Tap Water and RO

KahluaZzZ

KahluaZzZ

Superstar Fish
#1
Jun 12, 2004
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#1
Hello ! :p

I was wondering. Is the Reverse Osmosis Unit a good buy or should i just go with an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Tap Water Filter (wich is only 70 CAD $)...or can i build one ? It seems that the Reverse Osmosis Unit is very pricy for what it does. Looks like a couple of deluxe Brita Filters to me ;)

The water in montreal is kinda' good, altough there's a lot of chlorine ( that can be removed without RO )

Tnx

-KahZzZzzZzZz
 

KahluaZzZ

KahluaZzZ

Superstar Fish
#3
Jun 12, 2004
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Well i didn't use my test kit , but i read in a magazine that the water quality is very good since the city built new huge filters. Ok, i'll use the test kit but since i'm a noob in SW, i was just wondering if i should spend a lot in RO system.
 

KahluaZzZ

KahluaZzZ

Superstar Fish
#4
Jun 12, 2004
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#4
Well i didn't use my test kit , but i read in a magazine that the water quality is very good since the city built new huge filters. Ok, i'll use the test kit but since i'm a noob in SW, i was just wondering if i should spend a lot in RO system.
 

T

TheFishyReturns

New Fish
#5
Jun 14, 2004
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#5
water

Well, normally I say never use any kind of tap water for the fish. The fish will not like that , and to spite you, they will die. But got some of that purified water? ( Office Cooler water, the things one hitches onto your faucet and it cleans it, etc ) then that water is fine. And depending on your tank size, Buy some gallons of purified drinking water.


But never use normal tap water...
 

catfishmike

catfishmike

Superstar Fish
#7
Oct 22, 2002
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#7
i have to disagree with that last post.using bottle water or tap water filters do nothing to remove hardness,or assure water quality for that matter.plus using tapwater is purely a matter of the quality of the water.tapwater that is very soft,with little to no mineral content is perfect for making marine mix because it is just like r/o water,basicly empty.on the other hand water that is hard can be more difficult to use because when making saltwater you are trying go get a desired concentration of dissolved minerals.using hard water can make it difficult to reach the proper amount.this is no simple subject,i would suggest a good marine aquarium hand book to further your learning.it can be hard to explain all the aspects of this subject without getting confused.
 

cramerox

cramerox

Small Fish
#8
Dec 26, 2002
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#8
Im no expert with saltwater nor am i about quality of water..but here is what i can maybe help out with.

I manage a water store...we do all the filtration in house with a RO ( reverse Osmosis) system. We also have a UV filter on the unit as well as a water conditioner to help soften the water down a bit.

Now i have also concidered building my own RO system- The problem that i have encountered is that... its soo slow. were talking about a 1-3gpm depending on your water presure. You can defintily increase the speed by adding an external pump to increase the water pressure but its not that significant of an increase and much more costly...

If that water output speed is okay for you then get a RO unit... RO membranes last pretty long if set up properly. Prefilter>membrane>post

sorry i couldnt help with water parameters- im not really too familiar with the requirments of saltwater...im a fresh water fan :D
 

S.Reef

S.Reef

Superstar Fish
#9
Dec 1, 2003
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#9
How big is your tank? If it is over fifty gallons then you might want to go for an R.O unit. I know Kent Marine sells a very good R.O. for $80. Whatever you do, don't use tapwater. I know a lot of people use it, but its not worth the risk of having an algae bloom.


Sam Reef
 

dbacksrat

dbacksrat

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#10
Jun 3, 2003
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#10
i was wondering the same thing--would a brita filter that connects to the faucet remove all of the "bad" things? if i do use filtered water (like brita treated water or bottled water), will i have to use one of those RO buffer chemicals?
 

W

wayne

Elite Fish
#12
Oct 22, 2002
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#12
Brita filters don't do much at all. I'm going to open this debate up to reason.... I use tapwater for my reef, and everybody round here does. I have very soft water, typically with a very low silicate content as it's pretty well straight mountain runoff. I have occasional, and predictable spikes in nitrate to 10 ppm due to heavy rainfall. Why shouldn't we use that? Real reasons please?

The popint I'm making is you have to look at YOUR water in YOUR situation. And then you buy your own RO or DI or whatever. And you have to test. What's the point of buying water from the RO at a store - if you don't test it, how do you know there RO is actually working and is properly maintained.
 

S.Reef

S.Reef

Superstar Fish
#13
Dec 1, 2003
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#13
I am just relaying my experience. My water contains nitrate, phoshphates, silicates,etc. As soon as I switched to an R.O. unit my tanks began to look healthier.

Call your city or township and ask what is in the water.


Sam Reef
 

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