Reverse Osmosis Water

[jefft]

Its pretty rare to find consistantly good RO/DI water from the grocery stores. I've read from 4 to 88 at different stores in Macon and Forsyth. I have a 30 also and in the summer I use @1 gallon a day to top off. I change 5 to 10 gal of water every couple of weeks. I don't have my RO/DI going to my tank, it goes into a barrel where its stored. I have an ATO that gets its water from a 6 gallon bucket that I fill @every few days. That way if it gets stuck the most water that will go into my sump is 6 gal. My algae problems have virtually gone away since I've started making my own water.

 

[tyleratl]

I recently got really poor water from a Glacier Water Machine at Publix. The first gallon was under 10 TDS but the rest was over 100! So, I ordered a $30 "Tap Water Filter" made by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. Can you believe that it produced 0 TDS water right out of the box? It's a DI unit with some charcoal as well. I guess the real test will be how much water it produces before needing a new cartridge.

 

[dvara78]

I get my water from Publix....$1.50 for 5 gallons!

I have a small Nano so this last's me for a while and i just get it when i go shopping for groceries or on my way home.

It's been working well for me thus far!

Cheers,

Dil

 

[buckeye field supply]

RODI is generally not what you will find at grocery stores. You might be thinking of RO and Distillation - thats something different.

most drinking water is RO.

 

[roland jacques]

Keep in mind most of Atlanta's "tap water" is about around 50 TDS.

 

[tyleratl]

Yeah.. My tap water here in midtown is about 75. So, imagine my surprise getting 100+ TDS RO water from the Glacier Water machine at Publix. I just bought this simple Tap Water Filter made by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. It is a DI filter with a carbon pre-filter built in. I get 0 TDS out of that, so I am going to see how many gallons I can get out of it before having to buy a new cartridge. Looks good so far. BTW, I remember you Roland from 10 years ago or so when I had a fish only 110 gallon tank. I used to buy fish from you over in Toco Hills. I loved your store.

 

[roland jacques]

Thanks, I'm just doing maintenance now, life is much simpler, but i do miss it in some ways.

Hopefully you get a few hundred gallons out of that before it exhausts. If you could put a 0.5 guzler carbon block before the DI, it might improve the DI's life a lot.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Also keep in mind that the copper level here in Lawrenceville is about .10-.15ppm. That is enough to cause some serious problems. Back about 10 years ago, I used tap water when I lived up in Kalamazoo, MI. I did not have any problems what so ever. Heck everyone used tap water. When i moved my tank to Atlanta for the first time is when I started to grow a hair algae forest overnight. It was enough to run me out of the hobby for a few years. My best advice, starting up a new tank for the first time is stressful enough, use RO/DI water from the start and save yourself the headache!!

 

[tyleratl]

Yeah.. 10 years ago, I used tap water for my fish only aquarium and didn't know any better. I think most people used tap water. Back then, you tossed some dead bleached coral in the tank and added fish. I found it hard to keep the delicate fish alive in my 55 gallon tank. It took a 110 gallon tank to dilute the mistakes. Now, things are so much different. Fish only systems are usually fish only WITH live rock. My tank now is only 34 gallons, which is ideal for my small condo. It's got live rock and a cleaning crew. I expect to add some coral soon.