RO unit

[boydie]

Hey all. I'm looking at purchasing an RO unit. I was wondering if I can get some feedback on what's the best value for money type to get.
Any info would be great.
Cheers Marty

[sunshinediscus]

Hi Marty,

I bought a 3 stage one from an ebay store about 18 months ago. $130 delivered, 200liters a day membrane. It came with 10" filters. I had to assemble it, but it was pretty easy. Performs faultlessly, gives better than the advertised 200lpd with my strong water pressure at my house. It is a splish brand, but there are many to choose from on ebay.

[boydie]

Ok cool. I was looking at eBay. Are RO worth using ??

[sunshinediscus]

Are RO worth using ??

Depends on your situation. Here in Brisbane, the water is hard and alkaline. They grow well and remain healthy in the water, but breeding can be a problem. Mostly the eggs won't hatch unless you soften the water with r/o.
I wouldn't bother using it unless you need to, there is a fair amount of waste water produced using r/o. They are not the most water wise devices!

HTH

[boydie]

Yes after doing a bit of research I have going that out.
Not going to bother with an ro unit. I'm going to get a 3 way under sink type filter. That would suit my needs better.

[sunshinediscus]

Check the underwater sink type for recomended flow rate. Many household types can only flow 4 liters per minute effectively. If this is not enough flow rate you can buy commercial type activated filters (GAC) with a much higher flow rate and a huge bed of carbon. My filter holds 28 liters of GAC and has an effective flow rate of around 1000 liters per hour.

[Kerrie]

Hi Marty and Rod,
Just on the subject of RO units, I have also been thinking of getting one to use in my breeding tanks for discus and apoptosis. My discus are regularly spawning but are not hatching the eggs, maybe because they are inexperienced pairs or could it be the water?
Rod I tested my tap water yesterday and this is what my readings are:
pH - 7.7
kH - 50ppm
gH - 90ppm
TDS - 214

I know that my water is alkaline sitting at 7.7, but is my water also hard?
I get mixed up with TDS and k/gH's.
Cheers
Kerrie

[Kerrie]

* silly auto correct, not * apoptosis, APISTOS lol.
Sorry

[sunshinediscus]

Hi Kerrie,

Yes, your water is moderately hard. When i suspect i am having water related breeding issues i use pure r/o and add Discus pro minerals into the water. Works great and the ph is about 6.5 which some pairs seem to prefer. You only really need it for a few weeks, once you have fry you can adjust them straight back to tap water without any dramas. But you may find a 50/50 mix works quite well for most pairs if you want to mix it with tapwater. Ph will probably still be around 7.7, but many pairs seem to do ok with this. Apisto's i am not sure, not much experience there.
Yeah i got the apisto typo, apoptosis sounds more like a funky growth one might get on your foot or such place....

[Kerrie]

Thanks Rod, looks like I too will be searching for an RO system in the near future. I use rainwater in the apisto tank so they are alright, but at the moment I am running out of water in the tank, need the summer rains to come back in a hurry. Will mixing rainwater in the breeding tanks lower the hardness and tds? (when the tank is full that is)
Thanks again
Kerrie

[sunshinediscus]

Yes rain water mixed with tapwater will lower the hardness Kerrie. For practical purposes rain water is equivalent to R/O water.