Best RO unit

[clevan]

Anyone with recs for the cheapest/best RO unit, my tank is 35g, I've finally given up fighting the algae/cyno battle which I believe is due to my using well water
Thanks

 

[simple]

check ebay, they have several cheap ro/di units

 

[saltysteven]

hey man i just got a brand new set of filters and membrane for my r/o (still have reciept) when my girlfriend went out and bought me a brand new one for my birthday! she bought me the new one since i was going to highly modifiy the Kent so she thought id be ignoring her. ("chicks") so anyway like i said im selling my old unit that has brand new everything in it. i put it in the paper here : https://accounts.craigslist.org/post/sh ... 8018&db=lv check it out its really a great unit and for a tank your size it would be better than perfect. the only used parts on the unit are the canisters which cant be desrtoyed in any way and the steel bracket holding them together- everything else is brand newclevan

 

[metalac]

I got mine from http://www.purewaterclub.com/ they have a number units under $100. I got a 125gph with a set of replacable filters for $95. that deal can't be beat.

 

[saltysteven]

id check the name on those filters and membrane- there s only one number one company out-
flimtec
you get what you pay for

 

[mr_X]

i have a pure water club R.O. unit as well. it works fine. the unit was 100$ shipped. 100 gpd.
these units are the same size as most others, so you can put whatever replacement filters you want in them.

 

[Buckeye Field Supply]

Anyone with recs for the cheapest/best RO unit, my tank is 35g, I've finally given up fighting the algae/cyno battle which I believe is due to my using well water
Thanks

Hi Clevan. In this case the cheapest, and the best, certainly are not one in the same.

There are some features in RO and RO/DI systems that are very important for systems used for reefing, and there are some other features that are not absolutely necessary, but are sure nice to have.

Some things you'll want in a system:
aluminum bracket
pressure gauge
thermometer
tds meter
small pore/high capacity prefilters
high quality, high rejection, membrane
refillable vertical full size DI cartridge
clear housings

and last but not least, a configuration specifically designed for an aquarium.

Russ @ BFS

 

[Capslock]

I purchased the Aquarium RO+(2) DI 125GPD Reverse Osmosis + Free 5ps
[PW-22-50]
from purewaterclub.com as a recommendation from another gent here on this forum.

I must say it is quite nice, it took me a week to set it up because I messed up my sink in the process: hint: if you are only a novice at plumbing, just go to a local plumbing shop (not home depot or others) and they will fix you right up with every part you will need and they will make it essentially plug and play at their shop. I guess I should mention that I did not use the needle valve that came with the system. Oh one last thing - don't try to puncture vinyl tubing :-/

ANYWAYS,
I am not an expert in the marine aquarium in any way, I just started my 46gal tank about 3 months ago; so take my opinion with a grain of salt
However my findings so far are this:
I have not had a need for a pressure gauge - I believe you would want one to know when the filters are going - but you can judge that by age as well
I dont see the purpose of a thermometer for the RO water - I put my water in the sump and it just mixes with the water already there - no significant temp changes in the tank - I understand the first 5 min it will be colder but that is insignificant

other then that I would agree with the rest the Russ has stated and please feel free to correct my ideas

 

[Capslock]

somehow the message double posted - my bad

 

[Buckeye Field Supply]

Good thoughts.

You'll want a pressure gauge upon first setting your system up to know if you have enough pressure to run the system with an acceptable level of production.

You'll also want a pressure gauge to help troubleshoot your system when the production drops off - one of the most common causes of this is clogged prefilters - this is not always something you'll see via visual inspection.

You want to know the pressure reaching the membrane because pressure, along with temperature, affect production significantly.

And to help troubleshoot low production you'll also want to know the water temperature - this time of year cold water is one of the primary causes of the low production folks complain about.

So - with a brand new system, and assuming you have ok pressure and temperature, can you do without these two tools? Sure. In normal operation of the system over time will these two tools be a big help? You bet.

Russ