ALTERNATIVES to RO/DI?

[Ocean’s Piece]

For 59 dollars what is the question for peace of mind

True that. May consider that one. I was just considering the more expensive ones because BRS kinda dissed all the other ones in all their videos. But it is better than nothing and gives you, like you said, peace of mind.

How big of a tank? Anything above a 40 I'd recommend the 5 stage just to save money in the long run. 4 for anything under would be fine.

32 Biocube

 

[Jekyl]

True that. May consider that one. I was just considering the more expensive ones because BRS kinda dissed all the other ones in all their videos. But it is better than nothing and gives you, like you said, peace of mind.

32 Biocube

I upgraded to the 5 stage for 3 reasons. It was faster, lasted longer, and has a built in TDS meter. Decide if the extra money for those perks is worth it for you or not.

 

[Ocean’s Piece]

I upgraded to the 5 stage for 3 reasons. It was faster, lasted longer, and has a built in TDS meter. Decide if the extra money for those perks is worth it for you or not.

Ok thanks for the advice.

 

[greetl01]

"splitting purchases" ... 65 cents a gallon ... it outside your budget... SO, Blue Vet PhosphateRx may be in your future... but I don't know how you can afford this or anything if you can't afford clean water.... Perhaps pickup a side hustle/job for extra money

You can have a reef tank and a small fortune... usually you begin by having a large fortune... ROFL

Exactly. I was bleeding money setting up my tank. Made a deal with myself to only buy equipment with money made from food delivery. I’m telling you. Sign up for Doordash and deliver on a Friday. That will buy you an RODI. And all the rest of the crap you’re going to want in the future that your cheap friend won’t want you to buy. It’s a crap side hustle but if you do it twice a week 2-3 hours it’s an extra couple hundred to throw in the wind

 

[lstmysock11]

True that. May consider that one. I was just considering the more expensive ones because BRS kinda dissed all the other ones in all their videos. But it is better than nothing and gives you, like you said, peace of mind.

32 Biocube

Of course BRS will diss all the other ones since they have a vested interest in selling their RODI systems. They all do about the same thing. Just the one I got is a heck of a lot less money. Your friend might have done a reef before with tap water. How long ago was that and was it in the same city? They could be adding more stuff to the water now and some fish and corals are very sensitive.

 

[Ta2oodfreak]

I just use that $60 filter listed above. I'm not concerned about speed because I have a 65g storage tank. But it works great for a $60 filter.

 

[mdb_talon]

It’s not as much the cost than it is their opinion on it. They’ve run successful tanks without it and so they don’t think I should spend the extra money on one of those no matter how hard I try.

I wish you luck, but this scenarios sounds like an effort in futility. It sounds like you are sharing a tank and costs with someone else and cant agree on what type of water to use. It only gets more complicated from there.....

 

[DanTheReefer]

If you’re cutting corners on filtering the water that goes in, I’d just say make sure you do a lot of water changes and try to reduce evaporation as much as possible. My main concern would be contaminants building up over time as you top off evaporation.

I top off 5 gal/ week on my 75 gallon, so (if I don’t do any water changes) every 15 weeks I add the baseline amount of source water undesirables to the tank. So if I start at 10 TDS, by week 15 it’s be as if I used 20 TDS source water.

 

[dhnguyen]

Oh man. Water is one of the most important if not THE most important part of this hobby. It's also one of the cheapest part of it. If you can't even afford an RO/DI filter then I hate to say it but maybe this hobby isn't for you.

Using tap water (even if it's treated) will only cause more problems that you'll end up battling with yet more addictives and quick fixes which will end up costing a lot more than the RO/DI filter in the first place.

My source water is extremely good at < 30 TDS but I still wouldn't trust it.

 

[ATAquariums]

For a 32 g I would just buy water from the lfs. I would also steer away from sharing a tank. This can end the relationship poorly due to differing views. This size rank will help you learn quickly. Pick a person tank you really like, and follow their advice. You’ll get too many mixed opinions

 

[dhnguyen]

It’s not as much the cost than it is their opinion on it. They’ve run successful tanks without it and so they don’t think I should spend the extra money on one of those no matter how hard I try.

