RO unit or Live Rock, Which is more important?

spectre879

spectre879

Member
I have been given a budget to work on in my tank. Seeing as I am not the one who calls the shots on how much to spend, I need to know which seems more important to set up first. A RO unit which will help with water quality (sp) or live rock purchased form this site for filtration? I will be placing powerheads in no matter what within the first phase of changing my 75gallon Fish Only to a Reef style tank.
 
omgsaltwat

omgsaltwat

Member
Originally Posted by Saltwater8
LIVE ROCK
You can also get RO water from Walmart for 33 cents a gallon
:happyfish

I agree....JMO
 
matt819

matt819

Member
You can order live rock on auction site pretty cheap usually...let it cure for a while in a seperate rubbermaid or something. I got so sick of going to the store to haul big jugs of water I think the RO system is the best thing I have picked up yet...also got that on the auction site...6 stage RO DI for under $100 shipped.
 
ray28576

ray28576

Member
LR is by far the most important, thats not JMO, its a fact. You can get Ro water from the store for cheap. LR is expensive and a must for a reef. I'm not saying it would'nt be good to have one, its just not as important as LR.
 
milomlo

milomlo

Active Member
U can also get a combo of LR and base rock to save you some money as well. There is a good RO unit under 100 on the auction site as I have been looking into myself. I lug water myself right now, but lr will do alot for your tank. U also may be able to find it local pretty cheap. If you have a local reef club you may find folks getting out of the hobby or looking to down grade and they sell their stuff cheap. Worth looking into just my 2 cents
 
spectre879

spectre879

Member
I have found a water filtration unit on the Home Depot website. It's made by GE,
model #GXSL55F, Catalog #100002834. I guess the L55 part stands for 55 liters of filtration per something. It goes for $99.99, which seems fairly cheap for a RO unit that goes under the sink. With that and about 25lbs of live rock and more base rock could fit in the budget since my parents and I are baring the costs together.
 
spectre879

spectre879

Member
FYI...I know that Live rock is integral for a reef tank.
I wanted to know if the RO unit should come first to help provide a better enviorment(sp) for the tank and increase success of the Live rock flourishing. I have no interest in lugging RO water from local stores every weekend since I do a water change almost every week.
 
birdy

birdy

Active Member
I would say USING RO water is more important than LR, you can get base rock that will perform almost as well as LR in a few months. If you are not going to go to the store for RO, then I would buy the unit first, get some cheap base rock (lace, Tufta) and then you can buy LR as you can afford it.
 
hammbone

hammbone

Member
The choice is not one or the other.
I would say don't start an aquarium until you can somehow provide both LR and RO water.
Jim
 
capt.fish

capt.fish

Member
Hello,I'm new to this myself i also have a 105 gallon salt water tank that i'm setting up.I bought 40lbs of live rock at a local place.I know i will need more but it's a start.I filled my tank up with tap water and then added salt.If i plan on getteing into reef and coral should i have used RO water ? And could i get a RO filter to filter the water i have in tank ?
 
ray28576

ray28576

Member
I don't get it, it may be because I'm still young, but what is the big deal about carrying some water from walmart. Are people just lazy now a days or what? They sale boxes of it, so its not like you have to carry one gallon at a time. I'm not trying to offend anyone, but dang, thats lazy. You could also by it in the 5 gallon jugs. Whats the difference in carring that or some groceries? Oh well-
 
saltwater8

saltwater8

Member
Originally Posted by Ray28576
I don't get it, it may be because I'm still young, but what is the big deal about carrying some water from walmart. Are people just lazy now a days or what? They sale boxes of it, so its not like you have to carry one gallon at a time. I'm not trying to offend anyone, but dang, thats lazy. You could also by it in the 5 gallon jugs. Whats the difference in carring that or some groceries? Oh well-

That may have something to do with the fact that you have a 29 gallon tank.

One 5 gallon bottle and you have your 20% water change.
For people with 150 gallon tanks, thats filling and hauling 6 bottles every time. Which might not be so bad...
But the real problem comes when you have to fill the 150 up...
Thats filling and hauling 30 bottles.
***)
But the main point is RO water is needed.
 
susieq

susieq

Member
I was using 10 gallons of water for changes plus another 4 for top-off. Each gallon weighs 8 lbs. That's 112 lbs up 2 flights of stairs every two weeks. Plus I had to carry it from the store. I guess I'm just weak but that got real old after a couple of months plus by bulging muscles weren't fitting in my shirts right. I bought the RO/DI unit.
 
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