RO/DI unit upkeep
 

I am going to be upgrading my 55g from freshwater to salt water.
I know that ro/di water will help prevent problems such as algae.

I am debating on whether to buy the big 5g bottles or a ro/di unit.

What kind of upkeep/maintenance (and the cost of it) do the ro/di units need?

buy a ro/di unit cheaper in long run

I just bought an ro/di unit and wish I did to start.
I only have a 34gal but have already spent almost as much on bottled water as the unit cost me.

I've recently acquired a RO/DI set up and also recommend this vice buying water. As far as maintenance & upkeep, there's not that much to it and after the initial purchase, the costs are your water source, occasional filter replacements, DI resin replacement and RO membrane replacement after a few years. A lot will depend on your source water with respect to output and filter replacement etc. I'm also thinking that up in Athabasca your source water will be pretty cold most of the year. RO membranes function better with somewhat warmer water. You don't want to hook it to your hot water system by any means, but if you can find some way to warm up the input to the RO, it will work more efficiently and faster as well.

You'll need storage containers and some way to dispose of the waste water. The waste can simply be sent down the drain, but I like to keep it for the garden etc.

I have mine hooked up to my kitchen sink so I put through warm water.

If your water is cold the best thing to do is use a very long supply line, coil it up and put it in a 5G bucket of water with a heater. So the supply water comes out of the plumbing cold but warms up as it goes through the bucket. I keep the heater set at about 85 degrees and it has made a huge difference in production. Less waste water too.

I forget the ideal temperature but 85 degrees is working well for me (water still wouldn't warm to 85 in the time it goes through the bucket but it warms enough) and I get 0TDS.

Ive read that you should only use cold water in your RO/DI because any warm water has been in sitting your hot water tank. Cold water is the best IMO.

I have read this as well. The input to your ro/di should be from your cold water line.

Another reason to use the cold water supply and then warm that up before it gets to the RO/DI

agreed, use only cold water for the ro filter. Every hot water tank has an anode of zinc in it to stop the corrosion of the glass lined steel tank. (glass lining is never 100%).
This zinc is the sacrifical anode, as in aluminum fish boats, or the lower leg of your outboard. Anyway, hot water then has zinc ions in it. Never cook with hot water, nor use hot water for the aquarium.
On a side note, if you replace the zinc anode every 5 yrs in your hot water tank, it will last a very long time.