RO or Distilled: How Important?

[cwarmouth]

Hello Folks,

It's been about 15 years since I have had a reef tank. Back then I never considered using RO or distilled water (I had fish only and reef tanks) but now it seems to be almost a standard. What do you all think about that? Optional or mandatory?

CW

 

[jcampbell]

I would get Purified water over distilled! On the jug it says, "Filtered by reverse osmosis."

 

[basscyn]

Mandatory.
If your putting up a system much larger than a nano... Go ahead and score an RODI unit.

 

[cwarmouth]

Mandatory for both startup and makeup water?

 

[smartwater]

Mucho important'e serious issues; hair algae, non dissolved solvents harmful, stunt coral growth. They "WILL" make it however personally I feel as if I'm not worthy of habitableness of these beautiful fish coral ect if I cant afford a spoiled lifestyle for these guys. : ) 'tear" If no RODI, RO unit stop by a local "Cough" PUBLIX "Cough" (my comp) and get the water from them thats how I started like $1.50 per 5 gallon - Happy reefing

Edit: There is a store in Auburn 5 min from Opeklika store 1294 publix

 

[ichthyoid]

OK, we since we are talking about RO/DI...

Many/most reefers use a combination of RO (reverse osmosis) and DI (deionization cartridges), which is why it is called RODI or RO/DI.

The RO part suffers from low efficiency, below 40% (60% waste) without a booster pump. I won't go into why here. Few systems have booster pumps due to cost. My point is to highlight that you CAN use just DI cartridges and achieve 100% efficiency.

The water that comes to our homes is already pretreated at the water plant. We just need to get the chlorine and any nitrate, phosphate and heavy metals out that MIGHT be there. In Cherokee County where I live, the water reports issued by the county show miniscule amounts of anything other than chlorine.

A carbon prefilter with a couple of DI cartridges does a great job, and you can use ALL of the water processed. -JMHO

 

[grouper therapy]

ichthyoid;628316 wrote: OK, we since we are talking about RO/DI...

Many/most reefers use a combination of RO (reverse osmosis) and DI (deionization cartridges), which is why it is called RODI or RO/DI.

The RO part suffers from low efficiency, below 40% (60% waste) without a booster pump. I won't go into why here. Few systems have booster pumps due to cost. My point is to highlight that you CAN use just DI cartridges and achieve 100% efficiency.

The water that comes to our homes is already pretreated at the water plant. We just need to get the chlorine and any nitrate, phosphate and heavy metals out that MIGHT be there. In Cherokee County where I live, the water reports issued by the county show miniscule amounts of anything other than chlorine.

A carbon prefilter with a couple of DI cartridges does a great job, and you can use ALL of the water processed. -JMHO

What are TDS readings before treatment and how much are you making per week?

 

[grouper therapy]

I tried it with my tap water and the resin exhausted before I could make 100 gallons.

 

[ichthyoid]

grouper therapy;628338 wrote: What are TDS readings before treatment and how much are you making per week?

Our TDS runs around 40 ppm (~70 micromohs conductivity). I built the system myself, and is currently off-line. I have made up as much as 25 gallons per week with it. It was nice to make a 100+ gallons in a few hours when setting up a tank too. The cartridges last several months. Buying the resin in bulk and using refillable cartridges saves more money. I run a 5 micron and catalytic carbon prefilter with DI cartridges in series. When the first one is exhausted, I rotate the second to first, then put a new one in at second position.

With TDS already very low, I just don't see an advantage to the increased water useage, small reduction in TDS, added costs and maintenance. I have not done a payback calculation on one vs the other, mostly because I don't mind paying a little to save a lot of water.

Water report link below (note nitrate is 0.23ppm):

 

[grouper therapy]

ichthyoid;628362 wrote: Our TDS runs around 40 ppm (~70 micromohs conductivity). I built the system myself, and is currently off-line. I have made up as much as 25 gallons per week with it. It was nice to make a 100+ gallons in a few hours when setting up a tank too. The cartridges last several months. Buying the resin in bulk and using refillable cartridges saves more money. I run a 5 micron and catalytic carbon prefilter with DI cartridges in series. When the first one is exhausted, I rotate the second to first, then put a new one in at second position.

With TDS already very low, I just don't see an advantage to the increased water useage, small reduction in TDS, added costs and maintenance. I have not done a payback calculation on one vs the other, mostly because I don't mind paying a little to save a lot of water.

