How Important Is Ro/di Water?

[skriz]

DonS;205881 wrote: My son's been buying his water at Kroger, recently did some testing and found it was no better than tap water. He's had tons of problems with his reef tank and now thinks he has found out why. I guess that speaks a lot for owning a TDS meter. BTW, he's spoken to Kroger management and the company that put the equipment in the Kroger stores. They have provided him with no support or plans for changing anything. He lives in Boone, Ky but I'd suspect that all the Krogers have the same program. (no jokes about Kentucky)

Those machines aren't rodi. They use sediment filters and carbon, which depending on the water source, can</em> be okay</em>, but mostly is not. The machines are maintained regularly by backflushing with bleach. (This is fact, not theory).

thedeper;206572 wrote: I used purified water from walmart. I think Crystal water is the name of the company... is that better than tap?

It's filtered tap water. Better than tap, yes; good enough for your tank, no.

kelleyga36;205677 wrote: So has anyone purchased a ebay one ? or have a used one?

I use an ebay rodi: water general. Works flawlessly. ZERO tds water for years.

OP-rodi isn't essential if your tap water is decent. You can use sediment filters with carbon and get better than tap water. If you can add di resin to that mix, you'll be in great shape. (this is assuming you have decent water to begin with). I'm actually contemplating not using my RO unit. I was thinking of going with sediment, carbon and DI. This way, I can have ZERO waste water and ZERO tds. BUT, my tap water is pretty good (<50ppm)

 

[thedeper]

So in the jugs, what is the difference between purified water and drinking water, or distilled water?

 

[skriz]

distilled water is created by boiling the water and capturing the steam in a container. This process leaves behind the impurities in the distiller.

Purified water will be purified through any number of methods: ro, di, uv, ozone, carbon, etc.

Drinking is purified water.

 

[thedeper]

So not matter if I got the purified it is still not as good as Ro? It says no extra metals added for taste so I thought it might be ok, I just figured it was better than using my tap bc my tap is horrible in this area.

 

[skriz]

thedeper;206601 wrote: So not matter if I got the purified it is still not as good as Ro? It says no extra metals added for taste so I thought it might be ok, I just figured it was better than using my tap bc my tap is horrible in this area.

<span style="font-size: 15px;">NO!</span>


RODI is better than RO. You have to know WHAT method they used to purify the water. The list I provided was examples of how it COULD have been purified. You will have to find out which method they used.

 

[thedeper]

I agree that RO/DI is the best way to go I am just making sure the water that I added would be suitable for right now. On the container and website it says:

"Purified by reverse osmosis, filtered, and ozonated to ensure quality. Contains selected minerals (potassium bicarbonate, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride).

I am bringing this to you, because honestly I really do not know what all of this mumbo jumbo means.

 

[tebriel]

kelleyga36;206537 wrote: Purchased a RODI today great deal got it at cappacino bay $100 Guess everyone is correct as i am having algae problems.Hope this makes a difference.

It'll take a bit of time for the algae to go away because the bad things in the tap water has leached into your rock and sand, so you have to let it slowly come back out of the rocks. Also, since you're having algae problems, are your bulbs new/recent or are they old? And, do you have a protein skimmer?

 

[kelleyga36]

tebriel;206613 wrote: It'll take a bit of time for the algae to go away because the bad things in the tap water has leached into your rock and sand, so you have to let it slowly come back out of the rocks. Also, since you're having algae problems, are your bulbs new/recent or are they old? And, do you have a protein skimmer?

Bulb is new 250w MH and yes i have a protein skimmer.Tank is still in the cycle stage.Its a 36gal with a 20gal sump about 2 inches of sand and 60 lbs of live rock.just added a koralia 3,4 into the tank yesterday and the algae dosnt look as bad.

 

[tebriel]

great! The fact that it's new means there's less to leach out. So sounds like you're on the fast track to success. Sadly though, the fast track here in saltwater world is pretty slow. Ever tried running underwater? lol

 

[kelleyga36]

tebriel;206636 wrote: great! The fact that it's new means there's less to leach out. So sounds like you're on the fast track to success. Sadly though, the fast track here in saltwater world is pretty slow. Ever tried running underwater? lol

Never saltwater just fresh . We have a freshwater tank now, but my boys want to try saltwater. Should I have some type of filter system besides the skimmer?

 

[tebriel]

Your rocks and sand will be your biological filtration. You just need the water to move around a lot. That's what the powerheads are for. You want to try to eliminate dead spots in the water where there's no movement.

 

[kelleyga36]

with the koralia 3 and 4 there is no dead spots .I keep repositioning them to try and keep all the sand from moving so much. Maybe I should have purchased smaller ones.

 

[tebriel]

Yeah, that might be a little much... but just see if you can get them positioned right and not blow everything away