I am in the planning stages of my new reef and I have one question about RODI filters. Is it really needed or could you get the same results with a non RO water filter like one from aquasana or a whole hose filter from another company. The reason I ask this is these filters filter out the stuff you dont want like chlorine‚ lead‚ VOCs, MTBE and Cysts (chlorine resistant parasites) but it leave trace elements like calcium and magnesium. Where as RO water is "pure" with nothing in it but then we add salt with trace elements in it. Along with the wasted water that an ro system creates it seems like one of these filters could do just as good without the wasted water? I may be out of line but I have really never been told why RO is the only water recommended by numerous people. I mean if its filtered water and the only thing it has left in it is stuff we add anyways then whats the harm in that? This might be better off in the water chem forum so its getting posted there too.
RODI is it really needed?
- Thread starter jjagar
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AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
Consistency is key and owning your very own RO/DI will give you that. Tap water quality changes often depending on sources and treatment techniques, a storm rolls through and treatment changes as does water quality. Demands go up, new sources are added and the blend changes.
Devices such as Pur and Britta are drinking water taste and odor filters, they do little for actual water quality. Some LFS may have water for sale but the concensus is they do not maintain their systems as most of us do at home so again consistencey may not be there. Grocery stores normally carry drinking water which may be remineralized for good taste.
Its probably the best investment you can make. I use mine for drinking water, ice maker, pet watering and a number of uses besides the tanks so it was an easy purchase to justify.
My tap water TDS is 835. Through a Pur filter its still at 800 or so. After RO only it is less than 6, 5.3 to be exact and after RO/DI it is a true 0 TDS.
Devices such as Pur and Britta are drinking water taste and odor filters, they do little for actual water quality. Some LFS may have water for sale but the concensus is they do not maintain their systems as most of us do at home so again consistencey may not be there. Grocery stores normally carry drinking water which may be remineralized for good taste.
Its probably the best investment you can make. I use mine for drinking water, ice maker, pet watering and a number of uses besides the tanks so it was an easy purchase to justify.
My tap water TDS is 835. Through a Pur filter its still at 800 or so. After RO only it is less than 6, 5.3 to be exact and after RO/DI it is a true 0 TDS.
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
It tastes pretty good as long as you don't try to chew it!
xtm
Active member
There was a thread here not too long ago (sorry I can't remember his username) where his whole tank crashed and corals bleached overnight after using TAP water with dechlorinator. IIRC, he ran out of premixed SW and had to do a huge water change ASAP that's why he used tap.. but yeah, it was terrible. 
sherm71tank
Premium Member
Better take a picture.
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
Thanks Kb, I appreciate that!
I am just trying to repay all the favors others have done for me over the years.
I am just trying to repay all the favors others have done for me over the years.
pjf
Premium Member
Kold Ster-il Filtration System
Kold Ster-il Filtration System
I have a Kold Ster-il 3-stage filtration system and would not trade it for any RO/DI system. I've successfully kept soft corals, anemonies, and fish with it for the past 3 years. Here's what I like about it:
- Pressurized Tap. The water is available from a tap. I can run a hose from it directly into my refugium sump. In fact, that is how I perform water changes. I mix the salt in the large return compartment of my sump.
- No holding tanks. I have never had an RO/DI system but I understand that you need a holding tank for such a system.
- No waste. I understand that for every gallon of purified RO/DI water, you waste more gallons of discarded water.
- No media. I don't need to buy deionization media. I have not had to replace my Kold Ster-il filters yet. My water quality is high and coralline algae grows on my glass.
Kold Ster-il Filtration System
I have a Kold Ster-il 3-stage filtration system and would not trade it for any RO/DI system. I've successfully kept soft corals, anemonies, and fish with it for the past 3 years. Here's what I like about it:
- Pressurized Tap. The water is available from a tap. I can run a hose from it directly into my refugium sump. In fact, that is how I perform water changes. I mix the salt in the large return compartment of my sump.
- No holding tanks. I have never had an RO/DI system but I understand that you need a holding tank for such a system.
- No waste. I understand that for every gallon of purified RO/DI water, you waste more gallons of discarded water.
- No media. I don't need to buy deionization media. I have not had to replace my Kold Ster-il filters yet. My water quality is high and coralline algae grows on my glass.
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
The Kold Ster il units are a different technology all together. They do not and will never give you the same water quality as an RO/DI does on its worst day. If your water quality is very good to begin with they may suffice but they would never work in some waters. Reading their website is ver ydeceiving, they compare their unit to nano filteration or micro filtration and not reverse osmosis which is what we are discussing here. The level of treatment is very different. Their unit adsorbs or absorbs chemicals on a media and does not actually filter anything other than a 0.2 micron prefilter and a 0.5 micron carbon just like the best RO/DI units do. But there the similarities end, and RO then goes through a semipermeable membrane with a micron rating of less than 0.001 where the Kold Ster il does not.
Here is a chart showing the relative size of common contaminants, notice the difference between 0.5 microns and 0.001 microns. No comparison.
http://www.gewater.com/pdf/1117987- Lit- Filtration Spectrum.pdf
Here is a chart showing the relative size of common contaminants, notice the difference between 0.5 microns and 0.001 microns. No comparison.
http://www.gewater.com/pdf/1117987- Lit- Filtration Spectrum.pdf
pjf
Premium Member
No one disputes your assertion that RO/DI is a superior filtration system to the Kold Ster-il system. The Kold Ster-il system does require that your tap water be of high quality in the first place. It is used in hospitals to improve already potable tap water. If my tap water is so bad that the Kold Ster-il unit cannot be used, I'd call my water department.
Most of us, including the starter of this thread, do not need to remove minerals, such as calcium or magnesium, from aquarium replacement water. Most of us do not like the waste water generated by RO/DI units. The Kold Ster-il unit gives us a choice.
It is not for everyone. I have moderate levels (3 ppm) of silica in my tap water that is not removed by my Kold Ster-il unit. I let diatoms flourish on the back wall of my aquarium to reduce the silica to almost zero until the next major water change. Another problem is that the carbon media left traces of phosphate in the first 30 to 50 gallons of filtered water but I haven't had that problem since I first installed it.
The advantages are convenience and no waste of precious water.
Most of us, including the starter of this thread, do not need to remove minerals, such as calcium or magnesium, from aquarium replacement water. Most of us do not like the waste water generated by RO/DI units. The Kold Ster-il unit gives us a choice.
It is not for everyone. I have moderate levels (3 ppm) of silica in my tap water that is not removed by my Kold Ster-il unit. I let diatoms flourish on the back wall of my aquarium to reduce the silica to almost zero until the next major water change. Another problem is that the carbon media left traces of phosphate in the first 30 to 50 gallons of filtered water but I haven't had that problem since I first installed it.
The advantages are convenience and no waste of precious water.
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