads 0 ppm.


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## Sheppard (Jul 8, 2004)

The R.O system is definitley worth the money. My setup has been running 6 months now and I just bought one the other day. I was lucky enough to get mine for 100$ even because I know someone at the lfs..and thats brand new too!

Nismo I may have to try this vodka/sugar dosing because i'm getting algae like crazy, My nitrates always read 0ppms but I know its there because I will scrape away all my algae, suck it out during a water change...and then it will start growing again the very next day! I don't really have a clean up crew though, so maybe that's why also


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

get some trochus snails sheppard. they're like turbo or astrea snails on steroids. i have 2 or 3 of them and they are always scarfing on algae. my tuxedo urchin also eats that sh*t all day long.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

Sheppard said:


> The R.O system is definitley worth the money. My setup has been running 6 months now and I just bought one the other day. I was lucky enough to get mine for 100$ even because I know someone at the lfs..and thats brand new too!
> 
> Nismo I may have to try this vodka/sugar dosing because i'm getting algae like crazy, My nitrates always read 0ppms but I know its there because I will scrape away all my algae, suck it out during a water change...and then it will start growing again the very next day! I don't really have a clean up crew though, so maybe that's why also


do you test your phosphates?

you should have a clean up crew to do some mild algae control, if your tank was soo pristine that you had no algae growth at all with out a lceaner crew then chances are nothing would survive in it, at least not at a healthy level.


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## Puddjuice (Mar 11, 2004)

I am not even going to waste my money on a meter to test my PPM's. I bought pre bottled water from the store, not the jugs from the machine in the store. I assumed that the water being manufactured and distributed from an actual factory would make it's quality better but my diatoms claim otherwise lol. It's Ice Mountain water also.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

Puddjuice said:


> *I am not even going to waste my money on a meter to test my PPM's.* I bought pre bottled water from the store, not the jugs from the machine in the store. I assumed that the water being manufactured and distributed from an actual factory would make it's quality better but my diatoms claim otherwise lol. It's Ice Mountain water also.


im sorry but if this really is the way you feel about resolving your problems your in the wrong hobby and will ilkely deal with algae issues until you get sick of it and will have wasted much more money in the long run.

testing devices are never a waste of money especially when you spend hours on various forums asking the same questions repeatedly and refusing to follow the advice that people give you. at this point your just wasting peoples time.

in all fairness to answer why you should spend the money to get a TDS meter i have tested differnt brands of bottled RO water and gotten in the range of 70 - 130 ppm the RO water from my filter comes out at 7-12 ppm.. so it realyl does make a differnece and companies that bottle water do not do it with the intent of aquarium use which in reff aquarium the standard for water purity is very high in order to prevent algae issues. the best and most desired TDS level of water you should be adding to your tank is 0 anything above 0 and you are running thepossibility that something in your water will cause an issue in your tank.


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

nismo driver said:


> *I am not even going to waste my money on a meter to test my PPM's.* I bought pre bottled water from the store, not the jugs from the machine in the store. I assumed that the water being manufactured and distributed from an actual factory would make it's quality better but my diatoms claim otherwise lol. It's Ice Mountain water also.


*im sorry but if this really is the way you feel about resolving your problems your in the wrong hobby and will ilkely deal with algae issues until you get sick of it and will have wasted much more money in the long run. 
*
testing devices are never a waste of money especially when you spend hours on various forums asking the same questions repeatedly and refusing to follow the advice that people give you. at this point your just wasting peoples time.

in all fairness to answer why you should spend the money to get a TDS meter i have tested differnt brands of bottled RO water and gotten in the range of 70 - 130 ppm the RO water from my filter comes out at 7-12 ppm.. so it realyl does make a differnece and companies that bottle water do not do it with the intent of aquarium use which in reff aquarium the standard for water purity is very high in order to prevent algae issues. the best and most desired TDS level of water you should be adding to your tank is 0 anything above 0 and you are running thepossibility that something in your water will cause an issue in your tank.
[/quote]

couldnt agree more, Nismo.

i got my TDS meter for free when i bought my RO/DI system. it has been invaluable to my reef. ive had maybe the slightest amount of diatoms when i first set up the tank, but since then the only algae i get is different types of macro, and a bit on the glass every once in a while.

to say that you couldnt be bothered with buying a vital piece of equipment leads me to believe you will only get in to reefing half assed. doing some half assed never gets the job done. if you are making the investment to spend all this money on setting up and maintaining a reef tank, then what does an extra 20-25$ mean? it's a minuscule investment to help keep your tank healthy and diatom free.


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