Water report link below (note nitrate is 0.23ppm):

http://www.ccwsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/2010-Water-Quality-Report.pdf">http://www.ccwsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/2010-Water-Quality-Report.pdf</a>[/QUOTE]
Thanks for that info!! My TDS is much higher and my usage is around a 100 a week so I guess that is why my resin exhausted so quickly. I might reconsider if I could regenerate the resin my self. I like the fact that you are conserving the water :up:

 

[morganatlanta]

I also use a carbon and DI filter, the API "Tap Water Filter", instead of RO. I get over 150 gallons from a $20 cartridge. It will produce 6 gallons per hour. For people with relatively low water usage, and no convenient place for an RO unit, I highly recommend this system.

Using a system made up with BRS reactor components and their bulk media would be cheaper than using the API cartridges, but I just haven't made the transition yet.

I've got a peristaltic pump on order which will allow me to put the filter between my top off bin and the sump. The water will go from the top off bin, through the filter and into the sump as part of the ATO process. This will allow me to fill my top off bin with regular tap water, which will be a huge convenience.

 

[ichthyoid]

grouper therapy;628394 wrote: Thanks for that info!! My TDS is much higher and my usage is around a 100 a week so I guess that is why my resin exhausted so quickly. I might reconsider if I could regenerate the resin my self. I like the fact that you are conserving the water :up:

How many gallons are in your systems Dave? Holy cow!

Even when I had both the 125 and 150 both going I was only running maybe 30 gallons per week. I would do about 10 gal water change on each, plus top off.

Also, I have contemplated running 4 banks of DI 2 x 2, or 2 in series and 2 of those in parallel to get more volume, if needed. The nice thing about a DIY system is that you can add and/or reconfigure the system easily for very little money. Just buy filter modules, plumb them and fill with a cartridge.

MorganAtlanta;628412 wrote: I also use a carbon and DI filter, the API "Tap Water Filter", instead of RO. I get over 150 gallons from a $20 cartridge. It will produce 6 gallons per hour. For people with relatively low water usage, and no convenient place for an RO unit, I highly recommend this system.

Using a system made up with BRS reactor components and their bulk media would be cheaper than using the API cartridges, but I just haven't made the transition yet.

I've got a peristaltic pump on order which will allow me to put the filter between my top off bin and the sump. The water will go from the top off bin, through the filter and into the sump as part of the ATO process. This will allow me to fill my top off bin with regular tap water, which will be a huge convenience.

Yep, I started out with one of those, and still have it. I changed to the higher capacity DIY system due to the volume required.

 

[cwarmouth]

Wow. I'm a little overwhelmed and a lot humbled by this discussion. There was no information sharing like this at all in the saltwater circle I ran in during the 80s to mid 90s.

Does it sound reasonable to you that I would buy the Publix bottled water mentioned earlier to set up, and then have a plan to eventually buy a RODI system after I am able to digest what all of this means? I realize that in most hobbies it is possible to get into it minimally and later delve in as deep as imaginable.

 

[ichthyoid]

I have not used the grocery store machine water, but apparently a lot of people on here have had success using it.

 

[superclown]

I used well waterfor the first 6 months had nothinbut trouble couldn't get rid of algae. My water was never clear corals didn't do well. I have since started picking up ro water from lfs and my tank couldn't be happier

 

[cr500_af]

Barbara;628431 wrote: We are pretty lucky here, aren't we? My TDS ranges from 32 to 36 or so, ramping up to near 40 once in a blue moon. Ah, one more reason to LOVE Cherokee county (and I already have enough reasons......)

You are lucky... I'm on a well (and I LOVE not buying water), but my incoming TDS is about 260.

 

[ralph atl]

ichthyoid;628459 wrote: I have not used the grocery store machine water, but apparently a lot of people on here have had success using it.

I used the publix ro water for a year or two, pita, but it got the job done.

 

[blukat40]

CW,
Thanks for posting this question and thanks to everyone for their advice. I am going with RO for my first tank. With so many ways to mess up, I figure I have a much better chance of success with the cleanest water. Plus, for someone who measures twice and still gets it wrong....getting the RO water already mixed is a huge advantage...

 

[ichthyoid]

CWarmouth;628455 wrote: Wow. I'm a little overwhelmed and a lot humbled by this discussion. There was no information sharing like this at all in the saltwater circle I ran in during the 80s to mid 90s.

Does it sound reasonable to you that I would buy the Publix bottled water mentioned earlier to set up, and then have a plan to eventually buy a RODI system after I am able to digest what all of this means? I realize that in most hobbies it is possible to get into it minimally and later delve in as deep as imaginable.

That's because everyone here at the ARC is brilliant! (humble too) :lol2:

Seriously though, the number one reason for the existence of this club is for information exchange and learning, IMO. (no it's not the free frags!)

Many of us start slow and small, then grow as resources permit.
(this has been lost on the US Congress, but that's another thread) :sad: