Quick story:
I started using just dechlorinated tap for the first few weeks while cycling and being short on cash but wanting to get into the hobby. Figuring, having one of the highest city taxes, my tap water has gotta be pretty good so I should be in the clear especially with so many people using just tap.... how wrong i really was...
Last week santa came early and i got a 5 stage ro/di unit. I did a significant water change (80+ gallons), essentially all my water (don't have livestock yet, still cycling). My filters seemed fine and less than 1/10 of my DI resin showed signs of exhaustion. However, last night i was filling up a tub that i keep extra water in if needed. Within 5-10 gallons of filling it I looked at my ro/di unit and the first coarse sediment filter was a rusty orange color!! I couldn't believe it. Sorta got me mad that my brand new filters were getting used up so quickly, but really opened my eyes to what could possibly be in the water we drink. I feel as if i was still using just tap water all that sediment would've killed my fish once i introduced them into the tank (whatever it was). The other thing was that to just the naked eye you wouldn't be able to see this, cause i poured some water into a glass and it seemed crystal clear as always and drinkable. Also this was just my first sediment filter, i can't imagine how much smaller stuff got by that, is now stuck in my carbon blocks, and my di resin is nearly 1/5 exhausted.
On top of the convenience of being able to simply run a small plastic line into the room you have ur tank in, instead of mixing water, carrying buckets to top off, refill, etc. the peace of mind that the water going into my tank isn't going to kill my fish off is so worth the $160. If i were doing it again, i wouldn't of even started without an ro/di unit and made sure i had enough money for this before beginning the hobby... I guess this hobby really is about patience, every aspect of it. Its a risk one takes and it seems like the majority usually suffer no big consequences, but the amount of time that is saved in itself over time is well worth the added expense imo now.
I started using just dechlorinated tap for the first few weeks while cycling and being short on cash but wanting to get into the hobby. Figuring, having one of the highest city taxes, my tap water has gotta be pretty good so I should be in the clear especially with so many people using just tap.... how wrong i really was...
Last week santa came early and i got a 5 stage ro/di unit. I did a significant water change (80+ gallons), essentially all my water (don't have livestock yet, still cycling). My filters seemed fine and less than 1/10 of my DI resin showed signs of exhaustion. However, last night i was filling up a tub that i keep extra water in if needed. Within 5-10 gallons of filling it I looked at my ro/di unit and the first coarse sediment filter was a rusty orange color!! I couldn't believe it. Sorta got me mad that my brand new filters were getting used up so quickly, but really opened my eyes to what could possibly be in the water we drink. I feel as if i was still using just tap water all that sediment would've killed my fish once i introduced them into the tank (whatever it was). The other thing was that to just the naked eye you wouldn't be able to see this, cause i poured some water into a glass and it seemed crystal clear as always and drinkable. Also this was just my first sediment filter, i can't imagine how much smaller stuff got by that, is now stuck in my carbon blocks, and my di resin is nearly 1/5 exhausted.
On top of the convenience of being able to simply run a small plastic line into the room you have ur tank in, instead of mixing water, carrying buckets to top off, refill, etc. the peace of mind that the water going into my tank isn't going to kill my fish off is so worth the $160. If i were doing it again, i wouldn't of even started without an ro/di unit and made sure i had enough money for this before beginning the hobby... I guess this hobby really is about patience, every aspect of it. Its a risk one takes and it seems like the majority usually suffer no big consequences, but the amount of time that is saved in itself over time is well worth the added expense imo now.
