What is a RO for changing water.

[Silvabul]

I have had my tank for 4 months now. I have been adding in water from the sink that I have been adding primer to (nitrates, nitrites, amonia, clorine remover). Is this bad for my aquarium. What should I be doing. What is a RO. Where do I buy it. How much does it cost.

 

[toddwess]

RO is Reverse Osmosis. DI is De-Ionized water. RO/DI is when you have both together in the same system.

It's a filter for your tap water. There is TONS you can read about it here and other places online.

My tap water has a Total Disolved Solids (TDS) reading of 219. For lack of a better word, TDS tells us how pure the water is where a zero reading is perfect.

The water that exits my RO/DI filter is currently ready about 6, but I expect it to drop to 1 after another day or so.

I would recommend trying to use something other than straight tap water for your salt-water tank.

I got my RO/DI filter on eBay for about $100.

HTH,
Todd

 

[BillyZ]

For a salt water system an RO filter is, IMO, necessary. The amount of "stuff" in tap water, if not filtered.

A number of our sponsors also sell RO filters for fair prices. Support this site by supporting our sponsors

 

[fishfreek]

The cost of the RO unit should be seen as an invest ment rather than an expense. We use it for alot more than just tank water at home. I use RO water for the cats bowls, for the freshwater tank and for our chilled drinking water for example.

You can often find RO water from dispensers at wal-mart or other retailers. I belive the cost is usually somethine like $.25-$.50/gal.