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View Full Version : RO/or no RO


leducreef
10-06-2009, 03:13 AM
just wondering how many of you use RO water and how many dont ?

kien
10-06-2009, 03:22 AM
I use RO, but Lobsterboy who does not use RO has a much much better thank than I do so I often wonder why I am using RO :-)

Actually, the biggest gripe I have about using RO is that it is not very environmentally friendly :( There is a lot of wasted water with the production of RO water.

Mr.nintendo
10-06-2009, 03:26 AM
I wonder how much of a difference it makes sometimes... I personally use a D/I filter and that's about it

leducreef
10-06-2009, 03:27 AM
ya
i run no ro and i dont have a problem at all no bad algae so far lol
sps are growing good so i dont know is it worth it
have been thinking about just running a d/i too wonder if just that would do any good ?

this is going to turn in to a great debate i can see it now lol

mark
10-06-2009, 03:42 AM
Started the hobby with tap water and had Cyano.

The Cyano cleared up around the time I switched to ro/di but by then tank had been up for awhile and I added more circulation. Can't say 100% the ro made the improvement but can't see going back to tap as I have one less variable to deal with.

Now if I was in some areas of the country where the tap water has a TDS of 20, not sure...

lobsterboy
10-06-2009, 03:47 AM
I use RO, but Lobsterboy who does not use RO has a much much better thank than I do so I often wonder why I am using RO :-)

Actually, the biggest gripe I have about using RO is that it is not very environmentally friendly :( There is a lot of wasted water with the production of RO water.

haha, come on now Kien, you got a great lookin tank, dont be so hard on yourself.

I use tap water from the kitchen for top up and from the bathroom for water changes as the buckets fit under the tap much better.

I use 3drops PRIME for every 2cups water top up and .04ml per 4gallon water change.

pterfloth
10-06-2009, 03:50 AM
I use tap water and Prime. Our water source here in Delta is from a pristine watershed. If our water came from a river and was subject to industrial, municipal and agricultural contamination, I would probably consider RO.

Leah
10-06-2009, 03:50 PM
Always used tap water and prime

Atomikk
10-06-2009, 04:35 PM
Always use RO/DI.... not just RO. Trust me guys, you want to start with the cleanest source water possible. It is usually the catalyst for all algae problems.

banditpowdercoat
10-06-2009, 04:46 PM
RO/DI exclusively

sphelps
10-06-2009, 05:07 PM
Your filtration needs are completely dependent on your water source, many people using RO don't need to as their water source is good, others do. Here in Saskatoon I get a TDS around 200 from the tap, I require an RO membrane to get a reading in a range I consider acceptable. Many other places, especially in BC, get readings in this range right out of the tap. In addition TDS can be misleading, it gives no indication of what the solids are and since some are worse than others it's hard to say what is safe and what is not.

It's a tricky subject, some will swear by one method and others by another. But it really depends on your water source which can even vary greatly within the same city.

I would personally say that if you can get a TDS reading of 25 or less without RO you really don't need it, but that's just my personal opinion. I do however believe you should use some kind of sediment filter and a carbon block at the very least to remove the chlorine and other chemicals, I think is would be much better than using additives.

bvlester
10-07-2009, 06:15 AM
Here in Kamloops they have RO out of the tap it is also UV sterilized I also use a comersial filter system as it take out any impurities porcilin carbon filter I can obly get replacments filter cartiges from the manufaturer. They use these filter in places like oOrange Julious and Tim Hortons to name a couple. It will take the alcohol out of alcohol to leave you with pure water. The water in my tank has got to be pritty good. just don't leave your lights on a reverse cycle 16 hours a day for more than 1 day algea blooms I can tell you first hand. I made a mistake programming a new timer. I am going to have to get one of those power bars that have a timer on it.