"Successful" is debatable and purely subjective IMO. What kind of reef tanks are they keeping? Are we talking mainly fish and a few soft corals like mushrooms and leathers? If so then yes these tanks CAN be done using treated tap water. Are their tanks free of hair algae and other undesirables (cyano, dino, etc...) b Heck... I could have a tank that is filled with hair algae and my water would read low to zero for nitrate and phosphate (because the hair algae is taking all that up) but that I wouldn't consider that a successful tank.

 

[watchguy123]

The fun part of this discussion is what to do when partners can’t agree.

 

[davidcalgary29]

You can:

-use a DIY solar still;
-get it from a tree branch with a ziploc bag and a few days (good for a pico build)
-use your instant pot to get distilled water;
-distill water with your stove
-use rainwater. Okay, don't do that one.

 

[Ocean’s Piece]

Of course BRS will diss all the other ones since they have a vested interest in selling their RODI systems. They all do about the same thing. Just the one I got is a heck of a lot less money. Your friend might have done a reef before with tap water. How long ago was that and was it in the same city? They could be adding more stuff to the water now and some fish and corals are very sensitive.

About 15 years ago and in the same city.

"Successful" is debatable and purely subjective IMO. What kind of reef tanks are they keeping? Are we talking mainly fish and a few soft corals like mushrooms and leathers? If so then yes these tanks CAN be done using treated tap water. Are their tanks free of hair algae and other undesirables (cyano, dino, etc...) b Heck... I could have a tank that is filled with hair algae and my water would read low to zero for nitrate and phosphate (because the hair algae is taking all that up) but that I wouldn't consider that a successful tank.

They had mostly soft corals with live rock and hardy fish which is opposite of what I want to keep. It’s more of a personal matter. I’m most likely going to get that $60 dollar RODI.

 

[Doctorgori]

You are getting advice to buy a RO system and its hard to argue against one given cost vs piece of mind.

I’m not arguing against one, just providing data for the pro’s vs con’s ....

- where you live and whats in your actual tap could swing things. I might skip the RO if you live in Bristol TN

- do you have access to a city water report? Usually they aren’t hard to get, I think its mandatory, required, or whatever... not everything in the water is detrimental or impactful

- Prime is good, but “maybe” overkill for just chlorine as 10$ of Sodium thiosulphate treats like 1 million gallons (I’m lying cause I dunno but its a LOt) ..anyway, Prime does other things so maybe not, depending...

disclaimer: I do own a 7 stage RO

 

[Doctorgori]

Put a bag of zeolite in the tank. It would at least help absorb some of the crap in the water.

Zeolite works in Saltwater? I thought you used Seawater to recharge it .... I could be wrong , just a passing thought
BTW Purigen might be worth it as its rechargeable

 

[KStatefan]

True that. May consider that one. I was just considering the more expensive ones because BRS kinda dissed all the other ones in all their videos. But it is better than nothing and gives you, like you said, peace of mind.

People seem to forget that those are marketing videos. There is good information in them but you have to separate out some of the marketing.

Without know what your source water is you can not know what system would be best for your needs. There have been people post here with 10 TDS incoming water to 1200 TDS water. What would be best for one would not be for the other.

 

[SchrutesReefs]

For 59 dollars what is the question for peace of mind

+1. What’s the mindset going to be like when a fish or coral worth $100+ gets sick because the lack of a system worth 1/2 that amount. Sounds like your P.I.C. Is slightly close-minded. Buy the system, and frag a few of your corals, make that money back.

 

[Viking_Reefing]

Not sure what’s going on here with the splitting costs thing but if you want it, buy it.

Regarding that you could run a successful reef tank without a RODI filter I guess it’s possible but you could also win a fistfight against a bear if you clock it just right, still doesn’t mean it’s advisable.

Running a successful reef starts with maintaining good water parameters, why cripple yourself if you don’t have to.

Ive seen very few, if any, long term successful reef tanks that used tap water. The once I’ve seen generally looks like hot garbage (I guess that could be a combination of factors. If your unwilling to provide the basics of maintaining good water quality you will probably skimp on other stuff to).

 

[lstmysock11]

About 15 years ago and in the same city.

They had mostly soft corals with live rock and hardy fish which is opposite of what I want to keep. It’s more of a personal matter. I’m most likely going to get that $60 dollar RODI.

In 15 years the water could have changed and not for the better. God knows what they add to it. Plus all the tds.