RO or DI

[faerytale]

Morning, ok quick question. I will be setting up two reef tanks over the next year...sorry need to spread the initial layout out over time. I do not want to use tap water from what I have read here as well as elsewhere and was wondering if I purchased just a DI for the water as a filter if that would work for the reefs. I realize there is not much of a price difference to have both units but I am concerned with the amount of "waste" water that is produced by the RO unit. Granted it can be used for other things, but living here in Jersey water is expensive enough and not having a garden growing all year round doesn't help matters. Do you guys feel a DI unit will suffice to do what I need it to do for the reef system. I am willing to purchase two DI units to double filter if neccesary to get the purest water possible without having any waste water. Please offer as many opinions as you all can on this subject.
Thanks in advance,
Rosie

 

[saltyshark]

Recently I had read that the only type of water that should be passed through a DI system is very pure water. In other words...only RO water should be used on a DI system. This is because the membrane of the DI system is very sensitive to pollutants in the water that would otherwise be removed by process of reverse osmosis. The result of using anything but RO water in a DI system would make the membrane pretty much useless unless it is replaced...if I remember correctly every few uses instead of the norm. 6-8 months. What a difference. And with each use of the DI system the quality of the water would dramatically decrease.
Membranes, being the most expensive part of these systems would certainly add up in the end. After using the DI system a few times and with a couple replacement membranes you would have more than payed for the cost of a complete RO/DI system.
So with this situation there are three paths to pick:
1. Purchase an DI unit as planned and look for a LFS that supplies RO water up for sale.
2. If you are on a limited budget...just buying the RO unit itself w/o the DI.
3. Splurge a little and purchase a complete RO/DI system.
If you are considering:
#1-keep in mind that you will have to lug around numerous 5 gallon jugs filled with RO water which you will end up paying more $$$ for. Which is currently what im doing
#2-Remember...Regular RO water w/o DI is still very pure water.
or
#3-You can have piece of mind knowing that your fish are being provided the purest, healthest, freshest water available.
Now I'm starting to sound like a salesman of RO/DI systems lol. Well pick the option that best fits you and your fishes needs and I hope I have helped you in some way.
BTW- I will try to find the article I read on this and I will post it as soon as I find it.
Good Luck Rosie,
Mike

 

[coralcollector]

you need the ro unless your rich di resin is not cheap and bad tap water will foul it fast, I replace mine every 2 weeks at 30 bucks a cartridge and with any ro or di you will have waste water
I fill my washing machine with it the rest goes to my garden,your water bill will go up no matter what.

 

[nacl-h2o]

Your best bet is to get a RO/DI.

 

[von_rahvin]

i have a 60 gpd kent. i really like it and would recommend it. why you might ask? never had a problem and it puts out very high quality water very quickly.