# Good R/O Unit?



## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

I am tired of scrubbing hard water deposits off of my tanks and equipment and I know my water is much harder than what my fish would like so I am looking to buy an R/O unit. I don't want to spend a ton of money on it and I don't need one that can handle hundreds of gallons a day since I plan on using a 100 gallon or so reservoir and running the R/O unit at night, so 100 gallons a week or so would be all I need for water changes.

I have used RO water in the past, so I know about adding a GH booster, I just have never owned an R/O unit, so I need some suggestions. I saw that bigalsonline.com has a Coralife 50 gpd model for about $120, I don't know if that's a good model or not, but that seems like it would be about my price range.


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

My buddy uses a coralife...He ordered it from dr fosters-it came in with a bad pump....they replaced it with out one ? asked and since then he has not had a problem with it-

Myself use a 3 stage kent product.....


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

so both of those have the AK Seal of Approval?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

www.purewaterclub.com is where mine came from... The housing isnt really as important as the filters and mine has been pushing 0TDS for some time now.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

damn, those are pretty cheap... what exactly am i looking for in a filter? i didn't realize there were so many options


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

joedizzlempls said:


> damn, those are pretty cheap... what exactly am i looking for in a filter? i didn't realize there were so many options


I use a 5 stage filter for my SW tank... thats a sediment pre filter, carbon filter, some other micron filter, RO membrane, and 2 DI chambers.

You could get away with less... maybe a nice 4 stage. depends on how much money you want to spend and how bad your tap TDS is.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

i know the water is really hard, we have well water and if you spill water on the counter, it leaves deposits when it dries. i don't have a TDS meter, so i have no way of knowing for sure tho. would some filters leave me with a low gh rather than 0? i'd like to get all of my tanks to around the 3-4 range to simulate what they have in the wild, so i'll have to use a gh booster either way... i guess having a 0 gh or TDS isn't absolutely necessary if it means i can get away with a different filter.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

joedizzlempls said:


> i know the water is really hard, we have well water and if you spill water on the counter, it leaves deposits when it dries. i don't have a TDS meter, so i have no way of knowing for sure tho. would some filters leave me with a low gh rather than 0? i'd like to get all of my tanks to around the 3-4 range to simulate what they have in the wild, so i'll have to use a gh booster either way... i guess having a 0 gh or TDS isn't absolutely necessary if it means i can get away with a different filter.





> A General Hardness test kit is measuring the amount of Calcium and Magnesium in the water. However, most of the hardness in FW is a function of the Calcium. Technically speaking, it is really the sum total of Calcium, Magnesium, Strontium and Lithium. The later two are so small they make up less that 1 % in FW of the Total Hardness, so are not an issue.
> 
> TDS is similar for FW. However, it is the total of all the ions in water that conduct electricity, so would also be ions like Sodium, Chloride, Sulfate, Nitrate etc.. In FW tanks one does not really need to know what the Calcium level is, it is the total ions you need to be concerned about. In tap water, streams and lake waters Hardness is mostly Calcium i.e., >75 % TDS.
> 
> ...


You should be able to call the county, and check your well test record... it will tell you EVERYTHING thats in the water.

And for your filter, you would prob want a filter with out the DI part of the filter if you are using it for fresh water... its just too pure and isnt good for fish (in large amounts)


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

is there a particular model you would suggest? i definitely don't NEED di, since i'll be mixing water back in anyways to bring it to a gh of 3 or 4, it just seems like it would just be a waste. i buy r/o di water for drinking and cooking in town, i pay a buck for 5 gallons and it lasts us a week, so i don't need to use the r/o unit for our drinking water or anything.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Clicky

Thats one of the better deals i can find, and you would just disconnect the DI and use it from there, or use it for DI water when you needed it.... be sure to order a set of replacement filters, its always nice to have them on hand.

They also make a model that produces Alkaline water (way better for human consumption, google the health benefits) that you could use for your drinking water, and just use the first 5 stages for aquariums. Its about the same price (39$ more, model ROH-6GPH on their webpage) but might be worth the benefits. They say DI water can absorb important things from your body, but typically in higher consumption rates.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

skunk... you are the sh*t... thanks for all the help man


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

joedizzlempls said:


> skunk... you are the sh*t... thanks for all the help man


No prob man, any time!


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

Dude totally dont buy that ebay r/o unit. I have the same one and the filters it comes with are crap. The membrane only has a 90% rejection rate. A quality one will have 97-98%. Buy a r.o unit from Here or Here. Both of these places have quality filters with exceptional customer service. Ive dealt with both companies.


