Filtered water

[Cole]

So in my area I know we have very hard water. I’ve been kicking around getting a couple of 10 gallon jugs and going to the water stand and getting purified water for the tank to fill with and to do water changes. Kind of thinking out loud but is that a good idea? It’s pretty cheap and good water at least. 

[toothgrinder]

I invested in a RO system from bulk reef supply. 200 GPD system with optional DI attachment was 250$. Considering the time and effort it saves me I consider it well worth the investment and my water quality is much much better now.

[Kat_Rigel]

I just use tap, but if you are considering going with RO, I would try the jugs before investing in the full RO system. That way you can see if you like it, then make the investment when you know you will use it.

[MickS77]

I invested in a RO system from BRS as well. I store it in a 100 gallon plastic container in my basement and pump it upstairs when I need it.

[Daniel]

Like @MickS77 and @toothgrinder I went with a RO system from Bulk Reef Supply. In the long run it is nice to be able to control what is in your water.

[Maggie]

If you go with this plan of lugging 90 pounds of water in jugs, please be very careful with your back!! One slip up and you could be seriously injured.  Even a minor injury requiring PT could end up costing more than the RO system being discussed. 

[classicshooter]

I purchased a kit off eBay. Nothing fancy, but after testing my water out of the tap I realized my PH was crazy high from the start. This allows me to get the water to a known level and adjust from there. The PPM from the tap is ~120, coming out of the RO kit it is about ~2. I keep everything in this extra cooler I had laying around so I can roll it where I need. 

 

[Tami]

@classicshooterso you hook it up when you need it? how complicated is that?  I think this is my next step - i just had issues with my parameters, tested my source water and it was the cause (that's why a water change didn't lower the nitrites).  i already buy purified and RO water from Walmart and I think my own system will be easier

@Danielis your system always hooked up? - BTW figured out my water issue

[Daniel]

10 hours ago, Tami said:

 

@Danielis your system always hooked up? - BTW figured out my water issue

Yes, it is permanent. I mounted it to the wall to save space. All the daily RODI water goes in to the big white holding container in the photo. And the black pump at the bottom sends the water to the big aquarium when needed.

 

@Tami You mentioned you figured out your water issue? What was the solution?

 

[L.W. Wetarm]

On 12/8/2020 at 5:56 PM, Cole said:

So in my area I know we have very hard water. I’ve been kicking around getting a couple of 10 gallon jugs and going to the water stand and getting purified water for the tank to fill with and to do water changes. Kind of thinking out loud but is that a good idea? It’s pretty cheap and good water at least. 

I also have very hard tapwater. My Lake  tanganyika chiclids love it but I’m wanting to start a soft water 29 gallon  tank where I can have Rummynose Tetras and Cory Cats. I have been looking at several portable RODI units in the $55 to $90 price range on Amazon. Granted, they’re only 50 to 75 gallons per day. But, that would work fine for me. Except for the initial fill, which could take awhile, fifty gallons a day would be more than enough for water changes and topping off. I just don’t have space, budget, or need for a built in system. 

[classicshooter]

15 hours ago, Tami said:

@classicshooterso you hook it up when you need it? how complicated is that?  I think this is my next step - i just had issues with my parameters, tested my source water and it was the cause (that's why a water change didn't lower the nitrites).  i already buy purified and RO water from Walmart and I think my own system will be easier

@Danielis your system always hooked up? - BTW figured out my water issue

Yes I just hook it up as needed. Here is a better picture of it all setup ready to take the tap end to the tank or to a collection bucket, depending on which tank I am putting water into. It takes about 1 minute to set everything up, not difficult at all. With that, @Daniel has a much better setup, but I just don't have a place to store that much water for that kind of setup (but I will in my next home). Also I was going to do a permanent install in the laundry room and my wife wasn't thrilled about that, so I figured I would do this instead and find something else to make her made (just kidding, I don't purposely find stuff to make her mad, I just do it without thinking about it 😂)

[Tami]

@Danielwell I think: I was adding Nitrites with my source water along with triggering a die off of the algae in my tank by decreasing water ferts and light  after I did a water change and my numbers went higher, I checked my source water and it had 1 ppm Nitrite and 0.5 Ammonia. - I checked the tank parameters in the first place because my water was cloudy (now figuring it was bacterial bloom trying to counter nitrite spike) -- some of the knowledge dots started to connect when i stopped freaking out

[Ryan F]

I'm using an RO system for cooking water and my humidifier. I got an APEC system on Amazon. It's also good for providing water for my 20G. I will caveat that I have a heavily planted established tank, so I hardly do anything with it any more than a biweekly top off.

Still a great investment. I have plans to expand it in the future.