tap water help

The water i have at my house is softened and ive been using that for water changes. I was planing down the road to buy a RO/DI unit since well, i need it. But my cousin has an RO only and was gunna give me that for cheap but would it be better in the long run to just go with the RO/DI? also what does softening do completly? thank you!

 

If it is a truly good RO unit..You can add a DI to it. Ask AZDESERT he is the expert.

 

You could just add a DI unit to the RO unit you are getting from your cousin. Here is a link to a sponsor of this forum that sells them
Aquarium Water | Reverse Osmosis | RODI Water | ReefKeeper Water | Zero TDS Water with Deionization

The RODI system strips the Total Dissolved Solids "TDS" from the water.

 

yeah ill deffinatly add the DI to it now that i know that. thanks a bunch!

 

Find out what kind of unit he has.
You could also get a TDS meter to add to it.

 

Find out what the RO unit is and how well it works before sinking any money into it or an add on DI. If its not performing well then it will eat DI resin and soon cost you more than its worth.
A handheld TDS meter will tell you how well its is working and if its worth investing in.

A water softener removes calcium and magnesium and replaces them with sodium or potassium. They are good to have and all RO membrane manufacturers recommend having softened water for their membranes to function best.