Poll: Evaporation Replacement Source

Evaporation Replacement Source

  • RODI - I make my own

    Votes: 867 85.5%
  • RODI purchased from LFS

    Votes: 69 6.8%
  • Purified/Distilled Bottled Water

    Votes: 37 3.6%
  • Tap water - untreated

    Votes: 10 1.0%
  • Tap water - Treated (Prime, etc)

    Votes: 23 2.3%
  • Other

    Votes: 8 0.8%

  • Total voters
    1,014

Szigedi

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I have my own 6 stage rodi unit I have purchased about a year ago since its a 45 minute drive (no traffic) to the nearest fish store. All of their canisters were brown and none of the employees could tell you when the last filter change was done. Before that I used water out of the sink with the water purifier drips you can buy. I have noticed no change to my corals with rodi water or adding the water drops. I still use the unit since I paid for it but when it comes time to buy replacement filters I might just go back to adding the drops to the water and sell the rodi unit.

I think it really has to do with where you live.
 

Greybeard

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Just expanded mine.
Me too :)

RODI.jpg
 

mitch91175

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I have my own 6 stage rodi unit I have purchased about a year ago since its a 45 minute drive (no traffic) to the nearest fish store. All of their canisters were brown and none of the employees could tell you when the last filter change was done. Before that I used water out of the sink with the water purifier drips you can buy. I have noticed no change to my corals with rodi water or adding the water drops. I still use the unit since I paid for it but when it comes time to buy replacement filters I might just go back to adding the drops to the water and sell the rodi unit.

I think it really has to do with where you live.

I can help you speed up the process. I need an additional DI resin so if you have one for sale let me know.
 

revhtree

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So I think that replacing evaporated water is one of the most mundane and boring tasks there is and that's why many people find that automating this task is priority. Not until my current tank have actually had this process 100% automated. Now that I do, there is no looking back!

I have a RO/DI unit that fills a 55g container and keeps it full which is powered by the Avast Barrel Tender. Once the container is full the RO/DI unit shuts off and no more water or waste water is produced. The actual topping off of the aquarium is accomplished by a Neptune ATK which uses an optical sensor to trigger the pump to replace evaporated water within the sump. There is another sensor that works as a safety to inform me if the water level rises to high to prevent overfilling. Also there is a third float switch that will mechanically stop water from entering the sump in case the safety optical sensor fails. It's redundant but is very comforting.

So I never touch water buckets again! One of the best things I have ever done.
 

Ruben's Reef

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mitch91175

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So I think that replacing evaporated water is one of the most mundane and boring tasks there is and that's why many people find that automating this task is priority. Not until my current tank have actually had this process 100% automated. Now that I do, there is no looking back!

I have a RO/DI unit that fills a 55g container and keeps it full which is powered by the Avast Barrel Tender. Once the container is full the RO/DI unit shuts off and no more water or waste water is produced. The actual topping off of the aquarium is accomplished by a Neptune ATK which uses an optical sensor to trigger the pump to replace evaporated water within the sump. There is another sensor that works as a safety to inform me if the water level rises to high to prevent overfilling. Also there is a third float switch that will mechanically stop water from entering the sump in case the safety optical sensor fails. It's redundant but is very comforting.

So I never touch water buckets again! One of the best things I have ever done.

I have been wanting to get to that point but at the moment have no water source near my tank. I would have to rip out sheet rock as well as move the tank so for now I gotta deal with the haul from the garage to the tank. When gone a while, will pull in the brute container so I do not have to worry about it.
 

Wonf

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I had to choose other. We've got a RO unit for drinking water at home. I just fill my 5 gallon jugs whenever I can. I know it's not RODI, but it's gotta be better than tap.... Wonder how much damage I'm doing with out the DI...
 

Dsnakes

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I have been running my IM 20 on distilled from the store :rolleyes:

...but I think I'm buying a 125g tomorrow from somebody local. Comes with a 50gpd RODI unit. I'm somewhat intimidated about it though, as I have no idea whatsoever on how to install it.
 

mitch91175

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I have been running my IM 20 on distilled from the store :rolleyes:

...but I think I'm buying a 125g tomorrow from somebody local. Comes with a 50gpd RODI unit. I'm somewhat intimidated about it though, as I have no idea whatsoever on how to install it.

Super easy to install. I hooked mine up to my washing machine line. Just got one of those Y adapters and put the waste line in the same pipe as my washing machine waste.
 

Dsnakes

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Super easy to install. I hooked mine up to my washing machine line. Just got one of those Y adapters and put the waste line in the same pipe as my washing machine waste.
I have stacked units in a closet ;Dead

But maybe it wouldn't be too hard to shimmy them out a bit?

image.jpg
 

Forsaken77

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If you buy water from you LFS and want to continue doing that, I would at least buy a good TDS handheld tester to see what your paying for (like the COM-100). Stores that don't change the filters or don't flush the units will have higher TDS than regular tap because of all the creep from the membrane. It can potentially be worse than tap water with a conditioner.
 

Shaun Sweeney

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Here's a curious thing. It seems that most people are more concerned about the quality of water they give their fish than they are about the quality of water they are drinking. I have a 4 stage water filtration system for my home so my RODI water is simply a matter of adding the DI part of the filtration. Comments?
 

Shaun Sweeney

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Here's a curious thing. It seems that most hobbyists are more concerned about the quality of water they give their fish than they are about the quality of water they drink. I have an in-house filtration system for personal consumption and a simple DI filter to make water for the fish. Comments?
 

TLeTourneau

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I have a 6 stage RO system with re-mineralzation that we use for drinking, ice, and our freshwater tanks. I have a DI cartridge that I installed off of system prior to the re-mineralzation cartridge that is plumbed to my ATO and a 40 gallon storage tank. I also have 2 - five gallon and a 20 gallon pressure tank. I have upgraded the membrane to a 2812 400 GPD membrane to ensure that we have the water we need when we need it.
 

Tyler_Fishman

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I literally have a gone gallon tank and I don’t want to buy an RODI system because I have to replace the well once every week, all the RO water at stores contain “added minerals” epsom salt, baking soda... so I have to buy packs of Aquafina water and fill it up using water bottles. :/
 

TLeTourneau

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I literally have a gone gallon tank and I don’t want to buy an RODI system because I have to replace the well once every week, all the RO water at stores contain “added minerals” epsom salt, baking soda... so I have to buy packs of Aquafina water and fill it up using water bottles. :/

Generally speaking, distilled water from a store shouldn't have anything added.
 

RussC

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Kamden, I currently have an RODI Aquatic Life 4 stage system I bought from Marine Depot on 8/7/2017 for $125. I'm about to purchase a larger RODI system. Would you be interested in this system? Excellent condition. I just plan to upgrade to a larger capacity system for a much larger top off reservoir.

An RODI system is worth its weight in gold! So convenient.
 

Caring for your picky eaters: What do you feed your finicky fish?

  • Live foods

    Votes: 19 30.6%
  • Frozen meaty foods

    Votes: 51 82.3%
  • Soft pellets

    Votes: 10 16.1%
  • Masstick (or comparable)

    Votes: 7 11.3%
  • Other

    Votes: 3 4.8%

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