Reverse Osmosis Units?

JayLloyd73 · 01-07-2007, 01:09 PM

Will a reverse osmosis unit from Home Depot do the job for my make up water in my tank or do I need a deionizing unit with it? I can get the RO unit from Home Depot where I have a card and money is a concern, I am concerned because I can not get rid of the brown algae and I'm sure this will go a long way in curing the problem. My question is are these units from Home Depot ok to use one, and two what does the deionizing unit do and do I need it? Thanks for your help in advance.

Matt Rogers · 01-07-2007, 02:49 PM

How much is that unit?

Dyngoe · 01-07-2007, 03:21 PM

Hi JayLord,

I did extensive research on RO/DI units when I bought mine and I would definitely NOT buy the one at HomeDepot. While DI is not necessary (good, but not necessary), you can esily find a great RO/DI unit on Ebay for a LOT less than at a B&M store. All of these units are self built, so the main thing to check is the maker of the filter cartridges and the RO membranes. DI is simply some crystal media that does a final step. While I don't say mine is the best I did test my water off of it and it comes out nearly perfect H2O. I bought one of these units:
eBay: AQUA-SAFE 100GPD MAXIMUS REVERSE OSMOSIS WATER FILTER (item 150076790409 end time Jan-08-07 19:00:00 PST)
They seemed honest and straight forward. With shipping I got mine for ~$140. Looks like their price has gone down. You can also visit their website for more info. Hope this helps.

Diver_1298 · 01-07-2007, 03:31 PM

+2
I bought the same unit although I had no idea how it was going to work. I guess I was lucky, plus I'm pretty sure someone on this forum showed me a link to it.
I get water that is lower than 4 ppm and it contains a Dupont membrane that you can write the number down and research it if you want.
There are 3Reef sponsors that sell a similar item that is probably as good if not better than that one and if you email them or ask a question in the sponsor forum I am sure they will answer. Everyone likes to do some reefing business.

Jim

www.airwaterice.com Reefkeepers

JayLloyd73 · 01-08-2007, 03:56 AM

cant remember how much the unit was at home depot but the main reason i wanted to get it there was because I could make payments on my Home Depot card and not shell out the money for it. Is the unit at Hpme Depot inferior? and what does a deionizing unit do. Thanks again.

waterguy · 01-08-2010, 06:26 PM

I would agree with Dyngoe, I would look to purchase a system from a local water dealer, an online dealer, or someone from ebay who understands reverse osmosis systems. RO/DI systems are great for aquarium tanks, the total dissolved solids, tds, will be 0. You can also achieve and tds of 0 with other systems, including the 7 stage system. When you have a tds of 0, you are giving yourself excellent water, the best. Hope this helps.

lunatik_69 · 01-08-2010, 06:40 PM

The units in HD are designed more for human consumption. The other units that are made for aquaria take out A LOT of elements that the HD doesnt. The end product has to be pure and at 0ppm TDS.

luna

AZDesertRat · 01-10-2010, 10:09 AM

With RO and especially RO/DI you really do get what you pay for. I bought my first RO back in the 1990's from Costco, it was a Watts Premier drinking water system. Bacj then we did not have as many choices or competition as we see today and good units were prohibitively expensive unlike today.
The quality of the filters is very different between drinking and reef quality systems and it will cost you much more to upgrade a drinking system to reef quality that to add a drinking water kit to a reef quality system.
Do it right the first time and get a good reef system then add a drinking water kit to it if you decide to use it for other uses, thats what I have done with my last few systems and it paid off.

You can get a high quality reef type system for right at $150 which includes things like a TDS meter and pressure gauge plus a full sized 20 oz vertical refillable DI and it will save you money from then on. Do not go the ebay route if its looks too good to be true, most are low end drinking water systems falsely advertised as reef quality and there really is a difference.

01-07-2007, 01:09 PM	#1 (permalink)
JayLloyd73 Astrea Snail Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 67 Skin: Mint Karma: 5	Reverse Osmosis Units? Will a reverse osmosis unit from Home Depot do the job for my make up water in my tank or do I need a deionizing unit with it? I can get the RO unit from Home Depot where I have a card and money is a concern, I am concerned because I can not get rid of the brown algae and I'm sure this will go a long way in curing the problem. My question is are these units from Home Depot ok to use one, and two what does the deionizing unit do and do I need it? Thanks for your help in advance.

