API Tap water filter

I had a handheld TDS meter, but again pretty good water, may e 150tds or so. On my old 55g after a few months I switched to an RO/DI as it was getting expensive to keep replacing filters. I think on a 20g or less tank, assuming decent source water, they could be okay though.


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+1 Get a TDS meter and report back! I am curious because my boyfriend wanted to get one of these - and I said don't be cheap were getting this RODI. Here were approx levels I tested with the TDS
Tap: 150
Brita: 100
Bottled:50
RODI (after like 8 months): 2

I'm sick of spending more money on trying to save money, then I would have spend on the better one in the first place. Such as I bought a real cheap skimmer. It didn't work well, it broke, and electrocuted my boyfriend (don't worry he lived, his username is bbrian189 so you can send your regards ). If you really want to go slow in your first year, then do things right the first time. You don't want impurities in your water, they will build up in your tank and rock and eventually crash it.

 

go for a ro/di unit

Bite the bullet and get an RO/DI unit. You will notice your fish and corals will thrive much better as the water chemistry will be contolled by you. I have had a unit and i have used on my 90G reef. I have got well over 150 G RO water and still going good. It still reads zero TDS. the unit cost me just less than $200 CAD. I am sure i can still get another 100G atleast be4 i have to change my resin cartige. It maybe becos of the cleaner city water we have in Toronot. The only disadvantage is i have to throw away 4 parts of water to get one part of RO water. In summer i could use that to water my plants or the lawn but in winter i have no other way ...other than let it down the drain.

If ur city water is bad change the pre filter (particle filter) more often. If you get a clear housing unit you will see the color change. I like it with the clear housing for this reason.

good luck

 

The TDS will be close to 0. DI removes plenty, the issue is it depletes fairly quickly.


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How expensive are the replacement filters?

 

$22.99 from Pet Solutions.

Tap Water Filter | RO/Water Purification | PetSolutions

 

OK, you spend $43 for the tap water filter and if you are fortunate it will treat 30 gallons of water on average. You replace the cartridge for $20 assuming you buy more than 3 at a time, now you have $63 invested and 60 gallons of water. Change it again and you are at $83 and you have 90 gallons of treated water. Yet again and its 120 gallons of treated water and $103. One more time and you are now at the same cost as a real reef quality RO/DI system at $123 and you have only made 150 gallons of water and you can look forward to a $20 or more investment every month forever. Notice the $123 investment and 150 gallons is almost $1 a gallon for treated water! The RO/DI on average ends up a a nickel a gallon and this cost includes the 6 month filter replacements, DI resin and even the average water and sewer rates including the 4:1 waste ratio or 4 gallons of brine water for every 1 treated gallon. Much much cheaper to own and operate.

Get the $120 RO/DI system fifth one down here:
Untitled Document

and you can easily make 500-1000 gallons of treated water at the same tap water TDS without replacing a thing and get real 0 TDS treated water. The RO/DI only requires a sediment filter and carbon block every 6 months and a $18 DI replacement when you start to see TDS rise versus the constant replacements with the tap water filter.

The difference is the RO membrane acts as pretreatment for the DI resin and does 90-98% of the work while the tap water filter has no pretreatment and only holds a couple ounces of DI resin and a few ounces of granular activated carbon compared to the 20,000 gallon capacity carbon block and full 20 oz of DI resin with the RO/DI.

I suppose you could buy a RO only system and stack the tap water filter on the end for a RO/DI but its still not as good and would still cost you more in the long run.

 

commenting on the OP's "bulky, etc" idea of the RO/DI units. Before I plumbed my unit directly into my sink I used to just put it on the kitchen counter and make 5g a week. It's really not a giant, bulky thing, it's super easy to just place it on a counter and make the water, unhook, store away until next use. I just put mine in a rubbermaid container when not in use & stored it away easily.

It's just one of those things up there with a refracto, salt, powerheads, it's a necessity in the hobby. You will always need it & it's future proof to invest in a unit now a 90gpd unit would support a larger tank if you delve deeper in (and most do). + if all fails and you don't stay in the hobby I guarantee you can re-sell a SpectraPure unit very easily, that water filter, not so much.

I know it sounds like we're preaching to you, but it's more a "don't make the mistake of putting $ where it won't hold its worth" kinda thing.

 

i have a question as to where is the best lace to hook up these in a home thanks

 

they come with a faucet adapter, just screw it on your kitchen/bathroom faucet. Turn the cold water on, the yellow "waste" line goes into your drain, the blue "pure" line goes into your bucket/container and that's it.

Depending on your PSI (water pressure) you should have 5g in an hour or less or little more. I think the target PSI is around 70, I get good production out of 50 though still.

The SpectraPure models normally come with the pressure gauges and in-line TDS meters also. However it's good to get a handheld TDS meter like the HM-TDS3, I love mine: http://www.amazon.com/Handheld-TDS-...QM70/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1319132015&sr=8-2