THIS is why you need RO/DI for your reef

jackri

jackri

Active Member
Seriously anyone who doesn't use at least an RO system and then complains about algae, poor health in their tank and think they can get by with tap water think again (and no I won't feel sorry for you for skipping this step). This was my 10 micron first (1st in set of 5) after 1 year of use -- and below the minimum gallon before changing it out. I know change all 5 filters every 6 months.
I drink out of the RO side, reef gets RO/DI -- but you could take a glass of water.. set it out overnight and the bottom inch would have fuzz. Umm yeah pretty gross. TDS reading of 800+ before filters... right around 3-8 after RO/DI still.
 
jackri

jackri

Active Member
Seriously.. the sludge was over 1/4" think on the first filter. I should have had the set of filters lined up but this pic was taken 6 months ago. I just changed filters again last night and rememberedI had this one. last night's filters weren't near this bad but still nasty.
 
jackri

jackri

Active Member
Good ole city water.
Was at Lowe's last night buying a fridge filter as well.. told the guy what city (out of like6 in the area) we live in.. he's like... yeah expect your washer to go out in 5-7 years. People with spas/hot tubs have a hard time as well.
Like I say.. with a TDS reading of over 800ppm --- its just gross. The dishwasher can't help but leave a film. Neighboring cities/towns have readings of 350ppm for a high... epa says not to drink anything over 400ppm.
Anyways.. I'm just ranting how bad our water sucks... but I can keep buying filters and be happy or move :)
 
pezenfuego

pezenfuego

Active Member
RO/DI is the best investment I have made. I started with tap and had a ton of problems. Luckily I figured out what was wrong before I added fish and now my water is pristine and algae free. Best investment I've made. Imo, it is a necessary piece of equipment for a reef...unless you buy your water. My water reads about 300...which is average. 800 is ridiculous! I wouldn't drink it and I'm glad you aren't. However, I've read that you obsorb half the amount of water needed in a day while taking a shower.
Now I'm ranting. Tap water is okay if you have good tap water and if you aren't doing a reef, but even then I'm RO/DI all the way.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
lol, the city water around where I live has an average TDS of over 1150ppm. I have to change my filters once a month AND on top of that, my 10 micron sediment filter is completely black and brown with 1/4" thick sludge. (ONCE A MONTH!!)
My parents won't go back to drinking tap water again...
 
nanoized

nanoized

New Member
I buy RO only water...
I test it with a TDS meter and the readings are always 1 ppm
Is that acceptable even though its not zero?
 
jackri

jackri

Active Member
I can't get 0 out of all my RO/DI filters... i can get single digits and its been just fine for me.
 
lion_crazz

lion_crazz

Active Member
great post! Nothing proves the point better than showing how terrible the actual water supply is. Can't wait to post my example pic when I get to my computer.
 
tank a holic

tank a holic

Active Member
just curious but i have no idea what my TDS is, where can i get a meter... LFS?
and what does TDS stand for total dissolved solids?
 
jackri

jackri

Active Member
I can drink the RO/DI water -- it just takes SOOOOOOO long to get a glass. I run a 5 gallon bucket of ro/di water over a few hours and I'm good for a few days. My unit has a 3 gallon storage tank for RO water and a water spigot -- so that's instant and much more pure than anything bottled already.
TDS meters are from any of the major on line retailers -- got mine from airwaterice
 
pezenfuego

pezenfuego

Active Member
Originally Posted by tank a holic
http:///forum/post/2961654
just curious but i have no idea what my TDS is, where can i get a meter... LFS?
and what does TDS stand for total dissolved solids?
TDS stands for total dissolved solids. Basically it is a measurement of how much stuff you have in your water that you don't want.
Single digits are usually acceptable when we're talking about reef tanks, but some people want nothing but 0. Personally I use only RO because the TDS is 3. Using DI is simply a waste of money for me, but I still run it de vez en cuando. I doubt you can get a meter at the LFS. Look online for one. The filterguys.biz have 'em as do bulkreef supply for fairly cheap. Check these places out and a few other places that are sensable.
Good Luck.
 
pezenfuego

pezenfuego

Active Member

Originally Posted by fishfry101
http:///forum/post/2962054
Why can't you drink ro/di water?
I've heard it's bad for you. I think it has something to do with liver damage from drinking too much. It's like your body isn't filtering enough out or something. If someone has a better answer I'd like to hear it. Anyway, I personally think RO/DI water tastes like soap and wouldn't drink it even if it made me sprout wings.
If you want to get an ro/di unit and use it for drinking, buy a bypass valve for like 10 bucks and you can have RO or RO/DI water whenever you want.
 
egill

egill

Member
Got my RO/DI unit 2 weeks ago and am loving not having to hall 5 gallon jugs to and from the store. Got a 75g/day for just under 200. It came with a dual TDS meter and they have the first one out of the RO and the other after the DI. Usually 8-20 out of the RO and 0 out of the DI. Kinda scared to see what just the tap is.
 
jdl

jdl

Member
you are not supposed to drink DI water, but there is a debate about RO water. RO water not only removes the bad things, it removes the good things as well, therefore the debate. However, many people do drink RO water.
 
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