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

Couple more points to add. The 75gpd is going to be more efficient that a 150gpd or the 50gpd.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

SeedlessOne said:


> Couple more points to add. The 75gpd is going to be more efficient that a 150gpd or the 50gpd.


False


> The 50 and 75 GPD membranes have about the same rejection rate of 97%. The 100 GPD has about a 90% rejection rate. The 150 GPD membrane is a different story. It allows for high volume without a big drop in the rejection rate. It has about a 97% - 99% rejection rate.


If you only need 75gpd then thats fine, but i like to have the ability to make enough water to cover an emergency, so i chose a 120gpd system. As for the filters being garbage... i ran mine for almost a year (part of that without the RO membrane haha), making a copious amount of water DIRECTLY FROM A WELL full of sediment and heavy metals, the pre filters looked like hell, but my TDS was still within check. If you are on city water, i would expect years of use even if you are making that 120 gals per day unless you have terrible water.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

hmmmm...


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

Skunkbudfour20 said:


> Couple more points to add. The 75gpd is going to be more efficient that a 150gpd or the 50gpd.


False


> The 50 and 75 GPD membranes have about the same rejection rate of 97%. The 100 GPD has about a 90% rejection rate. The 150 GPD membrane is a different story. It allows for high volume without a big drop in the rejection rate. It has about a 97% - 99% rejection rate.


If you only need 75gpd then thats fine, but i like to have the ability to make enough water to cover an emergency, so i chose a 120gpd system. As for the filters being garbage... i ran mine for almost a year (part of that without the RO membrane haha), making a copious amount of water DIRECTLY FROM A WELL full of sediment and heavy metals, the pre filters looked like hell, but my TDS was still within check. If you are on city water, i would expect years of use even if you are making that 120 gals per day unless you have terrible water.
[/quote]

I should have specified that I was talking about the 75gpd only having a 90% rejection rate on the ebay units.

Do you have the ebay unit above?? Im unclear. Most of the research ive done on RC about the membranes it seems that the ebay ones are not up to par with some. I prefer a clear housing so I am able to keep an eye on the filters. I thought everyone prefered them. I know cheaper filters come with white as its cheaper to produce. Ive never had any issues with algae. My TDS also slowly started to raise with the eBay unit about a year on city water with a starting PPM of 200ish.

Either way SB could probably write a book on this topic and could teach me a few thing probably but I thought I would just give my thoughts and opinions.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

SeedlessOne said:


> I should have specified that I was talking about the 75gpd only having a 90% rejection rate on the ebay units.
> 
> Do you have the ebay unit above?? Im unclear. Most of the research ive done on RC about the membranes it seems that the ebay ones are not up to par with some. I prefer a clear housing so I am able to keep an eye on the filters. I thought everyone prefered them. I know cheaper filters come with white as its cheaper to produce. Ive never had any issues with algae. My TDS also slowly started to raise with the eBay unit about a year on city water with a starting PPM of 200ish.
> 
> Either way SB could probably write a book on this topic and could teach me a few thing probably but I thought I would just give my thoughts and opinions.


Nah man its ok, really all membranes (and filters) are produced by one person and sold under different names. I ordered the unit above, but as a combo with replacement filters (extra set). The membrane (150gpd) is the same exact membrane i have seen for sale locally, and so are the pre filter, and others. Mine just came in a clear wrapping (bulk buyer), not in a box like the store. Maybe its possible that you got a different brand membrane? Dont get me wrong, i am sure there are tons of knock off membranes... but in my experience they dont use them. from what i have read, anything around 94-95% rejection is perfectly fine, and wont be wasting your DI resin. As for the white housing... mine hangs on the wall with ambient halide lighting (within 4 feet of my 400w) so it was a concern, and i have seen older ones that are clear, and full of green algae from just room lighting. It was something i wanted to avoid.

As for your TDS creeping... did you make the same mistake i did? My 6 stage came with extra filters like i said, after opening the first 3 and seeing everything was fine i fired it up... I assumed the RO membrane included was an extra... turns out there was no membrane in the housing so i was running everything but the RO for the first few months (dumbass) And i have read about people getting them crooked in the housing, bypassing the filter.

Anyways after that, i have had no problems.... i cant tell you my exact TDS right now because im out of town (and need to buy the inline version instead of borrowing one) but i am sure its still 0, after 7 months now (prob make 160 gals per month of water change and another 100+ in topoff?)

Their website states the membranes they use 


> As our 100 GPD system, at 65 psi, 25¢XC, create 4.2 gallons of pure water and 8.4 gallons of waste water within one hour.
> As our 150GPD RO system, at 65 psi, 25¢XC, create 6.25 gallons of pure water and 6.8 gallons of waste water within one hour.


