Best Reverse Osmosis System, Your Thoughts Please....

[kilteddj]

Hi folks,

I am on the road to buying all the needs for my first tank, I thought I'd start with the RO System first as it's probably one of the more expensive pieces to buy.  I'd like to know which systems that you guys would recommend to use.   I have looked at the Kent Maxxima and the Spectrapure ROS'.

Also, would it be acceptable to buy a used system?  What kind of price range should I be expecting?

Thanks,

Brent

[Zulaab]

Re: Best Reverse Osmosis System, Your Thoughts Please....

Welcome to the box :)  You have for sure found a place where you are going to get a ton of cool information :)

What size tank are you thinking about getting ?  What fish are you wanting to keep ?

There are several RO systems out there.  You can get them quite cheap out there.  (Less than $100) You will need a way to store the water in large amounts so you will need to install a 55g drum or something like that in your garage for water changes.  For the drum you will need to pick up a small pump such as a mini 606 to pull the water out of the drum and into your tank (also less than $30)

RO systems are only really needed if you want to keep South American river fish that needs that low pH water.  Personally the only fish in Houston that I would keep on RO water are wild caught Discus, which if this is your first tank and have never had fish before should really not be your first fish to attempt to keep.
If you keep Africans then you will NOT want to use RO as they want that hard Houston water that comes out of the tap.   Most fish you get from a pet store grew up and will live perfectly fine in Houston water, therefore you are going to SHOCK the fish if you put them in lower pH water.  Most fish coming from a petstore are already in Houston tap water so again I would not use RO water.    Fish can handle easier going UP in pH but are EASILY shocked going DOWN.

Houston water is about pH 8, RO is pH 7, and only the most delicate fish need pH of about 6.

Again welcome to the box :)  let us know what you want to do and we can give you a TON of suggestions and hints to how to keep them here :)

Keep smiling
Jesper

[kilteddj]

Re: Best Reverse Osmosis System, Your Thoughts Please....

Hi again,

Well I am looking at a Tropical Fish set-up, I know this is Freshwater and I am a member of Marshreef, so I'd want the RO system for that purpose.  It's a 75 gallon tank and I know that some of the best RO's out there are fairly expensive (or so it seems) online.  

I was looking at a mini-reef but I think that may be a little bit too "feet first" to begin with.  Any advice is appreciated.

Cheers,

Brent

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Best Reverse Osmosis System, Your Thoughts Please....

Become a supporting member of MarshReef.....the benefits with all the discounts and stuff they offer pays for itself if you are planning on purchasing the RO/DI....I have been reading a lot about the systems cause I am getting ready to invest in one and Buckeye Field Supply has some nice stuff for a good price.


But for now there is a member up in spring area that has offered RO/Di water for those in the area needing some...think he was asking like $0.25 per gal. and his name was Tempset, which is reasonable and since he is a hobbyist the membranes won't be all nasty like when you buy from the LFS. Speaking of which, I picked up 5g's from a LFS the other day and the TDS was at 13 which IMO is not acceptable for RO/DI.

[PhishPhreek]

Re: Best Reverse Osmosis System, Your Thoughts Please....

Not only SA fish like soft acid water....
West Africa & Asia also provide some nice Rain Forest fish.

Most of the BettaBreeders that use RO water mix it with the local hard tap water rather than buy the additives recomended for RO water.

Just mho. but a system with a built in TDS meter is really handy.

[Bogdan]

Re: Best Reverse Osmosis System, Your Thoughts Please....

Check on ebay, there is a lot of cheap and good RO systems.

[nacra99]

Re: Best Reverse Osmosis System, Your Thoughts Please....

I have been buying RO units and accessories from Walter at airwaterice even before airwaterice existed.
His reef typhoon systems are relatively affordable and dependable.
I highly recommend him.
Air Water Ice

[JandJ]

Re: Best Reverse Osmosis System, Your Thoughts Please....

I like melevs RO/DI from www.melevsreef.com. It produces 100GPD, is easy to install and marc is amazing with customer service. If you are purchasing a used RO/DI find out how old all the prefilters and membranes are before looking at the price, as buying all those things will cost money and must be factored into the price of a used unit.

Melevs unit is 169 USD. If you don't need such a high volume of RO/DI then of course you might be able to find units that produce less water per day for a lower price. In fact, melev states that one can basically put together an RO from home depot or lowes and then just get a DI chamber for adding on at the end.
Melev's unit is nifty because there is a tee that allows you to get water from the RO before it goes to DI and voila you have RO for your home. Installing one of these inline to your home is simple and can go to your fridge! Keep in mind though, the RO must be cut off before producing RO/DI, which is why there is a valve on it to do so.
Also look into how you want to hook up your RO/DI, do you want it to be permanent? Is it going to be installed directly onto a water line or an outside hose or you can tee off your washer hook up out in the garage and use that water line.