Water Conditioner vs RO/DI

Discussion in 'Water Chemistry' started by krg212, Jan 16, 2011.

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  1. krg212

    krg212 Astrea Snail

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    Before water changes(tap water) to my tank, i treat it with water conditioner and let it sit for 24 hours with a small power-head,heater and aeration

    i was wondering if i would be better off with a RO/DI rather then using this method
     
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  3. blackraven1425

    blackraven1425 Giant Squid

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    RODI is going to be much better than water conditioner. Water conditioner only gets rid of chlorine and chloramines, but doesn't get rid of anything else like nitrates, phosphates, ammonia, copper, and all the other water contaminants of raw tap. RODI, when maintained properly, will remove everything from the water.
     
  4. Crimson Ghost

    Crimson Ghost Blue Ringed Angel

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    Yup ! My tap water puts out 400+ DOC's and my ro/di fixes that to 002ppm right now. The benefits of RO spank a conditioner night and day and RO/DI all that much more over just RO.
     
  5. krg212

    krg212 Astrea Snail

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  6. Crimson Ghost

    Crimson Ghost Blue Ringed Angel

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    no. you would really want to save up another $100 and buy an RO/DI unit - this (in my opinion) is simply a waste of money -- but it is worth noting that this unit would be far superior to your water conditioner
     
  7. TheSaltwaterGuy

    TheSaltwaterGuy Banned

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    i'd get an ro/di unit by Spectrapure; they're the best IMO
     
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  9. blackraven1425

    blackraven1425 Giant Squid

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  10. mdlinkous

    mdlinkous Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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  11. irr0001

    irr0001 Purple Tang

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    Bottom line: There is no "water conditioner vs. RO/DI". It's not even a competition. You'll save yourself a lot of algae headaches in the long run. As stated above..spectrapure makes good filters.
     
  12. Flaring Afro

    Flaring Afro Purple Spiny Lobster

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    Yup as said above RO/DI is not a replacement, no one using it does so for chlorine reasons. The problem is the extra nutrients in tap can easily lead to algae and the copper in it can kill invertebrates because it doesn't evaporate and builds up. Also, over time anything else similar builds up.

    If you can't afford it now or currently don't have the room, you can use distilled water. I do that since I'm in college and therefore have no room for a RO/DI unit even though it isn't a good alternative financially. You can also get the water from a lfs but it's only as good as they upkeep their machine and most do not. The lfs near my college sells fish they shouldn't and either lies or has no knowledge on them so I went the distilled route.