Reverse osmosis

[Cichlid Chris]

Does anyone have a reverse osmosis system hooked up? Is it worth the money to have one or should I just keep going to my lfs for a 1$ a gallon for the to water?

 

[tangs27]

In my opinion it's worth it if you need a lot of water. I use about 40 gallons a week for top off and water changes. I purchased one about a year ago my only complaint is the water waste. I use it to water my plants and they make an additional filter you can add to it so you have less waste water. How many gallons do you use a week?

 

[Cichlid Chris]

With PWC and top offs I used about 30-35 gallons a week

 

[tangs27]

It would definitely save you a lot of money. If I were you I would purchase an ro/di unit you can find a good one for what you pay a month on water

 

[Cichlid Chris]

Looked online a bit it's overwhelming how many different one there are

 

[bribo12]

I have one for saltwater. It is the 75 gpd unit made by bulkreefsupply and it works great. Makes a 5 gallon bucket in an hour and 20 minutes.

 

[Rare]

What's wrong with your tap water?

 

[tangs27]

I got mine off of eBay it's a 6 stage. The tap water at my house shows almost 700 on a TDS meter and that unit makes 0 TDS water. Made a huge difference and it was a very fair price.

 

[Rare]

Made a huge difference and it was a very fair price.

What made a huge difference?

 

[tangs27]

The ro/di machine made a huge difference on water quality. Tap water is not the best to use in salt water and the machine makes pure water so there is no need to purchase the water every week.

 

[Rare]

But he is talking about freshwater/cichlid not saltwater

 

[tangs27]

It can be used in fresh it depends on the fish. Since he has been using ro/di water it will be cheaper if he has his own machine.

 

[Rare]

When freshwater guys are using freshwater is because they either have something in their tap water like high nitrate. A 50/50 ratio is used to have a balance. Reducing some of the nitrate yet keeping the trace element needed with a 50/50 ratio.

Which brings it back....why is the OP using RO/Di water. If his water is fine there is no need for a RO/DI unit and him wasting money.

 

[tangs27]

Because most fresh tanks are ok with a mix but you have more control using all ro/di water and adding any minerals you need back in. Tap water is frequently contaminated and they add so many chemicals to it you just never know what's in it. I use ro/di water in my fresh tank and use ro right to bring the water to where I want it. Depending on the op's location he may have bad tap water, where I live the water is nasty and turns the tank green if I use tap.

 

[Rare]

So we go back to......Why does he need RODI

 

[Cichlid Chris]

So we go back to......Why does he need RODI

I have a high level of silicates and nitrates in my tap water. That's why I use RO water.

 

[LeonardAd]

Why not use RO/DI? There are so many chemicals and contaminants in the water that you cannot trust tap water anymore, especially when fish can be affected by the slightest amount of any contaminant that shouldn't be in the water. Not only that, with an RO/DI system, you have much less algae build up as the water is nearly, or is pure. I got my system from Aquasafe Systems, Reverse Osmosis. Shower Filters. Whole House Systems. Water Filters., and have never had an issue with the water, fish, or algae ever since I got my system, and would never go back to anything but this. It pretty much takes care of all of the maintenance I used to have to do.

 

[anachrotech]

Because most fresh tanks are ok with a mix but you have more control using all ro/di water and adding any minerals you need back in. Tap water is frequently contaminated and they add so many chemicals to it you just never know what's in it. I use ro/di water in my fresh tank and use ro right to bring the water to where I want it. Depending on the op's location he may have bad tap water, where I live the water is nasty and turns the tank green if I use tap.

I've been looking into this because of my tap water becoming questionable due to lack of maintenance by the municipality. What would you use to add minerals back?

 

[tangs27]

I use ro right it puts the good minerals back in for my freshwater fish. The only downside is it can get expensive.

 

[bribo12]

I use ro right it puts the good minerals back in for my freshwater fish. The only downside is it can get expensive.

Ro contains 0 minerals. How does it put the good stuff back in? For fw you have to add additives to the ro water before it goes in the tank to get pH, kh, etc right