best alternative to RODI Water

[docter tuttle]

I was curious what the next best water to use for a reef tank would be other than Rodi water. Would distilled, regular spring water, dehumidifer water or britta water be the best alternate to using RODI water?

 

[willray]

Distilled,maybe.But that can get expensive real quick.The others would have risks,high tds,pollutants.You can get r/o from most LFS for cheap.

 

[Turbosnail]

Most lfs sell fresh ro for 50 cents a gallon or salt ro for $1.00 atleast thats what CRA charges.

 

[newenglandreef]

I used distilled for a while without any problems, Shaws carried them for $1/ gallon, it was just very inconvenient to make trips all the time when I needed water.

 

[MPevine11]

i didnt feel like buying an RO/DI system. so forver i was going to my Local Pet store to pay .50 a gallon for RO. used to get 24+ gallons a week....that adds up when you do it weekly.

one day i was at the LPS and they had a TDS meter. $40......but i wanted to know what i was buying. tested the water..........61 TDS!
for almost 4 months i was buying that water WEEKLY!

add up the $......i bet i could of bought my own RO/DI and had 0 TDS the entire time.

two weeks after finding out i was paying .50 a gallon for tap water pretty much i went out and bought my own RODI....now i have piece of mind

 

[rxsalt]

Well water

I have been using my well water for 2 years now. My deep well has great water. Small amounts of iron. My levels have been great. Sometimes my phosphate climbs a little. But it seems to fall back to within normal limits pretty quick. I have added some Phoslok to my Fluval and that seemed to help. Any thoughts?

 

[delta]

Just run DI they have some pretty nice setups, separated DI

That is the best alternative to RODI.

 

[spamreefnew]

i had to use poland springs one time when my rodi was without a membrane ,,it tested something like 5ppm tds... but i would not want to be without a rodi unit for more than a week or 2

 

[Kiah]

I have been using Poly Bio Marine's Kold Sterile filtration system for 4 years without issue. http://www.marinedepot.com/reverse-osmosis-deionization_kold_ster-il-ap.html
It makes water very quickly (and with 1200+ gallons that is a real plus) and there is no waste. I change filters 3 - 4 times per year (@$70 per change) but that is with a top-off rate of about 40 gal / day and water changes. I'm guessing that with a 100 - 200 gal system you'd get a year or more out of the filters. My tanks / corals / fish do fine. The downside is you can't check the quality of the water inexpensively.

 

[Mini4x]

Wow that Kold system is $300+? I suppose with 40 gallons per day using RO isn't the best choice.

A decent RO/DI will only set you back under $150.
I have this one. http://filterdirect.com/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=29

Or from a forum sponsor.. same thing under $140
http://www.airwaterice.com/c=9qelPH.../1COMPACT/Compact-75-GPD-Reefkeeper-RODI.html



I say keep your eyes open here there's almost always one for sale in the forums.

 

[spamreefnew]

FWIW my 4 stage coralife was only like $99 on sale about 5 yrs ago and has never failed me

 

[itz216]

Inexpensive water ....

Walmart ( check availability) has a Culligan self-serve dispenser at the front of the store. It puts out RODI with carbon and UV filtration at $0.37 per gallon ( bring your own containers). Depending on how much you need / use - it might solve the problem.

I've been using it while my town rips up the water line on my street (3 months). I haven't tested the Culligan water - but the tank looks great : )

 

[Greg Hiller]

Another alternative is to just use rain water. I collect rain water regularly and run it through a particle filter then some activated carbon and DI resin. If you collect mid-way through a storm after your roof is pretty well cleaned off and the water looks pretty clean in your barrel, I think you are in pretty good shape to even use it directly. At one point I measured the TDS coming off my roof in the middle of a storm, it was pretty darned low.

 

[Paulo Esco]

if you're running rainwater through GAC and then DI, you're using DI water.... just from your roof instead of the city pipes.

Belmont Springs, Crystal Springs and Poland Springs are actually RO water; if you ask for their complete literature and water testing results you'll see that it's clean.

I personally run tap through GAC and 2-part DI through a reactor. Supposedly you can regenerate many DI resins, similar to the GFO regeneration techniques listed on another thread... but i don't bother, since the chambers last almost a year and the cost to replace through Bulk Reef Supply is pretty cheap.