RO system anygood?

nikski9098 · 01/18/2008, 06:00 PM

I do not have a RO system yet, nor do i know much about them (i still go to dominicks for my water) and they are key in healthy happy reefing..... anyways, some one wants to sell me the water general ro rd 102 system for $60, they said its only 2 months old..... the question is should i even bother? i looked it up online and new it said $149, and the replacements arent cheap for every stage filtration....here it is.....http://filterdirect.com/catalog/prod...products_id=29

Davidb6 · 01/18/2008, 06:33 PM

Never heard of this mfg but it looks like a good enough system from the pic / info. Have you checked Ebay. I prefer "The Filter Guys" myself.

kau_cinta_ku · 01/18/2008, 07:00 PM

I have a filterdirect unit, and I just ended up buying a better unit from purelyH2O the optima pro.

I still use the filter direct unit for my drinking water but won't use it in my reef.

AZDesertRat · 01/18/2008, 07:04 PM

It is a pretty low quality drinking water system at best. They can be found for not much more than $60 new on e-bay. For a good quality system that will truly give you reef quality water andhave the components you will want and need its going to cost you right at $150-$160 new. Any less and you give up water quality, component life or both.
Good systems will come with a true DI filter which consists of a standard sized 10" vertical canister with a refillable cartridge that holds 20 oz of high quality DI resin. Also a Dow Filmtec 75 GPD RO membrane is the industy standard due to its 96-98% efficiency unlike that ones 90% efficiency.
They will also include a handheld TDS meter, an inline pressure gauge, a prefilter in the 1 micron or less range, a carbon block in the 0.6 or 0.5 micron range, a RO bypass valve...... The list goes on and on and not one of the things I mentioned is included in that one. Even if you were to get that one for $60 you will invest more to bring it up to reef quality than if you spent $161 on a new 75 GPD here.
http://www.buckeyefieldsupply.com/sh...ry=168&Sub=166

There are several more RC sponsors that sell very similar reef quality units in the same price range too.

Take a look at the link you provided, notice things like they do not tell you micron ratings of prefilters and carbon blocks? Notice they do not tell you what brand, manufacturers model number or the efficiency rating of the membrane they supply? They do not tell you what brand or blend of resin they provide nor how much the little hollow tubes hold? All those things should be big RED FLAGS meaning stay away or buyer beware. Look at all the RC sponsors units, thye tell you right up front what you are getting, no false claims no BS just the simple truth. They all use name brand components that are proven products with a track record.

nikski9098 · 01/18/2008, 07:26 PM

ahhh ha so i guess its a no and dont go jumping into the first thing thrown at me....thank you all very much, i have some research to do obviously....(back to dominicks for me, as for now) rc is the best!!!

super stooge · 01/18/2008, 09:21 PM

i found these podcasts very helpful in understanding RO/DI

RO/DI part 1, talkingreef podcast

RO/DI (video) talkingreef podcast

wachuko · 01/18/2008, 09:25 PM

Water quality is one of the things you should do right... I got a RO/DI unit from The Filter Guys - http://www.thefilterguys.biz/

I will not take any risk with the water in my tank...

01/18/2008, 06:00 PM	#1
nikski9098 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: SW Burbs of Chicago Posts: 66	RO system anygood? I do not have a RO system yet, nor do i know much about them (i still go to dominicks for my water) and they are key in healthy happy reefing..... anyways, some one wants to sell me the water general ro rd 102 system for $60, they said its only 2 months old..... the question is should i even bother? i looked it up online and new it said $149, and the replacements arent cheap for every stage filtration....here it is.....http://filterdirect.com/catalog/prod...products_id=29

01/18/2008, 09:21 PM	#6
super stooge Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: sydney australia Posts: 529	i found these podcasts very helpful in understanding RO/DI RO/DI part 1, talkingreef podcast RO/DI (video) talkingreef podcast __________________ Dean A 240g + sump office tank Salty Sense YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMMGmajiuOnA3ntKDPkGEqQ

01/18/2008, 09:25 PM	#7
wachuko Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 236	Water quality is one of the things you should do right... I got a RO/DI unit from The Filter Guys - http://www.thefilterguys.biz/ I will not take any risk with the water in my tank... __________________ Kind regards, Wachuko My 210gal tank : http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1300946 Current Tank Info: 210Gal 72x24x29

01/18/2008, 06:33 PM	#2
Davidb6 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Savanah Ga Posts: 770	Never heard of this mfg but it looks like a good enough system from the pic / info. Have you checked Ebay. I prefer "The Filter Guys" myself.

01/18/2008, 07:00 PM	#3
kau_cinta_ku Moved On Join Date: May 2005 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 8,669	I have a filterdirect unit, and I just ended up buying a better unit from purelyH2O the optima pro. I still use the filter direct unit for my drinking water but won't use it in my reef.

01/18/2008, 07:04 PM	#4
AZDesertRat Moved On Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NW Phoenix Posts: 16,621	It is a pretty low quality drinking water system at best. They can be found for not much more than $60 new on e-bay. For a good quality system that will truly give you reef quality water andhave the components you will want and need its going to cost you right at $150-$160 new. Any less and you give up water quality, component life or both. Good systems will come with a true DI filter which consists of a standard sized 10" vertical canister with a refillable cartridge that holds 20 oz of high quality DI resin. Also a Dow Filmtec 75 GPD RO membrane is the industy standard due to its 96-98% efficiency unlike that ones 90% efficiency. They will also include a handheld TDS meter, an inline pressure gauge, a prefilter in the 1 micron or less range, a carbon block in the 0.6 or 0.5 micron range, a RO bypass valve...... The list goes on and on and not one of the things I mentioned is included in that one. Even if you were to get that one for $60 you will invest more to bring it up to reef quality than if you spent $161 on a new 75 GPD here. http://www.buckeyefieldsupply.com/sh...ry=168&Sub=166 There are several more RC sponsors that sell very similar reef quality units in the same price range too. Take a look at the link you provided, notice things like they do not tell you micron ratings of prefilters and carbon blocks? Notice they do not tell you what brand, manufacturers model number or the efficiency rating of the membrane they supply? They do not tell you what brand or blend of resin they provide nor how much the little hollow tubes hold? All those things should be big RED FLAGS meaning stay away or buyer beware. Look at all the RC sponsors units, thye tell you right up front what you are getting, no false claims no BS just the simple truth. They all use name brand components that are proven products with a track record.

01/18/2008, 07:26 PM	#5
nikski9098 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: SW Burbs of Chicago Posts: 66	ahhh ha so i guess its a no and dont go jumping into the first thing thrown at me....thank you all very much, i have some research to do obviously....(back to dominicks for me, as for now) rc is the best!!!