Bill

leducreef
10-07-2009, 06:30 AM
by looking at the poll i thing its time ro get a ro/di unit now its just a matter of what one lol ?

mike31154
10-07-2009, 04:41 PM
Been using RO-DI since April this year and in my case, a very good move. So that's almost two years of using treated tap to just over six months of RO-DI. My tank and live rock came from pre-owned systems and I'm still dealing with hair algae but have noted a marked improvement since switching to RO-DI. I have no idea of the true history of my LR so I suspect part of my algae issue may be coming out of the rock. Pretty sure neither of the tanks the LR came from had been using RO-DI, so it could be a while until the algae issue is resolved. I don't sweat it too much since I figure the algae is taking care of whatever stuff is coming out of the rock and in the big scheme of things, the algae is not really harming any of my inhabitants at this point. I do my best with manual removal during water changes.

I did a bit of research while using treated tap, such as checking the stats on my water source, which comes from Kalamalka Lake here in Vernon. Greater Vernon Services provides a water quality chart based on sampling at the pumping station, but I'm not too sure what if any further treatment is applied downstream of that. The chart is updated periodically, haven't checked in a while since I'm now using RO-DI. Some of the values were actually beneficial such as trace levels of calcium and magnesium. Alkalinity was quite high and pH was in the ballpark at 7.8. TDS was listed at 238 and I've been testing it at around 210 from my tap.

Anyhow, what I'm trying to bring to the table here is that anyone using tap water will be well served to investigate their source & get some numbers in order to make an informed decision as to whether RO or RO-DI may be of benefit to their system. Why would I use a RO-DI system and strip all that good calcium and magnesium from my nice lake water? Because there's all kinds of other stuff in there that is not so beneficial and there's currently no alternative to selectively remove the bad stuff and leave the good. The rubbermaid tub I used for mixing up water while using tap water has quite a build up of whitish powder/scale etc. No doubt quite a bit of that ended up dissolved and in my tank, for better or worse. Since switching to RO-DI I also started using a new container and there has been no build up on it whatsoever.

An added benefit to RO-DI is that I can make up RO and have very pure water for my coffee, car radiator, steam iron..... I'm even thinking of getting a small CO2 system, not for my tank, but to make my own soda and give Coca Cola a run for their money. Save a lot of money on bottled water and soda pop that way. So while on the one hand there's a lot of waste water produced by RO (which can be used in other constructive ways), on the other hand you're benefiting the environment by not buying all that bottled water that has to be transported all over the place and then deal with the garbage/recycling of empties.

RuGlu6
10-08-2009, 03:04 AM
Ro/di

patpare
10-08-2009, 08:58 PM
Here in regina i have a TDS reading out of the tap at 350ppm.

intarsiabox
10-09-2009, 02:04 AM
by looking at the poll i thing its time ro get a ro/di unit now its just a matter of what one lol ?

Red Coral in Calgary has a 75GPD RO/DI unit that they sell for $199.

Eyford01
10-10-2009, 02:27 AM
i use RO/DI from the store but top off with water through a brita fiilter

H2o2
10-13-2009, 05:32 PM
I live on okanagan lake and the house runs on lake water so I just have a float in my sump and I think the sps like it

bignose
10-14-2009, 02:19 AM
I'm not sure what the TDS is here in Edmonton but I've used RO water ever since I started my tank and recently upgraded to RO/DI unit. Got one with a booster pump and flooded my kitchen 5 times now.:lol:

EmilyB
10-14-2009, 05:23 AM
I'd never risk using the tapwater here in Calgary, not for the corals anymore so much, just the best quality water I can provide for my old fishes.

leducreef
10-14-2009, 05:35 AM
well i guess i go to ro this winter lol

aquajeep
10-18-2009, 02:43 AM
i use ro /di but depends where ur water comes from.i was on kelowna city water yuk then moved now on well water but has high phosphates.on the outher hand my mom uses tap water from a reservoir in pritchard and has had no problems,i think her water is better than mine for sure

Coleus
10-19-2009, 04:42 AM
I used tap water before on my small tank and did not have any problem. Now i use RO/DI unit just because it got it for cheap. My location is NW Calgary and tds read 185.
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