RO Units we use in ITFS

I just thought we talk about RO units for a change here in product reviews. I know there are good brands and cheap brands out there. I wonder anyone can share any experiences about their RO units and which one does the best job. RO units in the hobby are at best to soften water for low PH set-ups as Dublin tap is very alkaline/hard. It does its job along with UV sterilizers etc, but as it stands do we have any brand/s out there stands out, given the price, spare parts, service, warranty? What does a double membrane do than a single membrane cannot? I'm looking into a US brand called WaterGeneral, anyone has any background with their RO units?

RO-MAN in the uk seem to be very popular with uk fishkeepers also alot of Irish use there products here the unit i use is 5stage sold by water2buy.ie and made by aquasmart good unit but i would always buy a unit with a booster pump mains pressure in this country can be very hit and miss

Stupid question, but does RO units really soften water ( or generally just filter unwanted stuff, dechlorinate etc) as you want it? Or Water Softeners as a separate device does it better? What do people generally want to do when they get RO units? I reckon most hobbyist still buy drinking water from Tesco

Good idea for the thread Ian

Good for us people that dont really no much about RO units, and i agree with stevieg a booster pump is a must to get the best out of the RO unit


Alan

From what I gather, an RO unit filters all minerals out of the water and the outcome should be water with a neutral pH of 7.

If you use RO water for your aquarium, you'll need to either add a certain percentage of unfiltered water or a product that remineralizes the water with the necessary elements your fish need.

I use a deioniser myself to filter my water. It has the same effect on the water and, IMO, has the advantage of not wasting a portion of the water as an RO unit does.

Hope this helps.
Valerie

Valerie wrote:

From what I gather, an RO unit filters all minerals out of the water and the outcome should be water with a neutral pH of 7.

If you use RO water for your aquarium, you'll need to either add a certain percentage of unfiltered water or a product that remineralizes the water with the necessary elements your fish need.

I use a deioniser myself to filter my water. It has the same effect on the water and, IMO, has the advantage of not wasting a portion of the water as an RO unit does.

Hope this helps.
Valerie

Thanks Valerie, or if you use a RO unit, you got to add those trace elements lost in a form of water conditioners. But RO units does save you lots on anti-chlorine expenses

Have to point out that not all Dublin water is hard. It depends on where the supply is coming from and there are several different sources. My water in Ranelagh is pH 7.0 and consistant TDS of 70, essentially very soft water.

Interesting thread - don't make my mistake if buying an American RO unit and opt for a filter size that is not available on this side of the Atlantic. I bought a Big Blue with 20" by 4" filter cartridges and the biggest available here is 20" by 2.5"! Shipping on carbon cartridges is about three times the cartridge price


Daragh

Daragh_Owens wrote:

Have to point out that not all Dublin water is hard. It depends on where the supply is coming from and there are several different sources. My water in Ranelagh is pH 7.0 and consistant TDS of 70, essentially very soft water.

Interesting thread - don't make my mistake if buying an American RO unit and opt for a filter size that is not available on this side of the Atlantic. I bought a Big Blue with 20" by 4" filter cartridges and the biggest available here is 20" by 2.5"! Shipping on carbon cartridges is about three times the cartridge price


Daragh

Thanks Daragh yes the filters could take 25 USD....shipping a little over 35 usd so about 50 euros for everything cheers!

Ian can you post up the ro unit you are lookin at please

Thanks

Alan

Valerie wrote:

From what I gather, an RO unit filters all minerals out of the water and the outcome should be water with a neutral pH of 7.

If you use RO water for your aquarium, you'll need to either add a certain percentage of unfiltered water or a product that remineralizes the water with the necessary elements your fish need.

I use a deioniser myself to filter my water. It has the same effect on the water and, IMO, has the advantage of not wasting a portion of the water as an RO unit does.

Hope this helps.
Valerie

The majority of marine keepers use r/o now in this country as the mains water quality is so up and down in some area's and most local authorities fail to advice the public of any works they carry out which can lead to disaster r/o units are quiet affordable now and easy to set up the trace elements that are lost in the process are generally replaced by using a good quality salt for mixing D+D do a salt specifically designed for use with R/O water which i use myself and find it the best on the market also a lot of lfs supplie R/O water for a charge now mixed and straight for peace of mind with marine fish keeping R/O is a must mo