01-07-2007, 03:31 PM	#4 (permalink)
Diver_1298 Eyelash Blennie Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Lakeland, Fl Posts: 1,268 Skin: Mint Karma: 587	+2 I bought the same unit although I had no idea how it was going to work. I guess I was lucky, plus I'm pretty sure someone on this forum showed me a link to it. I get water that is lower than 4 ppm and it contains a Dupont membrane that you can write the number down and research it if you want. There are 3Reef sponsors that sell a similar item that is probably as good if not better than that one and if you email them or ask a question in the sponsor forum I am sure they will answer. Everyone likes to do some reefing business. Jim www.airwaterice.com Reefkeepers Last edited by Diver_1298; 01-07-2007 at 03:33 PM. Reason: insert link to air water and ice

01-08-2010, 06:26 PM	#6 (permalink)
waterguy Plankton Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 1 Skin: Mint Karma: 1	Reverse Osmosis I would agree with Dyngoe, I would look to purchase a system from a local water dealer, an online dealer, or someone from ebay who understands reverse osmosis systems. RO/DI systems are great for aquarium tanks, the total dissolved solids, tds, will be 0. You can also achieve and tds of 0 with other systems, including the 7 stage system. When you have a tds of 0, you are giving yourself excellent water, the best. Hope this helps.

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01-07-2007, 02:49 PM	#2 (permalink)
Matt Rogers KingFish Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Pt. Richmond, Ca. Age: 40 Posts: 9,823 Skin: Mint Karma: 149992	How much is that unit?

01-07-2007, 03:21 PM	#3 (permalink)
Dyngoe Fire Worm Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 167 Skin: Mint Karma: 98	Hi JayLord, I did extensive research on RO/DI units when I bought mine and I would definitely NOT buy the one at HomeDepot. While DI is not necessary (good, but not necessary), you can esily find a great RO/DI unit on Ebay for a LOT less than at a B&M store. All of these units are self built, so the main thing to check is the maker of the filter cartridges and the RO membranes. DI is simply some crystal media that does a final step. While I don't say mine is the best I did test my water off of it and it comes out nearly perfect H2O. I bought one of these units: eBay: AQUA-SAFE 100GPD MAXIMUS REVERSE OSMOSIS WATER FILTER (item 150076790409 end time Jan-08-07 19:00:00 PST) They seemed honest and straight forward. With shipping I got mine for ~$140. Looks like their price has gone down. You can also visit their website for more info. Hope this helps.

01-08-2007, 03:56 AM	#5 (permalink)
JayLloyd73 Astrea Snail Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 67 Skin: Mint Karma: 5	cant remember how much the unit was at home depot but the main reason i wanted to get it there was because I could make payments on my Home Depot card and not shell out the money for it. Is the unit at Hpme Depot inferior? and what does a deionizing unit do. Thanks again.

01-08-2010, 06:40 PM	#7 (permalink)
lunatik_69 PICTURE POLICE ENFORCER Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Miami, FL Age: 41 Posts: 7,930 Skin: Classic Karma: 48763	The units in HD are designed more for human consumption. The other units that are made for aquaria take out A LOT of elements that the HD doesnt. The end product has to be pure and at 0ppm TDS. luna

01-10-2010, 10:09 AM	#8 (permalink)
AZDesertRat Pajama Cardinal Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Phoenix AZ Age: 52 Posts: 1,438 Skin: Classic Karma: 44951	With RO and especially RO/DI you really do get what you pay for. I bought my first RO back in the 1990's from Costco, it was a Watts Premier drinking water system. Bacj then we did not have as many choices or competition as we see today and good units were prohibitively expensive unlike today. The quality of the filters is very different between drinking and reef quality systems and it will cost you much more to upgrade a drinking system to reef quality that to add a drinking water kit to a reef quality system. Do it right the first time and get a good reef system then add a drinking water kit to it if you decide to use it for other uses, thats what I have done with my last few systems and it paid off. You can get a high quality reef type system for right at $150 which includes things like a TDS meter and pressure gauge plus a full sized 20 oz vertical refillable DI and it will save you money from then on. Do not go the ebay route if its looks too good to be true, most are low end drinking water systems falsely advertised as reef quality and there really is a difference.