And the top of the line Spectra pure high rejection membranes (only 90gpd) are almost 100$ (just the filter)... thats 98% rejection
And Captive purity claims "96% of nitrates and up to up to 99.5% of silicate" removal on the 150gpd for $51.99
Kent marine and all that crap claim the same thing, but 2x price.

Thats about all i can find about membranes, and i would bet money the one i got with mine is the captive purity one because they look identical, but i dont recall if there was a sticker or not. Regardless, for 120$ i am sure some corners were cut, but i will HAVE to eventually order new filters and a membrane regardless... so i will get a better membrane down the road and still be in less than the 250$ systems (thats lower end) and way under the 349 and other things i see online. And the filters themselves arent expensive to begin with, you can get 2 sets of replacements and a membrane for 100$ or less.

I would rather buy a fish or something i guess, and deal with the filter in 6 months. or the membrane after a year when my TDS shows up... im not going to complain about anything above 90% rejection either. If you lived in a major city, with TDS out the A holio from the tap i am sure you will eat up any membrane (especially with chlorine!) unless you add an additional pre filter system.

All boils down to your wallet and where you live... but like i said 0 tds is 0 tds regardless where it comes from.

Funny, after typing this... heres a comment from MD about the captive purity membrane


> No actual branding on product, and could not find a connection between membrane manufacturer and Captive Purity. Upon some research found out it is just a generic membrane made in some country like Korea.


So, it could be that they are all the same thing after all...?


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

hey skunk, how bout you just come over and work the r/o unit and do my water changes for me? there's some beer in it for ya...


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

joedizzlempls said:


> hey skunk, how bout you just come over and work the r/o unit and do my water changes for me? there's some beer in it for ya...:laugh:


Deal... but 12 beers per day= 360 in a month, or 15 cases at 20$ each= 300$

Far far cheaper to buy your own filter, and drink the beer your self








Unless you own a brewery?

I dont really get great mileage (Work accomplished vs beer consumed) but it seems to work out for my projects around the house


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## Plum (May 4, 2006)

interesting thread.... thank you.

Not to hijack... but do you add anything to the water after it flows the the ro/di unit skunk?

it is my understanding that these units also remove some beneficial factors of the water as well...


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

plum, fish shouldn't be placed in straight r/o water because they do need some of the things that are found in the water... the best way to do it is to check out what the normal gh range for your fish is (or pick a happy medium for all of your fish) and then you can either mix the r/o water with water from your tap to bring it up to the proper gh or you can use a gh booster such as seachem equilibrium, which contains the necessary minerals, but no sodium or chloride. i would only use equilibrium if you have a heavily planted tank tho, otherwise you can just mix with tap water.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Plum said:


> interesting thread.... thank you.
> 
> Not to hijack... but do you add anything to the water after it flows the the ro/di unit skunk?
> 
> it is my understanding that these units also remove some beneficial factors of the water as well...


That is correct... There are some additives that replenish trace elements necessary in aquariums (seachem equlibrium), but really just an RO membrane (withouth the DI resin) wont remove EVERYTHING.



> DI uses ion exchange resins, which exchange the ions in the water, such as iron, magnesium, copper for hydrogen and nitrate, sulphate, phosphate for hydroxide


So really RO water is almot pure... but not totally pure without DI resin. You can use pure RO DI water for top-off, and smaller water changes in fresh water because the minerals in the remaining water will quickly be absorbed balancing it out. If you just filled your tank with RO/DI water, thats where you get in trouble.



> Very hard water (high in minerals like calcium and magnesium) is often incompatible with breeding freshwater fish that are native to very soft waters. (Examples are Discus, Cardinal Tetras, and Corydoras Catfish). This difficulty leads many aquarists to finally buy an RO filter.


Because its easier to filter your water to completely pure, and add your minerals or trace elements you need, than messing around with softeners and swinging hardness... Thats why Joedizzle was looking into one (hard water)

Heres a good read about RO and DI in freshwater aquariums 
Clicky

Party on Garth....


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## Plum (May 4, 2006)

Skunkbudfour20 said:


> interesting thread.... thank you.
> 
> Not to hijack... but do you add anything to the water after it flows the the ro/di unit skunk?
> 
> it is my understanding that these units also remove some beneficial factors of the water as well...


