Tap Water Filter

[sshapero]

Happy New Year!

Does anyone have an opinion on this product?

I really can't afford an RO/DI unit at this time and I am buying RO/DI water from my lfs ($4.00 for 5 gal).

Is this worth the money? Will it work adequately well?

Thanks.

[bsmom]

I've had one. I used it a few times over the last couple years. Last time I tried to use it the plastic faucet adapter was too stripped to get on the faucet. I haven't tried looking at a hardware store to see if I can replace it yet.

[bsmom]

BTW I get the glacier water out of the machine at the supermarket for .35 cents a gallon. I use long shoe strings to make bouquets of about 10-15 empty 1 gallon jugs and plop them into a grocery cart.

[NCguy]

Check the TDS coming out of it and see. The tap water filter on my refrigerator still has a TDS of 60-65 and i wouldn't use that in my tank.(but i stll drink it lol) My guess is that its not going to be good enough because most tap water filters are just carbon.

[sshapero]

Thanks.

[cilyjr]

check your local reef club for an ro filter. i bought a used one for 50 dollars.

[Reefmack]

I ran the API water filter for 6-7 months and never had a hair or nuisance algae problem. I got 0 TDS from it when the cartridges weren't exhausted. But, I always had a problem with brown diatom on the substrate. After switching to a 5 stage RO/DI the diatom has disappeared and my substrate looks about as clean as it did when I set up the tank. Something was still getting through the tap water filter - maybe silica, that kept the diatoms growing. The API was OK for me, but obviously not as good as an RO/DI unit. The RO/DI is sure a lot faster too. Just my experience with both. BTW my water hardness is only 20-30ppm, and the TDS on my tap is only 56-58, which was probably easy for the API carbon/DI to treat, and extended my API cartridge life also. I'm guessing that if yor water hardness is high, and/or your tap TDS, the unit won't perform quite as well, or the cartridges will become exhausted sooner. If you get the API unit get a TDS meter for a better way of knowing when the cartridges are exhausted than relying on the resin to change color. You can get a decent Hanna TDS for about $20 on Ebay or some online sites.

[bsmom]

When I replied I was referring to this unit:
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_Aquari...ceuticals.html

[Al]

I use this. No problems whatever with the water produced - a good thing because where I live the an RO unit will not last long, the water is too hard and quickly clogs the RO membrane.

[Reefmack]

Originally posted by bsmom
When I replied I was referring to this unit:
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_Aquari...ceuticals.html

Same one I was referring to - API (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Inc). I think it did a good job - just not as good as a true RO/DI though.

[orbit]

im using the same filter now without any problem, but i will soon switch over to a ro unit

but the unit does a decent job imo

it does get pricey quick, the chamber needs to be changed every month or so

[jeffreyliu838]

Not worth the money. I get ocean water for 50 cents a gallon.

[Toddrtrex]

You are going to end up spending more money with that unit compared to a good RO/DI unit. It is basically just an DI filter, you will have to change the cartridges often.

It is better than using plain tap water, but there are better choices IMO. A good RO/DI unit from one of the sponsors will cost $100-$150, and you water will be so much better.

[Zestay]

if your hard up for cash. try to get a RO filter now. and than a DI filter added on later. most RO puts out around 6 TDS which is much better than any brita could dream of. ill give you some links from our sponsers

http://www.thefilterguys.biz/ro_systems.htm
than later you can just buy a DI filter for it =)

[leoslizards]

I've used the Tap Water Filter for over 3 years now and it's pretty good. I used it on my 29g planted aquarium and it did wonders. My plants would grow fast, flowered and even pearled. The only problem with the filter is the replacement filter's costs. Each filter lasts about a month and it got expensive so I stopped using it. Soon after, my planted tank was never the same. 80% of my plants and fish died and now I have a huge problem with algae. I just started using it again because I got a 3pk of replacement cartridges and the extra filter on ebay for only $25, so now I only use it on my SW tank.

