Water conditioner or ro/di system

[BlueFlare]

I was wondering if it was ok to use a water conditioner such as api in order to remove chloramines and chlorine. Or should I use a ro/di system. Which one is safer to use on a reef system or are they both the same?

 

[pyithar]

they're not the same. use the RO/DI.

 

[thegrun]

+1, most tap water contains numerous impurities that can lead to long term problems. Conditioners will do nothing to remove these impurities.

 

[Dmize]

Any suggestions on a RO system that wont break the bank? Looking at the Reef Buddy from amazon.

 

[sirclintler]

+1 bite the bullet and pick up an ro/di or build your own it will pay for itself sell the waste water for $1 a gallon or start a freshwater tank with the waste

 

[Flippers4pups]

RO/DI unit is the way to go. Expect to spend around $200-250 for a good one new. Don't use tap water even with water conditioners because you never know what's in you tap water at any given time!

 

[billdogg]

I got my 75gpd rodi from www.buckeyehydro.com for less than $200. Russ customized it for my needs and in so doing, saved me about $100+ over what I thought I would need.

 

[Dmize]

Thanks for the info.

 

[hkgar]

RO/DI unit is the way to go. Expect to spend around $200-250 for a good one new. Don't use tap water even with water conditioners because you never know what's in you tap water at any given time!

Exactly, just ask the people of Flint Michigan. Purifiers would have no effect on lead.

 

[CStrickland]

Prime will bind up to 8.5 ppm of lead. Not that I'd drink it.
Flint is an interesting example because one of the reasons they have lead issues in the tap water is they weren't using a (maddeningly cheap) additive to prevent the water picking up lead from pipes. Many of these corrosion inhibitors are phosphate based. Phosphate is bad news in a reef tank. So Flint is an interesting example of choose your poison- metal from busted down pipes, or phosphate in your tank.

Obvi the answer is neither. I got a refurbished rodi from spectrapure for $150, and I really like not wondering if the water is safe for my tank. Many things that are safe for people, like phos-based corrosion inhibitors, are murder for coral. And as Flint shows, it's very easy for an improperly regulated city to turn on a dime and feed everyone poison water for a good long time before anyone notices that the water is different.