*That is correct... There are some additives that replenish trace elements necessary in aquariums (seachem equlibrium), but really just an RO membrane (withouth the DI resin) wont remove EVERYTHING.*



> DI uses ion exchange resins, which exchange the ions in the water, such as iron, magnesium, copper for hydrogen and nitrate, sulphate, phosphate for hydroxide


So really RO water is almot pure... but not totally pure without DI resin. You can use pure RO DI water for top-off, and smaller water changes in fresh water because the minerals in the remaining water will quickly be absorbed balancing it out. If you just filled your tank with RO/DI water, thats where you get in trouble.



> Very hard water (high in minerals like calcium and magnesium) is often incompatible with breeding freshwater fish that are native to very soft waters. (Examples are Discus, Cardinal Tetras, and Corydoras Catfish). This difficulty leads many aquarists to finally buy an RO filter.


Because its easier to filter your water to completely pure, and add your minerals or trace elements you need, than messing around with softeners and swinging hardness... Thats why Joedizzle was looking into one (hard water)

Heres a good read about RO and DI in freshwater aquariums 
Clicky

Party on Garth....
[/quote]

Am I reading then correctly that for our amazonian friends (freshwater) it would perhaps be more beneficial to run an RO filter, as opposed to the ro with di (ro/di). This way, the water will not be completely stripped, thus not needing to add the seachem product? Further, the reason, if i understand correctly that we are not going to make use of the DI unit in our amazon, freshwater application is that there is no need to completely strip the water down?

Now, with the above stated, should I follow Joe's advice of mixing with tap water, or is this not needed since we are not making use of the DI unit in this application?

Thanks gents - very imformative


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## Ba20 (Jan 29, 2003)

I wouldnt because you'd be re-establishing some of the minerals you were wanting to take out. Use a product like SeaChem Equalibrium so you only add back the minerals that are benificial to your fish/plants.

Edit* equilibrium


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

Ba20 said:


> I wouldnt because you'd be re-establishing some of the minerals you were wanting to take out. Use a product like SeaChem Equalibrium so you only add back the minerals that are benificial to your fish/plants.
> 
> Edit* equilibrium


mixing with tap water is fine for most situations, seachem equilibrium will give you more control over exactly what goes into your water, but the cost can really add up over time. most people would never notice a difference, in fact, most people don't even really NEED an r/o unit for freshwater, but even so, i've heard from plenty of high tech plant guys that mix back with tap water and refuse to "waste" their money on equilibrium.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

joedizzlempls said:


> I wouldnt because you'd be re-establishing some of the minerals you were wanting to take out. Use a product like SeaChem Equalibrium so you only add back the minerals that are benificial to your fish/plants.
> 
> Edit* equilibrium


mixing with tap water is fine for most situations, seachem equilibrium will give you more control over exactly what goes into your water, but the cost can really add up over time. most people would never notice a difference, in fact, most people don't even really NEED an r/o unit for freshwater, but even so, i've heard from plenty of high tech plant guys that mix back with tap water and refuse to "waste" their money on equilibrium.
[/quote]










If you have had a full blown water test done on your tap or well (through the city, mainly health dept) you will know exactly whats in your water down to the smallest thing, so you can calculate a good balance to replenish what you need in the water.... If you use an additive, you also know exactly what you are adding. They are both viable options... but mainly you would be doing this to balance the hardness of your fishes enviornment

And i have heard of people using a small amount of WASTE water with the fresh water to balance (more concentrated) but really you can add a tablespoon of aquarium salt and accomplish the same as all of the above. If you take the time and do some math, you can easily be better off that you were with plain tap water.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

ok, so i just picked up an RO unit from a guy in the next town over, literally just got home with it... he just sold his discus and has no use for it anymore. it is in GREAT shape, it was an older guy with a very clean and very well put together setup down in his finished basement. i got the ro di unit with with a 75 gpd ro membrane plus filters and an extra 100 gpd ro membrane plus a permeate pump for $60, i think it was a damn good deal, especially since it looks brand new. here's a link to the unit i got, it's the "standard ro/di system" at the top of the page....

http://www.abundantflowwater.com/html/aqua...rs-Holiday.html

what do you guys think?

also... i really don't need the water to be 100% pure, so i would like to not run the di, how do i go about doing that? also wondering about a good place to order replacement filters from.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

joedizzlempls said:


> ok, so i just picked up an RO unit from a guy in the next town over, literally just got home with it... he just sold his discus and has no use for it anymore. it is in GREAT shape, it was an older guy with a very clean and very well put together setup down in his finished basement. i got the ro di unit with with a 75 gpd ro membrane plus filters and an extra 100 gpd ro membrane plus a permeate pump for $60, i think it was a damn good deal, especially since it looks brand new. here's a link to the unit i got, it's the "standard ro/di system" at the top of the page....
> 
> http://www.abundantflowwater.com/html/aqua...rs-Holiday.html
> 
> ...











