Newbie Question - Buy Fish Store Water or Make my own

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planters49

New Member
I'm still in the process of researching getting a salt water tank. I'm going to get a red sea max 250 when I have finished my research.

I need to decide if I'm going to buy all my fresh water and salt water from the fist store which is 45 minutes from my house or make my own water. The fish store charges $1 for a 5 gal jug of RO fresh water and $6 for a 5 gal jug of salt water. The real issue for getting water from the fish store is having to drive 45 minutes to get it all the time.

Would it be better to purchase equipment to make my own water at my house? I have public water that is sourced from a local lake. The water is drinkable and safe, but taste horrible.
 
PSU4ME

PSU4ME

JoePa lives on!!!
Staff member
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Getting LFS store water is nice if you cannot make it yourself but if you have the ability to get an RO system setup at your house you won't regret it - definitely the best way to go.

Some of our sponsors on here have good quality units at fair prices.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Hello :wave: and welcome to RS! Glad to have you on board!

KUDOS to you for researching ahead of time. Many of us (Me) tend to buy THEN research. This can get expensive!

IMHO you're much better off getting your own RO/DI, buying your salt mix and making it yourself. Yes it's sometimes "easier" to buy it premade but that's not always the best.

A) If you make it you have better control about what's going into your tank
B) WATER is the single largest component of your system so why leave that to someone else to handle (what is the guy at LFS is having a bad day and just "dumps & runs" instead of measuring)
C) By getting your own filter system you KNOW when the filters were really changed and what condition they were in
 
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planters49

New Member
Thanks for the comments, what is a good RO/DI unit to check out? Also what kind of maintance is associated with a RO/DI unit? Just replace filters, etc?
 
mcentire1123

mcentire1123

Nano-Reefer
PREMIUM
RS Ambassador
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nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
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to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members
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I passed by a lfs on the way to work & for a year bought 5 gallons a week at the same prices you have, that worked well except for my back :)

Then about a year ago, I bought an ro/di unit like this 75 GPD RO/DI 5 Stage Standard System - English

for $160, paid for itself in a year & saved my back (with no cost for gas or time) a great investment, I just hook it up to my sink in my spare bedroom faucet & make water in the shower.... so easy.

Congrats on the beautiful RSM 250 - you will love it ! No maintenance to them other than every couple of year (depending on your water quality) screw in a new filter - simple.
 
reefer gladness

reefer gladness

Well-Known Member
I would also get a decent RO/DI unit from the start. 20 cents a gallon is reasonable for RO water but 45 minutes is too far IMO. You would need about a dozen 5 gallon containers to start your tank (or several trips back and forth) and you'll ideally be doing 10% water changes every week or so after your tank is done cycling. I'd say save the money on gas and extra water buckets and just invest in the RO/DI from the start.

I would consider a unit like this or similar and you can make decent tasting drinking water as a bonus:

SpectraPure® MaxCap RO/DI System w/ Pressure Gauge & Purity Monitor
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
You are very welcome !

your tank, back and wallet will thank you :dance: as said above... water quality is a huge key to success
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
I have stored rodi & sw from lfs in sealed 5 gallon jugs for up to 6 -8 weeks with no problems. I store rodi I make up for 2 -3 weeks all the time.
 
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