RO for nano question

[slam308]

Hi all, in a panic here.
I've heard I can use tap that is left out for 24 hours and it'd be fine. Now I'm thinking I should do something more.
Everything has to be removed and put away when the operation is done.
Don't know a thing about RO units. Do you hook it up to the faucet like a Brita and then run the water into a bucket?? I have no clue.
Are these things portable?
How many "stages" do I need?
Hoping to make the saltwater Wed night or Thursday so the kids can at least set the system up on Sat/Sun.
Please help!
How do I know what's in my tap water and what RO unit I ought to get, if I need one?

 

[Illuminati]

I would go and get some distilled water by the gallon at the supermarket in your area to get you started. It's around a dollar a gallon or less.

After your initial fillup I would invest in a RO unit. Something like this would be great:

http://www.thefilterguys.biz/ro_di_systems.htm

$130.00 - OCEAN WAVE FIVE STAGE 75 GPD RO/DI

One hose gets attatched to your faucet, one hose is pure RO for the aquarium and the other is "waste" - filtered but not enough for aquarium use. Some people rig it up so that the waste goes into another bucket for watering plants or into the washing machine so it doesn't get wasted going down the drain.

 

[Cshradr7]

if you have a LFS near you, usually they sell RO water by the gallon and if the tank is small enough it may not make sense to purchase an RO unit. I can get my RO water for $0.35/gallon which is pretty good. it may be good for just starting the system also because you wont need anymore water (other than top offs) until the cycle is over so you'll have a couple of weeks to research

 

[tiburone9162003]

LFS should have RO water?

 

[Grey Reefer]

Most grocery stores have big RO units out front where you can refill jugs of water for about $0.40 That's what I do anyway. Buy gorceries refill jugs and your good to go. Just make sure you've got enough change.

 

[phenom5]

i guess i'll throw my opinion out there.

distilled water is actually the best water to use, but it's 2-4x more expensive then RO water.

if your LFS has RO water that would work, it's usually better then the stuff you get out of the grocery store dispensers...the only problem is that LFS's are businesses trying to make money, so they may not be as quick to replace the filters. and the grocery store dispensers...well, who knows how often those filters get changed.

i did the grocery water dispenser thing for a while. one, i never could kick some of the algea problems i had. two, it's a PITA. the RO unit i bought was definately some of the best money i've spent on my tank.

if you have a LFS near you, usually they sell RO water by the gallon and if the tank is small enough it may not make sense to purchase an RO unit. I can get my RO water for $0.35/gallon which is pretty good. it may be good for just starting the system also because you wont need anymore water (other than top offs) until the cycle is over so you'll have a couple of weeks to research

i disagree with it not being worth it, even on a small tank. if you get 5g a week @ $0.35/gal, that's right around $100/ year. so the RO unit may cost more up front, but in the long run the RO unit would be cheaper. and that's not to mention what happens if you upgrade to a bigger tank down the road.

also, here's an RO/DI FAQ if you haven't already read through it.

HTH:thumbsup:

 

[slam308]

Thanks everyone!
I've never seen the units at the grocery store. I don't know about the LFS, but I'll check into it. I guess I'll get the distilled water for this weekend and then check into the RO next month or so after the current bills are paid

Phenom5,
Thanks for the great FAQ link. I hadn't found that yet and it answered a ton of my questions. Is there a whole page of the FAQ's I can check out, or are they scattered around the site?

 

[tiburone9162003]

i start my nano with distilled water from walmart,everything looks good.topoff same distilled...maybe some day when i go with bigger tank ill buy RO,but for now 45cents per g. for distilled its coo for me... those RO filter dont waste alot of water?

 

[slam308]

tiburone,
From what I read, you get one gallon of usable (aquarium) water for every four gallons of waste. I don't want to picture my water bill!
WalMart is $1 a gal. for distilled here.

 

[Louie3]

my Question while we're on water is
RO ( such as AVIANT or WATER MILL)
Distlled, going to wal-mart and picking up
or a mixture of the both
which one would be best to use in a 10gN? barely going to be set up this week end?

 

[tiburone9162003]

distilled...anyone can tell me if its coo to mix distilled water and sea water local lfs sell?