From the looks of the picture, the unit flows from left to right in the bottom 3 chambers... the far right one, kinda amber colored, is the DI resin. You would remove that cartridge and replace it with another filter....

It should go 1 micron pre (sediment) filter, carbon filter, another carbon BLOCK filter (1 or 5 micron?) and then your RO membrane.

Take out the filters in the bottom and hook it up... whatch which way the water flows through and take note how the filters were in there...


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

how did i know that you would be the first one to post after me? haha

does it look like a made a good buy tho for $60? any suggestions on where to buy new filters/membranes?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

joedizzlempls said:


> how did i know that you would be the first one to post after me? haha
> 
> does it look like a made a good buy tho for $60? any suggestions on where to buy new filters/membranes?


You got me at a good time i guess? Been busy as f*ck with work the last 4 days so.... lucky you









Yeah, i would say it was a good pickup... like i said before the filter housing doesnt determine anything, its the quality of filters you use that determine water quality... and 0 TDS is 0 regardless of how you get it cost wise...

First, i would order an inline TDS meter from somewhere... to get a baseline reading on your incoming, and outgoing water... it will pay for itself in the long run, because you wont replace filters too soon, and you wont foul your tanks with bad water. they just hook into your feed line, and exit line... this is what i would go with: Clicky

As for filters, you can order your sediment (first) and carbon filters (second and third) from a few places... If your water is crap from the tap (high TDS) then i would recommend you buy the first 3 filters in bulk to have them on hand... you can replace your sediment filter more frequently and reduce strain down the line. You can buy them from ebay, or HERE or the website you listed earlier. you can order your RO membranes from the website i listed for the TDS meter, and quality doesnt hurt either.... its cheaper to replace one less often at a higher initial cost, and replace the pre filters more often to protect the membrane.

When you change your membrane, you have to change an inline flow thing (dont remember the exact name at the moment) but its rated to the same flow as your membrane. As we discussed earlier, when you buy a new membrane, i would upgrade to the 150gpd membrane, as you have similar rejection rate, but the capability to make more water for emergency situations. After you burn up what you have that is


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## Ba20 (Jan 29, 2003)

I'd look up thefilterguys.biz and depending on if you have chloramine in your water or not you can go from there.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

Ba20 said:


> I'd look up thefilterguys.biz and depending on if you have chloramine in your water or not you can go from there.


definitely don't have chloramine, i'm on a well.... so i just have liquid rock coming out of my faucets, haha


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

joedizzlempls said:


> I'd look up thefilterguys.biz and depending on if you have chloramine in your water or not you can go from there.


definitely don't have chloramine, i'm on a well.... so i just have liquid rock coming out of my faucets, haha
[/quote]

In that case the sediment filters are your best friend... i replace mine every 3 months and they are nasty!


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

so i should just buy a bunch of sediment filters and then a bunch of carbon filters, then run the sediment filter in the first slot and then two carbon filters? are two carbon filters gonna do much or should i have two sediment filters instead?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

joedizzlempls said:


> so i should just buy a bunch of sediment filters and then a bunch of carbon filters, then run the sediment filter in the first slot and then two carbon filters? are two carbon filters gonna do much or should i have two sediment filters instead?


I would run (in order, either left to right or right to left depending on what you find in terms of flow direction) 1 micron sediment filter (buy a few of them!)

You could get this: Clicky

And run one of these before the first 1 micron filter, and replace the first one often. click

Or you could run two .5 micron carbon block filters... its really up to you. But definitely get an inline TDS meter... 
And all in all, you could run the DI cartridge and just keep using that... but mix it with some tap water... once again your choice

For 30$ you can get down to .2 micron after the second stage... but depending on your inital TDS it might not be worth it.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

so will the tds meter tell me when i need to replace the ro membrane or the filters?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

joedizzlempls said:


> so will the tds meter tell me when i need to replace the ro membrane or the filters?


Both... depending on how you hook it up...

The one i posted earlier will tell you the tds from 2 points... you use it to take the initial TDS from your source before the filter and take note of it... then you perma hook it up AFTER the first 3 stages, and again after your RO membrane. It has 2 inputs, that you can switch between so you can monitor the TDS after the first 3 stages, and then again AFTER your membrane.... you can compare that to your first reading from the tap and how new the filters are.

