MVPaquatics Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I am considering making the switch from RO/DI water to just DI water...I like the idea of 100% usage instead of like 7 to 1 bad to good with RO water. I would be using a large (like 3-4 foot tower) of DI resin in a homemade unit, with a prefilter and carbon before it. Reasoning: The prefilter would get sediments, and carbon should get any chlorine/chloramine. The DI should get most Ions such as phosphate and nitrates. I think many wholesalers use this approach if they aren't on the coast using NSW. With large systems RO's can be wasteful and time consuming. Many are saying that the RO was just added to protect the expensive DI resin. But I am at the point where I think resin might be cheaper than waste water. What specifically does the RO target? I live in SW portland and am not exactly sure of my source water yet (I will call soon to get that info), but should be pretty good to start with. What do you think? What are you using and why? Anyone currently running just DI? How do you like it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.R Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Unless your TDS are super low the switch to just DI is going to be way more expensive in the long run. I am currently running RO/DI but have yet to actually use the DI cartridge. According to my TDS meter I am getting between 0 and 1 TDS. When I first got into this hobby 10 years ago I used just a DI at first but that was mostly due to my impatience with RO's speed and money. With-in the first 6 months I switched to RO/DI. If I remember correctly it took 5 or 6 of those cartridges to fill up my 120+55gal Tank and sump back then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefSafari Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 We used tap water for almost a year with little to no issues, but our water is pretty good where I live, With our new tanks we did get a 4 stage RO/DI filter, and have been using RO/DI ever since, I still see tanks that exclusively use RO/DI have algea issues, water problems, ect, so just having RO/DI is not the sole key to success, to me its just a peice of the puzzle that helps make things the best you can. While I totally agree its worth it especially for reef tanks, I often times wonder if its more of a peice of mind thing, where its more mental than anything. I would imagine in areas where water quality is questionable, then for sure....You never really know how out of wack things can be. I will be using it anyway, even if its just for peice of mind that I am doing everything I can for the better of my reef aquarium. I do hate that there is so much wasted water, it would be cool if they could design a way to loop that water back into the intake again, that way its not wasted just filtered again and only the RO/DI water is expelled. while its not a huge deal for us as we just have small aquariums, I can't imagine having to do hundreds of gallons of water all the time for top offs, water changes, ect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.R Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 We used tap water for almost a year with little to no issues, but our water is pretty good where I live, With our new tanks we did get a 4 stage RO/DI filter, and have been using RO/DI ever since, I still see tanks that exclusively use RO/DI have algea issues, water problems, ect, so just having RO/DI is not the sole key to success, to me its just a peice of the puzzle that helps make things the best you can. While I totally agree its worth it especially for reef tanks, I often times wonder if its more of a peice of mind thing, where its more mental than anything. I would imagine in areas where water quality is questionable, then for sure....You never really know how out of wack things can be. I will be using it anyway, even if its just for peice of mind that I am doing everything I can for the better of my reef aquarium. I do hate that there is so much wasted water, it would be cool if they could design a way to loop that water back into the intake again, that way its not wasted just filtered again and only the RO/DI water is expelled. while its not a huge deal for us as we just have small aquariums, I can't imagine having to do hundreds of gallons of water all the time for top offs, water changes, ect. Regarding the algae problem - It could be a number of things of why they are having those issues, not only the new RO/DI itself. It could be rock leaching phosphate/silcate or additives, food ect leaching. Yeah the waste water sucks, but when it comes down to it it’s just means a little higher water bill, it’s not like the water stops existing in the environment. Not that I like the higher water bill The last time I used an RO for days on end I put the waste water in my kids pool and dosed the heck out of it with chlorine! man let me tell you that was a battle trying to keep it clean with all them nutrients in the waste water..lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Stectra Pure has a system with very little waste. I have mine going into several 55gal blue drums that I use to water with. Just can't afford to let it go down the drain. Your waste should be no more that 4 to 1 on any system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefSafari Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Regarding the algae problem - It could be a number of things of why they are having those issues, not only the new RO/DI itself. It could be rock leaching phosphate/silcate or additives, food ect leaching. Thats my point, just becuase you use RO/DI doesn't mean its the end all be all to proper water, its just part of it. I want to do whatever I can to maintain the best water quality, and if that means buying a $150 filter and wasting some water, thats ok with me, at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnkrcklives Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I use ro/di mainly for the consistancy of it. My tap water is good enough to keep the tank in good order. I just noticed some minor changes in it. IE after heavy rain storm, or in summer months. I will start another thread on this but has anyone collected rain water and then filtered it through a ro/di filter system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Rock, that's what Jess an I plan on doing once we get our own house, we're going to set up a rain water collection system, not just for the fish tanks, but for a myriad of other uses, we're going to go off grid as much as possible lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnkrcklives Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 There is a guy I met yesterday doing that out in hillsboro runs his whole house off rain water and all his chiclid tanks and gardens. He is even growing the fish to eat. Maybe I will give this a try... