RO/DI question(s)

[Cmoua]

Thinking about buying an RO/DI filter and get more serious with the hobby. I have a few questions any answer is much appreciated.

If I buy a 4 stage without DI will it be any less better? Is the extra DI stage worth the money?

How do I determine if my faucets have enough pressure here in MN, USA to pump out optimum flow?

With a 4:1 ratio of waste water am I better off just buying RO from the store for my 40br reef? I use about 4 gallons every 2 weeks for water change and 5 gallons for top off a week, currently I am only using tap but I have cheap softies and LPS.

 

[pbaldwin]

Thinking about buying an RO/DI filter and get more serious with the hobby. I have a few questions any answer is much appreciated.

If I buy a 4 stage without DI will it be any less better? Is the extra DI stage worth the money?

That will depend on your water quality, an RO membrane will generally reject 95-98% of your waters TDS. Your results will vary based on membrane quality, incoming water quality and temperature and pressure.

A DI stage will then cleanup what ever is left over dropping TDS down to 0. How quickly your DI is exhausted is determined by how dirty the incoming water is.

If your TDS coming out of the tap is already low and doesn't contain to much badness just an RO may drop you down to 1-2 TDS which is probably all you need especially if your water doesn't have much in the way of badness to start with.

How do I determine if my faucets have enough pressure here in MN, USA to pump out optimum flow?

Stick a gauge on a faucet and check.

With a 4:1 ratio of waste water am I better off just buying RO from the store for my 40br reef? I use about 4 gallons every 2 weeks for water change and 5 gallons for top off a week, currently I am only using tap but I have cheap softies and LPS.

Well thats up to you. Is it worth it to you to spend a couple hundred bucks plus ongoing filter costs / maintenance vs the lower but more frequent costs of weekly water purchases? One thing to consider would be purchasing a handheld TDS meter, those RO water stands always made me a bit nervous since you don't really know how well they are maintained or how bad the incoming water is. Finding an LFS that sells RO/DI water and you have confidence in to maintain and measure the output quality might be something you may want to consider.