? about u/sink apparatus

I use a 'drinking water' addition to the sink by Culligan where I change a level 4 carbon block cartridge filter every 5-6 months. Undersink Water Filter, Level 4 # US-EZ-4 by Culligan

it has a .5 micron filter.

I never have any problems with algae or high nitrates. I've a water softener in the house where I believe the unit taps off of. I always read about it being a must to use ro/di, but it's a hard sell if my tank's been running successfully (seemingly! lol) w/out buying a dedicated unit just for the tank. I just use it for top off. Only issue is the very slow production of water.

 

What you have is a drinking water taste and odor filter, its a solid carbon block much like the second stage in a good RO/DI system, thats it. It does nothing for Total Dissolved Solids, ammonia, nitrates etc which is what you need for good reef quality water. Yours is very similar to a Britta or Pur filter which makes water taste good , not to be confused with an RO or RO/DI system which is completely different.

 

I'm pretty sure an RO/Di unit does nothing about ammonia or nitrates to the water that passes through it. What you could do is get a Di add on for your current water filter and a dual TDS meter. If you plumb it right you can still have the non-Di water for drinking, but flip a valve open and you can start making far better quality water to your tank.

~Will.

 

RO/DI removes ammonia and nitrates no problem. They are both a little tough for RO only but the DI resin gets what the RO misses.

Adding a DI filter to a carbon block like you have will eat DI resin like there is no tomorrow, its the RO that is the workhorse of any system not the carbon or DI. Carbon removes organics like chlorine, herbicides and pesticides and fuel byproducts, VOCs. The RO removes 90 to 98+% of just about everything and the DI removes the few percent of anything that is left that is electrically charged either negative or positive.

Your carbon does nothing for TDS which is what the RO and DI both are for.

 

whats your ?

 

Lol, exactly what az and ill answered. I suppose I could've phrased it better to look more like a question, but apparently they got it

I'm wondering if i can use the same plumbing that's already in place for the undersink filter for a ro/di unit? Iotw, just replace the u/sink filter with a ro/di unit. Guess I need to start looking for the best 'bang for the buck' system. man, i've dropped a lot of coin on this tank w/in last 2 months!

 

The RO/DI needs a 1/4" cold water supply which it sounds like you have and a drain line, most of them come with a saddle tee that you install on the sink side of your P trap and drill a small through for the drain. If you want to use it for drinking water you will need the drinking water kit which includes a small 3-5 gallon bladder or pressure tank, an autoshutoff valve and a faucet. You may have the faucet too so get a RO/DI with an autoshutoff valve and a pressure tank. That way you get 3 gallons of pressurized water before it starts to drip slowly.
Yo ucan then install a bypass valve if it does not have one already so you can use RO only or RO/DI depending on your needs. www.buckeyefieldsupply.com has a 75 GPD reef quality system for like $169 including most of what you would want for aquarium use and the same system with the drinking water kit for a little more. I am a firm believer in buying a reef quality system and adding the drinking water kit rather than buying a drinking water quality system and adapting it for reef use, big cost savings in the former.