RO only?

[meatbar4]

Wanting to mix my own salt water (been buying it fron LFS).
Don't have an RO/DI setup.
There is a local RO drive up near by, to what extent do I need the DI part?
What happens, over time, if I use this RO only water?
THX
CC

 

[pcmankey]

I wouldn't really worry about the DI part. I have a RO/DI unit and here is a summary of the TDS in each type of water that I produce:

Tap 400
RO 10-20
RO/DI 0

Obviously if your cutting the Tap water from the hundreds to the tens it is good enough in my opinion. The RO membrane rejects most of the ions before it gets to the DI.

 

[JeremyR]

I've used RO only for years. I personally don't think it's worth my money to use DI, but many people do on the idea of getting the water as pure as possible.

 

[meatbar4]

Thanks

pcmankey and

JeremyR

I think I'll go ahead and give it a try.

CC

 

[tinyreef]

be careful on not using the purest water available. it's not always necessary to use the cleanest water available but that is not a qualified answer on my part. it depends entirely on where you live and how the local water co. treats the water. fine for people is not fine for inverts.

i live in nj where water quality is less than pristine so i use steam distilled which is the purest i can afford. glass distilled (lab quality) is just too expensive in the cost to setup. $99 and you've got a distiller.

ro/di are perfectly fine to use and cheaper but not as pure as distilled. the Hawaiian Aquarium uses wellwater but that's really seawater (the benefits of paradise). unless you know the exact makeup of your tap its better to err on the safe side.