You just keep a paper or note with your from the tap TDS, your TDS after your first stages, and your final TDS with new filters (lowest point) and then when they creep up, you can replace the first stage(s) and check again... a membrane, if protected well with pre filters will last atleast a year. As stated, i hammer mine (20 gals every 3 days, plus another 40 bi weekly for water changes) from a well, and the pre filter takes the majority of the punishment.

I actually use a hand held TDS meter... and dont have an inline but... some day =)

And if you find you have a super high TDS from the tap... the next filters you order can be more 1 micron pre filters, less carbon block filters to compensate... or if you have a fairly low tds, you can run 2 .5 micron carbon blocks, and 1 1 micron pre filter... get me?


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

ok, i think i am starting to understand, haha. thanks for answering all these questions man, i really appreciate it.

i'm pretty sure my tds out of the tap is going to be ridiculously high, i have seen hard water before, but mine is ridiculous. that makes sense with the tds meter, i thought i had to run one sensor between the tap and the first stage and then one one the output of the ro unit, but i spose i wouldn't need to have a constant read out of the tap.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

joedizzlempls said:


> ok, i think i am starting to understand, haha. thanks for answering all these questions man, i really appreciate it.
> 
> i'm pretty sure my tds out of the tap is going to be ridiculously high, i have seen hard water before, but mine is ridiculous. that makes sense with the tds meter, i thought i had to run one sensor between the tap and the first stage and then one one the output of the ro unit, but i spose *i wouldn't need to have a constant read out of the tap.*


Correct... read it once for a base-line and then just take note of it for future reference.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

the guy that i got the ro unit from was really nice and was trying to explain stuff to me, but i had been running around all day and i was starving, so all i kept thinking when he was explaining sh*t was "ok dude, i need to bounce so i can get home and eat some pulled pork leftovers".









i think i'm gonna be in business tho, all i need is an adapter to hook it up to the sink (he had his plumbed right into his water lines in the basement and used a 300 gal stock tank as his ro water reservoir) and a couple 30 gallon rubbermaid garbage cans and i'll be ready to test this thing out.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

joedizzlempls said:


> the guy that i got the ro unit from was really nice and was trying to explain stuff to me, but i had been running around all day and i was starving, so all i kept thinking when he was explaining sh*t was "ok dude, i need to bounce so i can get home and eat some pulled pork leftovers".
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Make sure you get a float valve for your primary reservoir... you can daisy chain the garbage cans with bulkheads and valves between, and fill one or both depending on your needs... the float just has to be higher than the bulkhead, and it will fill them both, and then shut off... you can then close the valve and isolate the cans for whatever reason

Dont try it without a float valve... you end up with lots of water on the floor when you space out the making water thing...


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

Skunkbudfour20 said:


> the guy that i got the ro unit from was really nice and was trying to explain stuff to me, but i had been running around all day and i was starving, so all i kept thinking when he was explaining sh*t was "ok dude, i need to bounce so i can get home and eat some pulled pork leftovers".
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Make sure you get a float valve for your primary reservoir... you can daisy chain the garbage cans with bulkheads and valves between, and fill one or both depending on your needs... the float just has to be higher than the bulkhead, and it will fill them both, and then shut off... you can then close the valve and isolate the cans for whatever reason

Dont try it without a float valve... you end up with lots of water on the floor when you space out the making water thing...
[/quote]

jesus christ man, i'm gonna blame you when my girl flips out over all this extra crap that i'm gonna have to buy...


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

joedizzlempls said:


> the guy that i got the ro unit from was really nice and was trying to explain stuff to me, but i had been running around all day and i was starving, so all i kept thinking when he was explaining sh*t was "ok dude, i need to bounce so i can get home and eat some pulled pork leftovers".
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Make sure you get a float valve for your primary reservoir... you can daisy chain the garbage cans with bulkheads and valves between, and fill one or both depending on your needs... the float just has to be higher than the bulkhead, and it will fill them both, and then shut off... you can then close the valve and isolate the cans for whatever reason

Dont try it without a float valve... you end up with lots of water on the floor when you space out the making water thing...
[/quote]

jesus christ man, i'm gonna blame you when my girl flips out over all this extra crap that i'm gonna have to buy...








[/quote]

This is what i use: Clicky But if your unit has the shut off (the round white thing with 4 outputs) then you will just need the float

Which is here: Clicky

The first one just TOTALLY shuts off your unit, and releases the pressure on the system, instead of spewing waste water non stop (and not making fresh water)

That will save you the hastle of water flooding a room (did it 4 times before my float got here in the mail) and the TDS meter will let you know how well its working.... all will pay off in a month after you dont flood your house


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

this thread has turned into the end-all be-all of RO unit threads, haha


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

joedizzlempls said:


> this thread has turned into the end-all be-all of RO unit threads, haha


Thats how i roll...

