RO/DI and LR questions

[tamstoy]

I've been looking at RO/DI units on e-bay and am now totally confused!! How do you know which one to get if you know nothing about them!?! Any suggestions?
Also, I just bought 45lbs of LR and am now curing it. My levels are ammonia .25 nitrite .2 and nitrate 10. My question is I have a 55gal established tank with 25lbs of LR, 1 yellow tang, 1 perc, 1 blue damsel and a clean up crew. Would my tank be able to handle the rest of the curing cycle or should I continue what I'm doing.
Thanks for any help!!

 

[leigh]

Not sure how helpful I am on the first question as I buy my RO water at my LFS--(which in my opinion is way simpler than buying and rigging a unit--my fishstore charges .35/gallon...really not too expensive)
Second question though--I'd be SUPER CAREFUL what you do with a 55 with a tang in it. That is arguably (or perhaps not arguably) too small a tank to keep a tang healthy. They are very sensitive to changing water conditions (and very prone to ick)...if it were just the perc and damsel I wouldn't worry about adding the rock--and if I were you I'd strongly recommend returning the tang for store credit now while it's healthy and happy--maybe get your perc a boyfriend instead

 

[dreeves]

The RO/DI unit is compared with gallons per day (water made per 24 hour period) and how many levels of filtration (stages)...commonly...an RO/DI unit needs a couple of stages...sediment filter...carbon filter, RO membrane and the DI cartridge(s), but there are some with more stages...i.e..two carbon stages...
As for your live rock...as long as you have fish and such in your tank...you shouldnt consider putting in un-cured...or partial cured live rock...the risk of stressing the inhabitants due to a potential amonia spike far out weigh any benefits (which I do not see anyway)...
I am not going to offer any opinions on your fish selection as you didn't ask for that, and it is your business...