Tapwater filter from Aquar. Pharm.

polarpooch

polarpooch

Active Member
Just got one and did a water change w/ it on my ray tank today. Two questions for anyone who has one: why does it "purge" into the first gallon of water when you turn on the tap? And will this thing remove chlorine and copper like it says it will (my ray is rather sensitive to those things)?
My arms are kiling me dragging bottles of RO water home for her tank. (I gotta climb two flights of stairs with it!!!) Please tell me this thing works....it was only $30 bucks at Petsmart. For that kind of $$ I HAD to try it.
 
nacl-man

nacl-man

Member
I just bought one of these as well and am hoping someone out there knows what the deal is with this thing! I am setting up a new tank and do NOT have the money to invest in a "real" RO/DI unit and no place around me sells RO water.... so I am kinda up a creek.
I hope the thing is benificial. I can tell you that I only got 50gal out of it before I needed to change the filter though.
In any case hope someone has had some experience with it.
Cheers.
note - i've noticed a lot of members here say that they have used this piece of equipment before but have not seen many compliants... hope that is a good sign
 
exotickeeper

exotickeeper

Member
It works, now the question is to what extent!
That purfier should be used only for freshwater.
I HIGHLY don't recommend you use it for ANY saltwater purpose. As I recall, this is the purfier where it's long like a skimmer but thin and has little green/grey granulars inside. It's quite simple, you want to purify the water, but how pure can the water be if there's NO WASTE water.
Many years ago, I tried that, but even then I didn't trust it 100% so I always added de-chorl., and that was for cheap freshwater fish, which worked fine. But if I were you, I'd not use it and invest in an RO/DI unit, or keep working out those arms of yours..heheh!!!
Hope that helped!
 
exotickeeper

exotickeeper

Member
For the one who has a limited budget, I guess it's better then nothing, but in addition, I would still use SEA CHEM PRIME for de-chorl. It works great and would surely help out.
However, that thing doesn't last long, before I knew it, the color change through the whole purifer, so I just emptied out the whole tube and just used it as a drip system.
Don't expect and rely on it too much! I don't want you to get your hopes up! Heheeh
 
polarpooch

polarpooch

Active Member
I noticed that it does get used up pretty fast (but it's a big tank, so a 20% water change is about 35g). I'd say after my next water change, that filter will be done. I did add a de-chlor. just to be sure. My water LOOKS amazingly clear (maybe it did a nice job of removing the lime in my water), but I need to be sure of the chlor/copper issue. I need to know where to get a very sensitive copper test, too...since even low levels of copper are said to hurt my ray. Are there chlor. tests out there? I've never seen one for sale at the LFS.
 
tangman99

tangman99

Active Member
I have used one for 3 years and I've never had a problem. It is basically a DI unit so it is not as good as an RO/DI and will remove some things that an RO alone will not. My water has always been clear, minimal algae and everything in my tank is healthy. As to what it "actually" removes? No idea.
Mine also makes about 50 gallons before the cartridge is spent. It depends on the quality of your water. At that rate, it is much more expensive than an RO/DI unit per gallon of water. I plan on getting an RO/DI soon and would recommend that over this system.
 
pyro383

pyro383

Member
It really is a stop gap measure. It works well but goes fast. I used one to start my 45g tank. After 3 filter changes in 9 months I decided just to get a ro/di for $150 airwaterice 100g day unit. More money up front but savings down the road. Better water and faster. I know money was tight but determination was greater. Since switching over to a hood with mh and pc's my evaporation rate went from 1g a week to 1.5g a day.
 
polarpooch

polarpooch

Active Member
pyro383:
I don't have access to a utility sink or direct access to my pipes now (am in an apartment till at least June). So how could I hook up a real ro/di unit? Probably not possible, right?
I only use RO in my ray tank. I don't have the energy to do it for my others (but they're MUCH hardier animals than the ray). I was hoping I could use the tapwater filter to do all my tanks. So are you saying it works, but it doesn't last long...or it sort of works and doesn't last long? Also, I would get a real ro/di unit if I thought I could hook it up somehow in my apartment. Otherwise I'm waiting till I move. Suggestions anyone?
 
jarvis

jarvis

Member

Originally posted by polarpooch
pyro383:
I don't have access to a utility sink or direct access to my pipes now (am in an apartment till at least June). So how could I hook up a real ro/di unit? Probably not possible, right?
I only use RO in my ray tank. I don't have the energy to do it for my others (but they're MUCH hardier animals than the ray). I was hoping I could use the tapwater filter to do all my tanks. So are you saying it works, but it doesn't last long...or it sort of works and doesn't last long? Also, I would get a real ro/di unit if I thought I could hook it up somehow in my apartment. Otherwise I'm waiting till I move. Suggestions anyone?

They make adapter for a regular facet. Just go to the hardware store.
 
polarpooch

polarpooch

Active Member
Thanks for the tip!
I just did a little checking on Wisconsin water quality, and found that my city's water has a hardness level of 340 (base hardness is 150). It's limestone central here. Lucky me, I don't have a water softener:( So I'll see how that tap water filter works...otherwise, I'll investigate an ro unit...and if all else fails, i'll keep lugging those jugs up the stairs.
 
tangman99

tangman99

Active Member
I think you will find it will suffice for what you want to do. My water here in Florida was off the scale for hardness which is why I go through a cartridge about every 40 or 50 gallons. I just put in a water softener and it was one of the best investments I have made. It will not make your tap water filter cartridge last any longer as it is now removing the sodium ions that replace the calcium, but showers so much better with soft water.
 
pyro383

pyro383

Member
Even in an apartment you can redo the supply line going to your facucet, it is 2 lines going from shut off valvea to the faucet handles, or get a faucet adaptor. Figure out how much water to filter ratio and price it out to a ro/di for $149
 
keltic

keltic

New Member
I have use these as well but have gone through acouple calculations. The filter runs roughly $35 and replacement cartridges $19. If you add up the cost for every 50 gallons of water you need you could have easily paid for a low to mid range RO unit which generally have membranes that can last a couple years depending on back flushing ability and local water quality. So if you plan to have a tank for any real lenght of time you are better off with a real RO. There on ---- all the time...
 
dburr

dburr

Active Member
The DI units remove 95-99% of crap out of the water.
R/O removes 75-80%. Which is better??
Why do R/O sometimes tag a DI on the end of the unit if it is worse?
R/O is nice to have, don't get me wrong, the up-front price is the killer.
I run the DI unit on my well water and it will last over 100 gallons. My water is pretty good except the iron content is high.
I buy new cartriges for $16 thru snail mail. So thats about 4 X $16 =$64 a year for water.
If you do buy a R/O, use the DI at the end and it will last a long time.
HTH, DBurr
 
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