The ups and downs of not using RODI water.

[Valentini89]

So my tank has been up for over a year now, and I have no RODI system. I perform my water changes weekly (most weeks) and treat the tap water I use with conditioner. I have lost no fish for a long time now and the last one I did lose was a jumper so it wasn't because of the water anyway. I have had to deal with a few outbreaks of cyano which I have quickly treated with chemiclean and the tank has cleared up. So I saved the cost and hassle of an RODI unit and the associated filters that must be purchased.

[kevin j.]

These are just my thoughts so take it for what it's worth. You are treating the water with conditioner so you are not taking anything out of the water. With the rodi unit you are removing the impurities. Then to treat your cyno out break you added more chemicals to your tank that you might not had to use if you were using rodi. I am in no way telling you that you are doing it wrong. Just my thoughts.

[Valentini89]

These are just my thoughts so take it for what it's worth. You are treating the water with conditioner so you are not taking anything out of the water. With the rodi unit you are removing the impurities. Then to treat your cyno out break you added more chemicals to your tank that you might not had to use if you were using rodi. I am in no way telling you that you are doing it wrong. Just my thoughts.

I have a feeling I'll be getting an RODI unit when I set up my new tank. The only thing I'm unsure of is storing water. How long is RODI water good for stored? Like in a brute can outside in the elements. (With a lid) lol

[Civicman86]

I have a feeling I'll be getting an RODI unit when I set up my new tank. The only thing I'm unsure of is storing water. How long is RODI water good for stored? Like in a brute can outside in the elements. (With a lid) lol

I have a large black thin garbage can that sits next to. My tank (black so it's. Blends.in with my black stand). Holds probably 15g of water. I just keep it topped off which means making 10g of water once a week. Water should be good for a long time.

[kevin j.]

The water will be fine for a long time. I just picked up a unit on the auction site (dunno if I can say it) for $75 well worth the money.

[pfan151]

So my tank has been up for over a year now, and I have no RODI system. I perform my water changes weekly (most weeks) and treat the tap water I use with conditioner. I have lost no fish for a long time now and the last one I did lose was a jumper so it wasn't because of the water anyway. I have had to deal with a few outbreaks of cyano which I have quickly treated with chemiclean and the tank has cleared up. So I saved the cost and hassle of an RODI unit and the associated filters that must be purchased.

The problem is that as time goes on, and evaporation is replaced by non RODI water, the impurities get more and more concentrated. Using tap is just a bad idea long term.

[rffanat1c]

$175 for an rodi unit is peanuts in the end. My water bill has never gone up and i have a 180 using 2 gallons a day. $30 every 6 months and $50 every 3 years is nothing for filters


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[shua71]

I used RO water to top off and would pick up natural sea water for water changes. Things were doing great but now I'm battling a huge hair algae outbreak. I suggest you get a RODI unit and save yourself the hassles down the road.

[Pet Detective]

Soooooo, you have a saltwater tank and want to save money?:lolspin:


Honestly, once the initial purchase is done, it's not very expensive to replace individual filters/membrane.

[DesertReefT4r]

I have yet to see a marine tank running on tap water thatbhas not had issues.

[ReefkeeperZ]

I ran all my tanks on tap water for many years before ever buying a RO/DI, the thing when your using tap is to do more changes and less top off, top off drives contamination up, while changes keep it relatively stable. Depending on your source water it's not necessarily the impossible evil that many would suggest it is.

Is it ideal? probably not.

Can it work just fine? yes.

as long as you are aware of what your doing and compensate, like running the water for several minutes to clear the lines before collecting water for mixing, doing more changes rather than going long periods only topping off.

now with your larger tank in the works I would consider the investment worth while, in a large tank it's much harder to adjust water parameter once they get out of whack so starting with the best water you can is definitely a plus. In your 26g you can do a ten gallon water change and have done more than 30% in your 150 it's going to be much much more to get the same effect.

[ReefkeeperZ]

of course you could always grab 2 of those inexpensive carbon filters from home depot and put them at your tank water supply out put (so you arent filtering the whole house) to help clean the water up a bit without going whole hog on it. any filtration before your tanks water supply is a good thing, or a particle filter and a carbon filter I think they are like 20$ each, the replacement cartridges are dirt cheap.