[czarkasm]

I just bought a Kent Marine 4 stage RO/DI unit. Do I have to buy any ro/di water conditioners? Its for a fish only tank.

Thanks for the replies.

[msbdiving]

What is the result of your tests after you add the salt?

[thelastmucci]

you shouldn't need conditioners....that's the whole point of RO water..it's supposed to take all the bad stuff out of you water and bring your TDS (total dissolved solidss) down to zero. The only thing some people suggest doing is letting it "breathe" buy either leaving it out overnight or putting some sort of PH (power head) in the bucket with the water. Other than that you should be good...oh yea...never run HOT water in your ro unit..it will mess it up..don't ask me how but it does. Also you should probably let a few gallons (20 or so) run though it so all the nasties come out of the filter.

[czarkasm]

I wasn't talking about water conditioners that take out chlorine and heavy metals and such, I was more or less talking about a product like this OSMO Prep Marine

[pogodzib]

RO/DI water conditioners are meant to be added to the water so that the pure water doesn't suck minerals out of the fish when you place them in the water. Since saltwater has plenty of chemicals in it already, you don't need to add anything else. For FW tanks, adding water conditioners is good when doing large water changes, but aren't even necessary if doing small water changes. Products like the one you listed above aren't necessary, it is just one more way for companies to take money out of your pocket.

FYI - Having hot water (100 degrees plus) destroys the RO membrane since it heats up the small pores and they end up getting stretched larger from the water pressure pushing against the membrane walls, thus allowing more small contaminants to get through.

[CyberJester]

Originally Posted by czarkasm

I wasn't talking about water conditioners that take out chlorine and heavy metals and such, I was more or less talking about a product like this OSMO Prep Marine

Just remember everyone's water is different and requires different nutritional supplements.

It depends on what the water left after is like. I would probably not use one of those total solution products as you listed above. However, what I did was collected the volume of water that I was going to use. Mix it up with your usual marine salt mixture to the desired SG. Then test it for levels of items you add to your tank (Alkalinity, Calcium, Mag, ect...) the slowly add these items (additives) to the water and write down how much it takes to get it to desired levels. Then every time you make new water at that volume just add that amount of additives. Then, the water change itself will not deplete levels in your tank. Hope this helps.

[czarkasm]

Ok, thanks for everyones input, I figured I didn't really need the ro additives, thats why I asked the question. But I do need to get some test kits for calcium, magnesium, etc.

again THANKS for the replies, everyone here has been very helpful in the past and I really do appreciate it!

[czarkasm]

Fedex brought my ro/di unit to me today... I've got everything hooked up temporarily. I've got another question or two though.... my psi reading is on the low end about 32psi, and my tds readings from tap is 40ppm and the product water reads 0ppm, I'm guessing that the unit is in fact working, but the thing that has me wondering is this... I barely have any waste water, maybe a drip every second and a half or so, and my product water is flowing very quickly. I filled a 15 gallon tub in about 30 mins (its a 35gpd unit). Is there something wrong, or am I just paranoid?

[stephaniesquires]

Originally Posted by czarkasm

Fedex brought my ro/di unit to me today... I've got everything hooked up temporarily. I've got another question or two though.... my psi reading is on the low end about 32psi, and my tds readings from tap is 40ppm and the product water reads 0ppm, I'm guessing that the unit is in fact working, but the thing that has me wondering is this... I barely have any waste water, maybe a drip every second and a half or so, and my product water is flowing very quickly. I filled a 15 gallon tub in about 30 mins (its a 35gpd unit). Is there something wrong, or am I just paranoid?

Re-check the set up directions, I had the same experience then realized I didn't have a valve turned the correct way, now I have lots more waste water...

[czarkasm]

I just rechecked the way I had everything hooked up.... I hooked the hoses up wrong... everything is perfect now.

Thanks

[msbdiving]

40ppm is pretty darn good for tap water. I think I was over 350. I do add a buffer to my water. I noticed that when I tested it with the salt it was about 7.8 and without it was around 7 (neutral).

[pogodzib]

40ppm is better than pretty darn good for tap water. I don't know if I've ever heard of anyone having tap water that pure. Most places have tap water with at least 150ppm and up, with many places being in the several hundred range.

[czarkasm]

I live in a pretty small town in Florida that uses a community water source, so thats probably why its so clean I suppose.