Hookin it up phatty, dawg pound


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

Skunkbudfour20 said:


> this thread has turned into the end-all be-all of RO unit threads, haha


Thats how i roll...

Hookin it up phatty, dawg pound









[/quote]

fer shizzle... big skunk bizzle

i have a feeling i'm gonna confused when i actually try to do this, but it looks good on paper so far... haha


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

i decided to get that inline tds meter from the link that skunk provided, hopefully it will be here next week. i haven't decided whether i want to plumb the ro unit into the water line in my laundry room (where there would be plenty of room to store multiple water containers and it would be out of the way, but far from my tanks) or into the water line in the bathroom in the front of our house (i could keep the unit in the sink cabinet and then run a line out to some storage containers in the next room, which would be right next to my tanks)... for now, i rigged up a faucet adaptor to test things out, i'll plumb it in this weekend tho.

i've been looking around at the float switches to use on my main storage container and was wondering if this one would work out ok...

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl36...shutoffvalvekit

it's about half the price of the other ones i've been looking at, which would be nice, but if it is crap, i don't wanna take the chance and flood my house... any thoughts?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

joedizzlempls said:


> i decided to get that inline tds meter from the link that skunk provided, hopefully it will be here next week. i haven't decided whether i want to plumb the ro unit into the water line in my laundry room (where there would be plenty of room to store multiple water containers and it would be out of the way, but far from my tanks) or into the water line in the bathroom in the front of our house (i could keep the unit in the sink cabinet and then run a line out to some storage containers in the next room, which would be right next to my tanks)... for now, i rigged up a faucet adaptor to test things out, i'll plumb it in this weekend tho.
> 
> i've been looking around at the float switches to use on my main storage container and was wondering if this one would work out ok...
> 
> ...


That float is fine!

I would plumb it wherever is convenient to stop in and check on the water making progress, and have room to store the most water incase of emergency. You can get those brute trash cans, with the wheel base to make moving the bins easier.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

yeah, i figure i'll give it a try... i found that inline tds meter on ebay for 25 bucks with free shipping and i just found that coralife float switch for 20 bucks and free shipping, not too bad... thanks once again for your input sir.

i think that i could plumb it into the water line at either spot and it would work out great, what i'm trying to determine is which spot is gonna lead to less complaining from my girl... do i put it in the laundry room and listen to her complain about how she has nowhere to fold laundry or put clothes hampers, or do i put it in the bathroom up front and listen to her complain about how there's tubes laying on the floor and there being storage containers sitting out in the open? it's a tough call...


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

joedizzlempls said:


> yeah, i figure i'll give it a try... i found that inline tds meter on ebay for 25 bucks with free shipping and i just found that coralife float switch for 20 bucks and free shipping, not too bad... thanks once again for your input sir.
> 
> i think that i could plumb it into the water line at either spot and it would work out great, what i'm trying to determine is which spot is gonna lead to less complaining from my girl... do i put it in the laundry room and listen to her complain about how she has nowhere to fold laundry or put clothes hampers, or do i put it in the bathroom up front and listen to her complain about how there's tubes laying on the floor and there being storage containers sitting out in the open? it's a tough call...


Put it in the laundry room, if shes like most women she spends too much time in the bathroom, and not enough in the laundry room or kitchen









sorry, i had to...


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

haha... true that

the only thing with this is that we NEVER use that bathroom, it's basically the one that is too far away in the house for anyone to use conveniently so it is just filled with nice stuff and never used... as a matter of fact, i can guarantee that it has been used less than 5 times since we moved into the house. there are pros and cons to each location, the biggest reason i am leaning more towards the laundry room is because i could tap right into the water line as it comes into the house, so i would have the best constant water pressure there.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

joedizzlempls said:


> haha... true that
> 
> the only thing with this is that we NEVER use that bathroom, it's basically the one that is too far away in the house for anyone to use conveniently so it is just filled with nice stuff and never used... as a matter of fact, i can guarantee that it has been used less than 5 times since we moved into the house. there are pros and cons to each location, the biggest reason i am leaning more towards the laundry room is because i could tap right into the water line as it comes into the house, so i would have the *best constant water pressure there.*


Your water pressure will be fairly constant in most lines in your house, providing its not the end of the line, after being reduced over and over. Typically houses have one pipe into the house, and then basically a manifold on a large scale that feeds smaller things... newer houses are almost all plumbed in Pex which is a 1" main, feeding 1/2 or 5/8 to the faucets and toilets etc. Also, the pump (or main if you are on city water? i am always thinking well for a source) is capable of moving lots of water, so unless you have all your bathtubs filling, toilets flushing, sinks running, dishwasher and icemaker running at the same exact time... you wont see a significant drop in production from the unit

If you are remotely worried, or have low pressure to begin with (some houses just do) you can buy a booster pump for it, and have no worries. but thats only if the thing isnt making water when you hook it up...


