RO/DI Water

[Sawyer_Peyton18]

Do you have to use RO/DI water. I am 14 and I am sure my parents would not let me hook up one of those filters to the plumbing.
My uncle owns a 100 gallon reef and he just ran his water through a charcoal filter.

 

[Sillyfishies]

You don't HAVE to. It is just healthier and easier.

 

[Sawyer_Peyton18]

Will the tank still be healthy. And will my fish be happy, because like I said I am not allowed to touch the plumbing.

 

[trnewsom]

It really depends on the quality of your water. We have really good water here and even though I have RODI unit, I don't hesitate to fill from the faucet, add some Prime and salt, and use the next day if I need to.

 

[Sawyer_Peyton18]

My water is well water. I am guessing that would mean it is not nearly as contaminated as the city water. Does it being well water make a difference?

 

[dmolavi]

Well water can have *lots* more minerals, etc in it, and the concentrations of them can be affected by heavy rains, dry spells, etc. You can usually get your water tested for free from Home Depot (ours has free kits and does the test for free). Or, grab some test kits from your LFS and run some tests.

 

[Sawyer_Peyton18]

Ok I will look into testing it.

 

[lstimpy]

My RODI hooks to my garden hose. I live in Florida, so no worries about freezing.

 

[DaleHauze]

You can easily hook up an RO DI unit with out touching the plumbing. Go to Bulk Reef Supply and look into there 5 stage 75gpd and they have videos on there site that shoe different ways to hook up one. Also IMO the best units for the money and come with everything you need to get it running

 

[DaleHauze]

Oh and if your well is like mine is plan on buying the booster pump also. My well runs at 40 psi so im 20psi below min pressure spec

 

[dmolavi]

This is how I did mine:
My laundry room RO/DI installation - YouTube

 

[Pimp My Fish]

If you have a small aquarium you can just buy it or distilled. I do that for my ten gallon.

 

[melosu58]

I hook mine up to a garden hose also. You definitely dont want well water.

 

[Sawyer_Peyton18]

Thanks for all your help I will learn how to hook one up

 

[phillytec]

Well water can cause many problems.
If I were you I would do a 29 gallon or smaller cube tank with 2 clownfish and an anemone. Cost will be cheaper and maintenance will be easier.
Just my 2 cents good luck .

 

[Sillyfishies]

Well water can cause many problems.
If I were you I would do a 29 gallon or smaller cube tank with 2 clownfish and an anemone. Cost will be cheaper and maintenance will be easier.
Just my 2 cents good luck .

I disagree with the nem. They aren't easy.

 

[bribo12]

I disagree with the nem. They aren't easy.

I agree, nems can be very tricky. On an rodi, I love my bulk reef supply one and it has an adapter to hook to the sink.

 

[dmolavi]

Nix the nem.

BRS has great plumbing supplies, and their RO units come with a bunch of different adapters for different installations (utility/hose bib, under sink install, faucet install). Top notch.

 

[baron1282]

You do not need to touch the plumbing in your parents home for an RO unit! They attach right up to any hose attachment! I also believe they hook right up to your sink with an attachment! You can use it for what you need and then put it away, or if you have a basement sink you can hang it on the wall close to the basement sink and just hook up to the sink when you need to make water! It's really easy! Just make sure you put the drain line into the sink because it waste a lot of water to get the clean water. Mine seems to waste about 15 gallons for every 5 gallons it makes.

 

[baron1282]

My water is well water. I am guessing that would mean it is not nearly as contaminated as the city water. Does it being well water make a difference?

My water is well water as well, and when I use it to fill regular bowls it leaves behind some nasty brown stains. I will not use that without some filtration devise filtering the water first. I live next to farm land and no telling what chemicals get into the water, plus the stream the water comes from runs right though a cow pastier. So NO way would I use it straight up! My wife bought me this for Christmas!

Amazon.com: Coralife 05692 Pure-Flo II 50-Gallon Per Day 4 Stage RO/DI System: Pet Supplies

I already saw a major difference in terms of quality of my water, plus no brown stains on anything I put it in. I might have to replace the filters a little more often than normal, but it's still worth having it at my home so I don't have to drag 5 gallon buckets to the super market for their RODI water.
Here is a picture of my setup! This is coming right from the hose attachment in the sub-basement that the water flows directly from the well. Water is good for a long time! So you don't need to worry about filling up a trashcan and not using the water quickly.