Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Tap Water Filter

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I recently started using one and it works great. TDS reading is ZERO. No waste water (only reason I went this route) and it's much faster than RO units.

I've made about 100 gal so far and only half the resin has changed colour, but this will depend on your tap water quality.

BTW, this will be be a costly solution in the long run so I'd only advise it if you cannot install a RO/DI unit for some reason.
 
do you think the RO unit is the cheaper alternative in the long run? Have you had any problem with brown algae with that filter? I see that the cartridges cost about $20 so I guess it depends on your water quality as to whether it's a cheaper solution?
 
Well, since even the manufacturer claims it could make as little as 25 gal per cartridge I'd say that's pretty costly water right there.

You probably won't see any difference between this and RO water once it's in the tank. The only benefits are those I mentioned already.

Unless your water use is metered like mine it's probably going to be a lot more cost effective going with a good RO/DI unit instead.
 
did you experience an algae spike with this water as you were completing your first nitrogen cycle? or new tank syndrome?

thanks so much for your answers.
 
The tank I'm using this filter with is still cycling but the water has remained crystal clear so far. There's the usual small amount of algae growth on the rock/glass due to ambient light, but it's nothing compared to if you use tap water.
 
I also use one. Have been from the beginning. They do state that you can get as little as 25 gallons of DI water. This totaly depends on your tap water quality from the start. Mine is fairly good, so I get alot more than the average per cartridge.

For the record, this only make DI water and RO water. For the most part, it is a good deal for me. Your milage may very depending on your water quailty.
 
I have already gotten over 100 gallons from my first cartridge so I am very happy. I used one years ago on my FW tanks and it reduced my algae outbreaks tremendously. My tap water is pretty soft and not that bad quality but I want to play it safe with a reef tank.
 
Unfortunately the tap water where I live sucks so I only got 25 gal per cartrige. I started using RO water from a pure water store down the street. Only 25 cents a gal. Don't know how good it really is but so far it is better than tap water.
 
wow...100 gallons would be pretty sweet off of 1 filter. I'm out in colorado where the water is super hard so I have a feeling that I'm looking at around 50 gallons max per filter.
 
Spend the money and buy a ro/di unit. You can get them on e-bay for cheap. Replacing 18.00 cartridges even every 100 gallons is ridiculous, IMO of course.
 
what's the required maintenance for an RO/DI unit? Does the membrane need replacing or anything? What's the maintenance cost for an RO/DI unit?

Does an RO/DI unit remove all phosphates and silicates as well? Thx.
 
You should be able to find plenty of information if you search the forum. There has been numerous topics made already on RO/DI units so it's probably not worth repeating that info here under a different title.

But as mentioned before, the costs will be far less in the long run.
 
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