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

yeah, i'm on a well and there is a slight, but noticeable difference in water pressure between the sink in the laundry room and the sink in the bathroom that i am talking about, but the bathroom is at the opposite side of the house as far away from the laundry room as you can get, so i'm sure that's the end of the line. the pressure tank that we have is old and i am planning on having it replaced this winter, so hopefully that will fix the problem.


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## Ja'eh (Jan 8, 2007)

Would peat granules soften the metal content in tap water while in our aquariums?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

joedizzlempls said:


> yeah, i'm on a well and there is a slight, but noticeable difference in water pressure between the sink in the laundry room and the sink in the bathroom that i am talking about, but the bathroom is at the opposite side of the house as far away from the laundry room as you can get, so i'm sure that's the end of the line. the pressure tank that we have is old and i am planning on having it replaced this winter, so hopefully that will fix the problem.


You have to keep in mind that volume of water, *flow*, doesnt indicate the *pressure* in the line... you can have 100PSI with 5 gallons per min (a smaller dia tubing) or you can have 100psi with 5000gpm in a 4" line. So the bathroom could have the same line pressure, but be fed by a smaller line. Actually if you are on a well, i can almost guarantee (old pressure tank or not) that they are similar. A pressure tank does exactly that, hold pressurized water (thats packed in by your well pump) to allow for water usage between pump cycles. it keeps a constant pressure on the line, and feeds water to the system as you open a faucet (or flush a toilet etc)... depending on the tank size you could get several flushes and other uses from a tank worth before the pump kicks on and brings it back up to pressure. If you were on city, theres many more variables like other peoples usage to incorporate. If 5000 people flush the toilet during half-time... you would see that at your house as well

Im just saying dont let the visual representation of water coming out, be how you judge line pressure... unless you put a gauge on it, you really dont know.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Ja said:


> Would peat granules soften the metal content in tap water while in our aquariums?


Peat brings down PH and hardness, but would have little effect on "metal content" (depending on what metals)

it also wont change conductivity... metals like copper, lead, etc etc are all great conductors.

To remove heavy metals, or any metallic compounds is typically done with the DI (de ionization stage) of an RO/DI unit. Atleast whats small enough to make it through the RO membrane.

There are also more advanced ways of removing metals from water... but a RO/DI unit is the cheapest per gal of output most likely


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## Ja'eh (Jan 8, 2007)

When you do water changes how much of the water are you replacing to the aquarium is actually coming from your RO unit? Also if you use water from an RO filter do you still need to use a dechlorinator?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Ja said:


> When you do water changes how much of the water are you replacing to the aquarium is actually coming from your RO unit? Also if you use water from an RO filter do you still need to use a dechlorinator?


I use my RO/DI unit for my saltwater tank, so 0ppm PURE water is what i am after. I mix Reef Crystals salt mix, which contains all the trace elements to bring my water up to near ocean standards. I test for salinity, calcium, ph, Dkh, and obviously the PPM of the incoming water before i add it to the system (after a 12 hour mixing session for oxygenation and ph balance)

In terms of fresh water tanks, some people use the full RO/DI system, and add (something like Kent trace elements) to get EXACTLY what they need in the water. You have more control that way, but its also harder and more time consuming. Most people, will not use the DI stage and leave the water with ions (from metals, salts etc) OR mix 0ppm RO/DI water with tap water to add the minerals back in. If you are on a well, you get a report down to the nuts of everything thats in your water, so you can calculate a good mix of pure to tap water.

You do not need a dechlorinator, as any RO system (without the DI stage) will remove chlorine, most likely even before the actual Revers osmosis membrane (chlorine is harmful and cuts life) through carbon filtration, typically 1 or .5 micron.

And RO/DI water can be added directly to your aquarium for top offs, or small water changes (prob up to 50% depending on variables) with no problems. If you filled your tank up, or did a large water change the fish would die.


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## Ja'eh (Jan 8, 2007)

That's some great info thanks! If I have any more questions about RO usage can I pm you?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Ja said:


> That's some great info thanks! If I have any more questions about RO usage can I pm you?


Any time man!


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