RO System

[Blue Ram]

I'm considering purchasing an RO system to reduce the hardness of my water in some of my tanks. I have never used a system in the past and know very little about them. Can anyone recommend a system? I've heard EBAY is a good place to get a deal. How about this one? http://cgi.ebay.ca/5-STAGE-50-GPD-REVERSE-OSMOSIS-DRINKING-WATER-SYSTEM-RO_W0QQitemZ330423481858QQcmdZViewItemQQptZSmall_Kitchen_Appliances_US?hash=item4ceec63602

Thanks for any comments or suggestions.

[Baos]

Looks similar to the one I purchased. You probably have to assemble it yourself. You'll need someone who's got plumber experience to help put it together(pay attention to the arrows which indicate the flow of water). Remember that for every gallon it produces of pure water, it sends about 2 gallons down the drain. As the filters get older they'll let a lil more alkalinity seep in. Still good for the aquarium. good tap pressure is required for these to work right. My recommendation is to mix some ro water with tap water. Because you need the other trace elements or you could buy more products from the store to do this.

Edited May 27, 2010 by Baos

[RDFISHGUY]

Personally I think they are a waste of time. You have to buffer some of the filtered water back or add trace elements to get it to where its useful for your tank. You are better off just using a couple of canisters with sediment filters in them and treating the water with chlorine remover. I ran my autowater changer through 2 sediment filters and 2 different carbon type filters before I finally decided to just run sediment filters and treat with chloramine remover via a dosing pump on a timer. I even had the check valves block and dosing pump couldn't pump chemical for a few days and it had zero effect on my tank.

I have 300 gallons in the system and was adding 50 gallons fresh water via drip when the dosing pump became "clogged". It ran for several days before I realized my dosing reservoir wasn't going down ( I was gone for 15 days and came back and the level had barely dropped). I have chloramine in my water so I thought the end result would've been catastrophic.

RD was over at the time and we added a brand new ammonia test strip and the results were pretty much 0ppm. If you are adding such a little amount over an entire 24hr period the organics in the system, if well established, will deal with the ammonia. The chlorine will evaporate with the appropriate amount of agitation.

Would I recommend an auto water change system without a dosing pump? No. Is it necessary on my system? Apparently not.

Is RO necessary? NO! Is Ph an important part of the aquarium? Yes. Consistency is the most important part. Whether its at 7 or 8.3 doesn't matter as much as that it stays consistant. Obviously ammonia is more toxic at higher ph levels but the biggest thing is to keep it simple and keep it consistant.

[werner]

The only issue you might have with that particular unit is the storage tank. It only holds a few gallons, so if you will need more than that for water changes, you have to wait.

You may want to look at this one from the same seller. The DI gives you purer water and you can hook it up to a bucket/barrel of whatever size you want.

[FishyFishy!]

Hey! I have lots of saltwater in my house, and I only use RO water. I always have perfect perams. Your discus will appreciate the RO water!

I recommend this company. www.purelyh2o.com

The shipping was awesome, fast, and the customer service was really good.

I bought my system from them, they are extremely cheap, and they have a tonne of different accessories to get along with the RO\DI systems. I purchsed the 4 stage RO system with the dual DI unit add on, the TDS meter add on, the auto shutoff/float kit, and the pressure guage kit. I hooked all of mine up to a large food grade rubbermaid with a heater, airstone, powerhead, and a submersable pump connected to 50 ft of hose in there for storage of the water.

I also have a rig that re-uses the waste water from the unit to use as my washing machine water! Easy setup.

I recommend RO water any day.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I can walk you thtough any install too.

Edited June 17, 2010 by FishyFishy!

[Evolution]

Good on you for wanting to provide the best possible water quality for you fish! Osmosis is so important for long term health and vitality of fishes. I have no recommendations for you other then I have a Spectra Pure and probably alway will. However, I really like werner and fishyfishy's recommendations.

[Evolution]

Personally I think they are a waste of time. You have to buffer some of the filtered water back or add trace elements to get it to where its useful for your tank. You are better off just using a couple of canisters with sediment filters in them and treating the water with chlorine remover. I ran my autowater changer through 2 sediment filters and 2 different carbon type filters before I finally decided to just run sediment filters and treat with chloramine remover via a dosing pump on a timer. I even had the check valves block and dosing pump couldn't pump chemical for a few days and it had zero effect on my tank.

I have 300 gallons in the system and was adding 50 gallons fresh water via drip when the dosing pump became "clogged". It ran for several days before I realized my dosing reservoir wasn't going down ( I was gone for 15 days and came back and the level had barely dropped). I have chloramine in my water so I thought the end result would've been catastrophic.

RD was over at the time and we added a brand new ammonia test strip and the results were pretty much 0ppm. If you are adding such a little amount over an entire 24hr period the organics in the system, if well established, will deal with the ammonia. The chlorine will evaporate with the appropriate amount of agitation.

Would I recommend an auto water change system without a dosing pump? No. Is it necessary on my system? Apparently not.

Is RO necessary? NO! Is Ph an important part of the aquarium? Yes. Consistency is the most important part. Whether its at 7 or 8.3 doesn't matter as much as that it stays consistant. Obviously ammonia is more toxic at higher ph levels but the biggest thing is to keep it simple and keep it consistant.

I don't think BlueRam is concerned so much about Chlorine, pH or Chloramines. I believe the OP wants to reduce the hardness for proper osmotic pressure for breeding purposes of fish that have naturally evolved in soft acidic waters.

[Blue Ram]

Yes that is my main reason for the RO unit. Thanks for the suggestions.