water quality

nobody · 05-17-2006, 06:47 PM

i need something to purify my tap water.........it comes from a well so its not as bad as it could be...........but everything is so god **** expensive............what is the best choice if i am on a budget .........but i want it to do the job with no WORRIES.....thanks

VWD · 05-17-2006, 06:54 PM

I say a RO/DI unit, You can get one on E bay for pretty cheap. RO/DI is the best thing you can do.

nobody · 05-17-2006, 06:55 PM

any brand names specifically?

VWD · 05-17-2006, 06:58 PM

Not on e bay I don't know, I have spectrapure but it is a higher price unit. someone will chime in on who or what brand on the ones on E bay. get one that makes at least 30 or more gallons aday

is_that_a_fish · 05-17-2006, 07:08 PM

yes get a ro/di unit. sorry about brand names but if your looking for a bargan, especially on ebay brand names should matter much...but then again you dont wanna buy a piece of junk...

tony0980 · 05-17-2006, 09:39 PM

I have not broken down and bought my own RO/DI unit yet, I just buy water from my LFS. they sell salt and fresh (for top off) for pretty cheap. I think its like $1 a gallon for the salt, and 0.50 for fresh. just a thought, it would probly save you money in the long run to buy a unit, but I like to buy it as needed now. Makes me feel like I am not spending very much

skeety · 05-18-2006, 09:09 AM

RO/DI unit is really an imporant piece of equip. Will save you LOADS of headaches down the road.

FYI: MOST tap water (n/a in your case) is purposely loaded with around 20ppm of nitrates. It also contains phosphates and silicates (which well water might as well) which are an excellent source of fuel for algae.

RO/DI units can be found on e-bay for $100 (which I'll never understand, as the membrane cartridge along costs this much).

Brand name's really don't matter. What IS important is:

Filtration percentage. Most take out at least 90%. Some go all the way up to 99.9% of impurities. The higher the percentage, the better obviously.
Clear filter chambers (this is up to you. Some like to SEE the cartridge in side, so you can tell if it needs changed or not. Others just go by usage/time periods. It's all up to you. Obviously, clear is better).
TDS meter. TDS stands for Total Dissolved Solids. And is a general measure of how many impurities have remained in the water after it's been filtered. This meter is a VERY good way to tell when it's time to change your filters. Water going in will commonly read 200 or more TDS. Water coming out should always be 0 TDS (or close to it). If it gets above 5 TDS, it's time to change your filters (if not before that).
Stages: Go for a minimum of 4. The important ones are:
1. micron sock: There's usually 1 micron or 5 micron. This is the measue of how small a particle is allowed to pass through. the lower the number, the better.
2. carbon filter - filters our chemical impurities by absorbing them into the carbon. Must be changed every ~6 months. Once the carbon is full, it will begin leeching the impurities BACK into the water.
3. membrane: Think of it as skin. It allows only the SMALLEST of impurities through (think molecular level). It only allows the water through via osmosis.
4. DI cartridge: Removes silicates and such via ion transfer.
5. Anything beyond that is just bells and whistles (IMO).

Hope that helps.

Hardhead Cat · 05-18-2006, 10:59 AM

I think saving up and buying an RO/DI unit has been the single most important thing for my big tank. It has dramatically changed our water's chemistry and really helped all the animals in the tank. It's well worth it. I have an older Kent Maxxima RO/DI with four stages (50 gpd), paid about $230 for it new.

HHC