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Hogie 
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Joined: May 09 2012
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 Topic: RO vs RODI Water
Posted: February 27 2014 at 12:37pm |
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Is there a big difference in using RO water rather than RODI water? When the LFS fills up water containers, isn't that RO water?
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Ann_A
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Joined: August 18 2011
Location: Kaysville, UT
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Posted: February 27 2014 at 12:47pm |
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It depends on the TDS of the source water. If it's highly polluted you'll probably want RODI since that removes more impurities. If you don't need ultra clean water or the water going into the RO doesn't have an extreme TDS reading then you can probably go without the DI. I went for over a year with just RO before adding DI. I suspect something in the city's water changed so I needed more filtration.
I think most LFS have RO not RODI but I could be wrong.
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BobC63
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Posted: February 27 2014 at 12:53pm |
Most LFS do RO - only
Whether or not there is a big difference between the 2 depends on 2 main things:
1) The starting TDS of your source water (your tap water's TDS reading)
2) How efficent your RO unit is (usually between 90% - 98%)
If your source water is a lower TDS (lets say 200ppm) and your RO unit is a high efficiency model (lets 98%) then your post - RO TDs should read about 4ppm.
Adding DI will only lower the TDS the additional 4 points (to 0ppm); so not a huge difference really.
However, if you have a high source water TDS (lets say 800ppm) and a low efficiency RO unit (let's say 90%) then your post - RO water could still have a TDS level of 80ppm.
80ppm vs 4ppm post - RO is a big difference.
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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Fatman
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Posted: February 27 2014 at 2:06pm |
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I think Bob and Ann both nailed it. I got one with a DI unit on it because I wanted the ability to have very clean water and when I go to sell it off after I'm too old to chase the fish around I'll be able to sell it easier. Most people just consider RO/DI units as necessary without really thinking that a RO unit will meet their needs.
Fat and getting fatter
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: February 27 2014 at 6:49pm |
Well said above.  I use RO water just as a safety net against city water problems that can arise from time to time. There are other hobbyists here on this forum including myself that use tap water for top-off from time to time. Also, There are quite a few hobbyists here on this forum that remain silent to avoid reprisal from uninformed hobbyists here. They use tap water or use water from a Kold-Steril unit and they have beautiful reefs with colorful SPS coral. There are so many ways to create and maintain a beautiful reef aquarium.  Aloha, Mark 
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Hogie
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Posted: February 27 2014 at 7:00pm |
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How do I test the water's TDS? Do I need a TDS meter or is there another way?
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DMower
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Posted: February 27 2014 at 7:36pm |
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Tds meter is the only way. Bring a sample over sometime.
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150 gal reef with 50 gal sump. Reef Octopus DCS-200 Skimmer. AI Sol Blues.
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Fatman
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Posted: February 28 2014 at 7:15am |
 Hogie wrote:
How do I test the water's TDS? Do I need a TDS meter or is there another way? |
TDS testing can be done inline with the filters on the RO unit itself or done with a standalone unit. I have the latter. Lets me test whenever I would like, but I can't watch the meter when I start my RO run and monitor it continuously. If you would like to borrow my meter you are welcome to take it for a few days to check your water situation. Fat
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: March 01 2014 at 6:34am |
Hogie wrote:
...is there another way? |
Yes, you can get a general idea of the TDS of your city water from their website. By law they are required to publish the numbers. Search for "[city name] water report". Also try the word "culinary" or even "total dissolved solids".
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