Tap Water question

[Fishfreak1]

Can I just use tap water and then add salt and mix it and make it non toxic and put it in the tank. Or do I need saltwater from a lfs
Or do I need a RO/DI unit to make water ( not really in my budget.
I forgot to mention its going to be a 100 gallon reef tank.

 

[Fishfreak1]

Also if I need a RO/DI unit can you tell me where to buy one and which one I need ( I need one under 100 dollars but is still good)

 

[Fishfreak1]

But one that doesn't make lots of waste water

 

[Beengirl]

I don't have one yet, but I've heard good things on this forum about one from purewaterclub.com (they also sell in amazon) that's portable (so tou dont have to plumb it in) and is under $70. Not sure of the waste amount from it, though.

 

[Fishfreak1]

Can I just use tap water? Or lfs water? Or do I need the RO DI

 

[nikki_kaiser]

Can I just use tap water? Or lfs water? Or do I need the RO DI

If you use tap water you will be fighting an ongoing algae battle due to phosphates. If you plan on keeping corals this isn't a good thing and with FOWLR it's a nuisance as well. I would use your LFS water rather than tap.

 

[nikki_kaiser]

I don't have one yet, but I've heard good things on this forum about one from purewaterclub.com (they also sell in amazon) that's portable (so tou dont have to plumb it in) and is under $70. Not sure of the waste amount from it, though.

<----has one from there and it works great! I do need to order new filters though as its been a while. When I saw the price compared to everyone else I figured it might not work as well but it has. The other ones look nicer and I won't lie in that when I received mine it looked cheap. All I care about is that it works though so I'm ok with that!

 

[nikki_kaiser]

Can I just use tap water? Or lfs water? Or do I need the RO DI

Calculate how much you will spend over the next 6 months on once a week water changes and factor in your time to go get water, gas, containers to keep it in and what not. Then go to purewaterclub.com and see what the cost of one of their units is. I went with the 150 gallon RO/DI. You will need to keep fresh water on hand to top off with and I always have about 15% saltwater made up on hand "just incase".

 

[Fishfreak1]

I searched for their website on google and a link popped up and I clicked on it and lots of people complained about them charging and not shipping and them having terrible customer service.

 

[Fishfreak1]

Also their website isn't working for me. Do u guys and gals know any other websites? Also I found RO DI units on bulk reef supply but I don't know which one I need. Can anyone help?

 

[Fishfreak1]

How much stage Ro DI unit do I need?

 

[Fishfreak1]

I finally got into the website now which one do u guys and gals recommend for me from here
www.purewaterclub.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=88_61_28
Or should I get one with a tank that's on this website
www.purewaterclub.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=88_61_63
What's the difference from the $145 and the $290 tank version?
If I get one without a tank, can I buy the tank separate?

 

[Fishfreak1]

Lastly I just read on a website that RO DI water is only used in freshwater aquariums is this true??

 

[nikki_kaiser]

Lastly I just read on a website that RO DI water is only used in freshwater aquariums is this true??

RO water is used on fresh and Marine aquariums. As far as the website goes, I used a credit card and had no issues getting my stuff. I've not used their customer service so I really can't comment on that one.

 

[nikki_kaiser]

I finally got into the website now which one do u guys and gals recommend for me from here
www.purewaterclub.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=88_61_28
Or should I get one with a tank that's on this website
www.purewaterclub.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=88_61_63
What's the difference from the $145 and the $290 tank version?
If I get one without a tank, can I buy the tank separate?

The type I bought was one that you don't have to hook up under the sink and can take anywhere. I didn't buy the tank because I have two aquariums that I have to do water changes on so I basically use a bucket from Home Depot with a hole in the top, put the line with purified water in the hole and let the other drain the dirty water out. Then I dump it into a 30 gallon trash can I use to mix my saltwater.

The unit you get depends on how quickly you want it to make water (gallons per hour) and whether you want to put it under a sink or not. I would go with a deionized unit as well.

BRS has good quality stuff as well.

 

[Fishfreak1]

I want the one that I can take anywhere and I don't need the tank cause ill just use it for my aquarium plus my tank is 100 gallons so which unit would you choose? Also can it stay and not run for a couple days and does anything happen to it if it doesn't run?

 

[Fishfreak1]

The deionized unit is the one RO DI right?

 

[Beengirl]

Yes, the DI is the deionizing part.

 

[Fishfreak1]

Guys and gals can it be off or not run for a couple days and then be turned back on?

 

[Beengirl]

The portable one, which it sounds like that's the one you're leaning towards, is just hooked up to faucet, used, and then removed. There's an adapter that you can use to connect.