alasg001 Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 I am thinking of setting up a tank at work and was wondering if it is reasonable to use RO water only? Again the water for set up will NOT be RO/DI!!! Will there an advantage or disadvantage with just using RO for top off water later? Is there a real difference with lab grade RO and the ones used in the home? I dont own any test equipment to see what is in the water, or how good the filters are. I will say that the system has 2 huge cannisters that look like the ones scubadivers carry and that it should be pathogen free. Any information will be of help. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Daniel Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 I don't see a problem as long as you do regular maintenance of the filters and regular water changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Capt. Obvious Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 You can grab a chep TDS meter and see how good the RO is doing from ebay (or a local hydroponic store) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikedelgado Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 not exactly sure what you are asking but I would say that ro ater is definately better than tap water. the tds coming into my ro is well over 300. Its usually 7 coming out of the ro unit.The di stage takes that 7tds down to 0.If I let the di resin exhaust and show even 1 tds my water tests positive for nitrates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddybluewater Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 RO is good, RO/DI is better. You should use the RO for the original filling of the tank or you are putting the tank at a big disadvantage from the start. I am not sure from your original post if that was your intention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhart032 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 I only use RO. I have no problems no algae no diatoms and my TDS is 0.0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Daniel Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Honestly, the benefit of the DI stage is pretty comparatively minimal... a slightly higher TDS is unlikely to wreak havok on your tank. While it may be better in the long run to only put the best type of water into your tank, I don't see the harm in sticking to what your wallet can afford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhart032 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 The Water you get from machines and from water stores, the LFS is RO too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarathustra2 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 As an add on, Calfo actually reccomends DI water as he considers RO too expensive and wasteful. This is for a commercial operation BTW. He also reccomends 50% weekly water changes so your milage may vary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckeye Field Supply Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 RO is good, RO/DI is better. I think this is a great answer. With all the variables associated with starting and running a reef system, using RO and DI is one way to limit the uncertainty involved with the content of the primary media in your tank: water. If the cost of using DI after the RO is a huge factor, my guess is you'll be disillusioned with the hobby in short order because of the overall cost of running a tank. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caferacermike Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 After reading this old thread I'd have to wonder if the system being mentioned is even RO. If the tanks are giant, like a scuba diver's, I'd have to think they are looking at "big blue" or 20" sediment filters. Some places with big canisters are using DI resin only but I'd wonder why they would have that set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddybluewater Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 I kind of thought they would have been a sediment filter and possibly a brine tank. I did not get the idea that what was descibed was a ro unit either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alasg001 Posted November 29, 2009 Author Share Posted November 29, 2009 I kind of thought they would have been a sediment filter and possibly a brine tank. I did not get the idea that what was descibed was a ro unit either. I asked one of the girls there about the filters and she of course had no clue. All she knew was that the water output was pahtogen free for testing. The water filters are for a medical Lab and for its testing equipment in a hospital. The filtration tanks are as tall as the helium tanks you see in florist shops and are simular in size and shape. I know that some of the girls have used the filter to do water changes for bettas they keep. Its a real weird filter system unlike the ro/di systems I see for aquarium hobbyist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caferacermike Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 Well if they are that tall, sounds taller than any scuba tanks I've seen, then it is probably a straight DI set up. I have not bought water from RCA in years (since I got my own rig) but they were a straight DI producer. They invested in about 4 of those really large canisters and they were full of nothing but DI resin. The water was forced through the resin and it collected anything that was in the water. It was a nice system as it also wasted no water but man it must be expensive to keep up. You might also want to check if it is a water softener. A lot of water softeners use a large DI can like that as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikedelgado Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 I purchased this di cartridge from spectrapure called a "max cap". It was like 30 bucks or so. They claimed that it was worth it. I started to try and formulate the # of gallons I get from a standard refillable di cartridge to try and justify the expense. Thinking that hard just gave me a headache so I ordered one so I could try it out for myself. It has been quite awhile since I have showed any tds on my meter, so long that I am starting to wonder if my meter gave out. If my meter isnt broken the max cap whoops *** and is waay worth it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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