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.R Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 If I was using rain water I myself wouldnt even use an RO. I would probably use just a DI at that point. From what I am reading most rain water has an average of 10-20ppm. Thats pretty darn good! I am sure there results are different between urban vs rural because of polutants though. Google pulls up quite a bit of info on the topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I refuse to grow the fish to eat LOL I'm how you say bloodtirsty, but I won't eat my fish from the tank LOL Got no problem raisin cows or pigs or goats to eat though, there's really nothin that compares to the taste of home grown, by yourself, beef or pork or goat. I didn't include chicken cause I refuse to pluck birds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnkrcklives Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I will just have to collect some rain water and do some tests on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigjohnwoody Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I am using Ro/Di. Why? well because when I got into this hobby that is what everyone said to use. I figure as much money as I have in this hobby it was worth the investment. Now I have heard the same thing as some other people have stated that if you use solely DI it will expend really quick and it will cost big money in the end. I bought the water saver unit from thefilterguys.biz. These guys are very knowledgeable and have extremely good customer service. I have nothing bad to say and would buy my unit again in a heart beat. I am getting a 1 to 1 rejection water rate. So really it is not that bad. I actually saw no increase in my water bill the first month and that is when I drained and filled my tank twice with RO. Give them a call and talk to them about using straight up DI. You can even tell him your TDS readings and see if he changes his tune. I don't know if that helps but I figured I would let you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eugenereef Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 ...it would be cool if they could design a way to loop that water back into the intake again' date=' that way its not wasted just filtered again and only the RO/DI water is expelled...[/quote'] It can be done and actually I know people who tried it, but then the life of the RO membrane gets reduced! $$ for water bill or RO membrane, you have to make the choice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 There was a thread I started about this earlier that had a poll as well as some useful information I had only been using the DI part of the unit for about a year but then noticed increased cyano and tds this fall. http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/showthread.php?23624-Do-you-use-the-RO-unit-of-the-RO-DI&highlight= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eugenereef Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Another thought... The principle of RO is that the pressure has to reach 50 psi, once it reaches 50 psi, the rest of the water goes to waste. If we could put a control valve between Carbon filter and RO membrane and a valve on the waste outlet to maintain 50 PSI pressure, one could cut the water wastage! I am going to try this on my system. By the way, I just set up my RO/DI system here in Oregon with both inlet and outlet TDS monitoring, and was surprised to see the good water quality (TDS reading 48 before RO). In WI the damm thing read 150 to 200 before going into RO membrane :( I am hoping the membrane will last much longer here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonBoy Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 i use well water on my sps system with a tds of 126, seems fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cellowithgills Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Sorry for not being up on the times, but what is NSW? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefSafari Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Sorry for not being up on the times' date=' but what is NSW?[/quote'] Its stands for "Natural Sea Water" it seems to be big down in california, they basically go out and collect ocean water to use in thier aquariums. I don't know of many people that do it up here though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cellowithgills Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Ooooh, I guess that would make since. The only person I know uses that it the OCA, but that's a no-brain-er with as much water as they'd have to change out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdadof2 Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 RO/DI all the way here. Why even risk starting with water that is not pure, or be at the mercy of your city's water supply? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoralCrazy Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 We use straight from the tap but we are on a well with a good filter system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 If we lived closer to the coast, I'd be using NSW personally, every person I know who uses it has no problem's whatsoever and the levels are basically perfect for our corals with no additives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cschwarz Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Its stands for "Natural Sea Water" it seems to be big down in california' date=' they basically go out and collect ocean water to use in thier aquariums. I don't know of many people that do it up here though....[/quote'] i uses to go out and collect NSW when i lived on the coast. But i was having lots of algae problems. So I started to mix my own water and after no time the algae cleared up. lol . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 How far out did you go to collect it? From the people I've talked to that do it, if you collect from the surface or the shoreline, you'll get impurities and what-not. But most people who use NSW successfully, collect from about 100 yrds off-shore and about 60' down, it's not that simple to collect, but it is worth it since the parameters are pretty much perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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