Reverse Osmosis Unit inquiry

[Xenos]

I am setting up a 120gal aquarium with a wet/dry and protien skimmer. I wish to do fish only. I was told that I need an ROU before I filled the tank in order to be truly happy. Something about hair algae and silica. Can anyone explain it in layman's terms? $300 is alot! Is it ok to purchase a used unit? Thanks guys.

 

[dansemacabre]

Pssst, look on ebay for the seller "filterdirect"...that's all they sell, and I've read good reviews about them. There's also AquaFX, a sponsor of this site (sorry if I spelled that wrong!). Anyways, the typically high phosphate levels from tap water provide a lot of food for algae. Silicates can also be in the water, and they do the same for diatoms. If you use a RO/DI (Reverse Osmosis/De-Ionization) filter, it removed 99.9% of these, and drastically reduces your chances of an outbreak, though it cannot be absolutely guranateed. RO/DI water does not harm the fish, (because essential nutrients removed by the water filter are replenshed when you mix in your salt solution, minus the phosphates and silicates). Some salt can add phosphates and silicates back in more so than others. The salt debate is a hot one, so pick one you've been recommended by someone that knows that they're doing. And look for a salt that is phosphate/silicate free. HTH!

 

[fishfreek]

The big thing depends on yoru home water quality. If you have fairly good quality tap water you could get buy without one for a fish only tank or even a reef tank. I know some people here who do this. If you have poor quality tapwater then the RO unit should be seen as an investment vs an expense. I use my RO water filter for not only the fish tanks but also for drinking water.

$300 is alot for RO units and you wont need to spend that much to get a decent 50 or even 100GPD unit. AquaFX is a sponsor here and CaptiveReefs, also a sponsor, have some very good quality units.

 

[steve5520]

Check ebay. I found one for under $100. Seems like a decent built unit and the water coming out reads 0 or 1.

I've only been using the RO/DI water for a couple months, but the tank does look better. Seems like i'm scraping the glass a lot less.

 

[captivereefs]

One thing to keep in mind is service after the purchase. The Aqua FX units ae supported by a tech line and they have engineers on staff to answer any of your questions. I just started selling the Aqua FX units and was so impessed with them that they are my only RO system that i sell now!

 

[loganj]

I agree with Darin about this. I have one of the Ebay units, and while it does the job, there are some design issues with it. I don't like the orientation of the DI cartridge and the shut off valve that came with it didn't work very well. Also, when I called them to ask some questions, no one there spoke english well enough to answer my questions. My spanish is worse than their english so we didn't really get anywhere and I'm pretty much on my own with it. Aqua FX has quality built units and they back their product with a good warranty and technical support. They will be going on my website very soon for that reason. Also, you can get one of their systems for less than $300.

 

[Xenos]

If you have fairly good quality tap water you could get buy without one

What do I test for and what is too high for each test? Also can I fill my tank with water now and invest in an ROU later or will that be too little too late? I had a 29gal run fine on tap but I've heard all these horror stories about hair algae.

 

[loganj]

I would check it for nitrate and phosphate at least. It would also be nice to know what the TDS of the tap water is. Nitrates and phosphates are the leading culprits with hair algae though.