RO good enough?

Tosh_Auer · 03-17-2004, 12:34 AM

Is RO water good enough to use in reef tanks or does it need to be RO/DI?

EdgeKrusher · 03-17-2004, 12:36 AM

RO is good enough. I've been using it since I started. The DI is just an extra saftey net. Some people swear by RO/DI, but from my experience RO will work just as well.

HTH

dwall174 · 03-17-2004, 01:23 AM

I would have to say that it all depends on your water supply!

In my case my city water is treated with some type of silica/phosphorus acid to help control rust & corrosion. The TDS of my supply water is only 125 but, the PO4 is like 3.5 & the silicates are off the scale. I get 2~3 TDS after My RO however there’s still 0.5 PO4 & high silicates. The DI will remove the remaining PO4 & silicates but once the DI starts reading anything above “O” it also starts to release these impurities back into the water.

I tried RO only for several months because of the cost of the DI cartridges & I had a bad Diatoms outbreak.

I found out that the 100 GPD Dow FilmTec Membrane only has a 90% rejection rate versus a true RO membrane which has a rejection rate of 98% to 99% I have now switched to the 75GPD high rejection membrane & I now get over 400 gallons from my DI versus only about 150 gallons before with the old 100 GPD membrane.

JeepersReefers · 03-17-2004, 01:31 AM

Depends on the quality of the water that you start with. Our water here is some of the worst in the country, where im at a di unit is a must to get the TDS below 10 ppm. If your town/city has good quality water you can get away with a RO unit only

nivek · 03-17-2004, 08:11 AM

Over here our tap water TDS reading is 49 and after going through the RO unit we get 0, so I use RO only.

sorcerer · 03-17-2004, 10:54 AM

I'll echo those above, it depends on the quality of the water you start with. Where I am at our tap water has a TDS of 425 and RO alone only drops it to around 17. On top of that the water out of just the RO has a phosphate reading of 10 by salifert. So I use RO/DI. If your supply water is in good shape and has a low level of additives, you may be able to use RO alone.

Woodstock · 03-17-2004, 12:00 PM

One of the LFS sells DI water.... it's only $1 per 5 gal. I prefer to have RO/DI but the LFS that sells that is a lot further away

03-17-2004, 12:34 AM	#1 (permalink)
Tosh_Auer Scopas Tang Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 469 View Gallery Karma Komment	RO good enough? Is RO water good enough to use in reef tanks or does it need to be RO/DI? __________________ You Try Explaining to your girlfriend why you cant take her out cause you just spent $300 on lights for a fish tank. lol

03-17-2004, 12:36 AM	#2 (permalink)
EdgeKrusher Plate Coral Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Eden Prairie, MN Posts: 716 View Gallery Karma Komment	RO is good enough. I've been using it since I started. The DI is just an extra saftey net. Some people swear by RO/DI, but from my experience RO will work just as well. HTH __________________ ((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><((((º> ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸>< ((((º>¸¸.·´¯`·.¸. `·.. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><((((º>¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.

03-17-2004, 01:23 AM	#3 (permalink)
dwall174 Cabbage Leather Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Southeast MI. Posts: 390 View Gallery Karma Komment	Tosh_Auer I would have to say that it all depends on your water supply! In my case my city water is treated with some type of silica/phosphorus acid to help control rust & corrosion. The TDS of my supply water is only 125 but, the PO4 is like 3.5 & the silicates are off the scale. I get 2~3 TDS after My RO however there’s still 0.5 PO4 & high silicates. The DI will remove the remaining PO4 & silicates but once the DI starts reading anything above “O” it also starts to release these impurities back into the water. I tried RO only for several months because of the cost of the DI cartridges & I had a bad Diatoms outbreak. I found out that the 100 GPD Dow FilmTec Membrane only has a 90% rejection rate versus a true RO membrane which has a rejection rate of 98% to 99% I have now switched to the 75GPD high rejection membrane & I now get over 400 gallons from my DI versus only about 150 gallons before with the old 100 GPD membrane.

03-17-2004, 01:31 AM	#4 (permalink)
JeepersReefers Sea Pen Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 349 View Gallery Karma Komment	Depends on the quality of the water that you start with. Our water here is some of the worst in the country, where im at a di unit is a must to get the TDS below 10 ppm. If your town/city has good quality water you can get away with a RO unit only __________________ 180g reef (72x24x24) 240g system total 2x 250w HQI MH 2x VHO 72" aqua-c 400 skimmer 20g refuge with 2x 6500 CFL 190lbs of LR 1/3hp chiller

03-17-2004, 08:11 AM	#5 (permalink)
nivek Cabbage Leather Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Penang, Malaysia Posts: 367 View Gallery Karma Komment	Over here our tap water TDS reading is 49 and after going through the RO unit we get 0, so I use RO only. __________________ "Hey Yoda! Stop playing with my orange lightsaber!" - Master Nivek

03-17-2004, 10:54 AM	#6 (permalink)
sorcerer Court Computer Wiz Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Nashville,TN Posts: 252 View Gallery Karma Komment	I'll echo those above, it depends on the quality of the water you start with. Where I am at our tap water has a TDS of 425 and RO alone only drops it to around 17. On top of that the water out of just the RO has a phosphate reading of 10 by salifert. So I use RO/DI. If your supply water is in good shape and has a low level of additives, you may be able to use RO alone. __________________ ------------ walt --------------------- ...and I thought woodworking was an expensive hobby..... 75G Oceanic Reef Tank, 30G Acrylic sump, 12G fuge, AquaC EV-120 skimmer, AquaMedic Kalkwasser Reactor, Mag 12 return pump, FlexiFlow dosing pump. 2-250W AB 10,000K MH, 2 95W Actinic VHO Sorcerer's Home Office Reef - 12G JBJ Nanocube, Minijet 606 pump, 50W heater, 12lbs LR ----------- http://www.reefsanctuary.com/Banners/RS_banner4.gif

03-17-2004, 12:00 PM	#7 (permalink)
Woodstock The Wand Geek was here. ;) Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 25,502 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	One of the LFS sells DI water.... it's only $1 per 5 gal. I prefer to have RO/DI but the LFS that sells that is a lot further away __________________ ~Doni Marie~ *GOT ICH???* *My Victorious Battle with ICH* 120 Reef Chronicle ~ *Breeding Picasso Clownfish~* *Massive 300 gal growout~* *My Anemone & Picasso Tank ~* *Picasso & Snowcasso for sale~* "Energy and persistance conquer all things." Benjamin Franklin __________________________________________________ ______________________________________________

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