I plan on getting a better 5 or 6 stage RO/DI system when I get some extra cash. They are expensive at first but in the long run you end up saving alot of money, unlike the Tap Water Filter. I heard that the better RO/DI unit's filters last almost a year before needing replacement. $40 (Tap Water Filter) + $220 (a year of filters) = $260! Better RO units $100 - $300. Not sure on the filter costs though.

Btw, Drsfostersmith.com has them for $30 or try looking for a used one on ebay. I got an extra one on ebay for $25 + 3 filters. I'm might use it for a DIY Phosban Reactor project. If anyone in Miami FL has a TDS meter please come by so that we can test it.

[AZDesertRat]

It is very unusual to get more than 20-25 gallons out of a Tap Water Filter. And even then you need to adjust the flow to a drip or trickle so it has some detention time in the cartridge.
Thye only hold a few ounces of media so you can't expect them to last very long. I would imagine those like Al who said it works great and a RO/DI system would not last do not own and use a TDS meter.
At high hardness and TDS a Tap Water Filter probably won't last 10 gallons and then its only marginally effective at best. With my tap TDS at 835 I would get about a gallon out of it. Definitely not worth the money and nowhere near a replacement or substitute for an RO or RO/DI system.

[A.T.T.R]

4 bucks for 5 gallon O_O
wow
salt water here is 50 to 60 cents a gallon
and ro is 25 to 35 cents per gallon

at those rates buy an ro unit ( you can get a good one for like 100 bucks or so) ( NOT AN EBAY UNIT!!!!)

[down and outman]

Been using Glacier water as well. Also make a few gallons of lab grade DI water at work every now and then. I have 5 gal jugs, but I'm getting tired of hauling them. Plan on getting a RO/DI machine from www.twopartsolutions.com.
We have timers set up to solenoids on our chemical fill tanks, set to cut off after a certain period of time. I just had a thought that might be a possibility for RO units to keep us from flooding our homes with RO water. I need to check into how to build one, that could be duplicated easily.

[Al]

Originally posted by AZDesertRat
I would imagine those like Al who said it works great and a RO/DI system would not last do not own and use a TDS meter.
At high hardness and TDS a Tap Water Filter probably won't last 10 gallons and then its only marginally effective at best. With my tap TDS at 835 I would get about a gallon out of it. Definitely not worth the money and nowhere near a replacement or substitute for an RO or RO/DI system.

Desert Rat, you will find that the people at Kent (one of many repackagers and sellers of RO, RO/DI and DI systems) will tell you themselves that certain types of water, like very hard tap water, will in fact clog an RO membrane very quickly. DI units don't clog under these conditions because they remove only ionized impurities - they do not filter out microscopic undissolved particles the way the RO membrane does.
Now RO/DI is the best way to go as far total water purification goes, and it is cheaper in the long run, but the RO part cannot always be used.
As for using DI water alone for a reef, ask around. You'll find lots of people on RC using it to maintain all kinds of reefs, including SPS. I have never had trouble with it, and I did use an Kent RO unit in other places I have lived.
And I get about 80 - 90 gallons of water from each cartridge.

[AZDesertRat]

My tap water averages 835 TDS and often exceeds 1000, if anyone would have problems with an RO plugging it would be here in the southwest. Kent is full of bunk. RO membranes were designed to process raw seawater and do a darn fine job of it.
DI has limited capabilities and life and only effective on certain things. In fact nitrates, silicates and phosphates are three things it is NOT good at since they are weakly ionized.
Kent needs to stick to additives and supplements and stay out of where they are not familiar. Having been a certified and licensed treatment plant operator for almost 34 years and done startup commissioning on multiple municipal RO systems up to 15 MGD I think I might be able to teach them a thing or two about RO and DI. In fact I am actively involved in the design, construction, start up testing and electronic O&M manual preparation on two plants today, one in Southern California and one in the Phoenix Metro area. Its what I do for a living.

[AZDesertRat]

NY has some unique waters. It is one of the only places in the Country where they can serve it basically untreated other than with residual disinfectant. But it also has one of the highest sediment loadings in the Country too. It plugs prefilters faster than anywhere else. For that reason some of the manufacturers and vendors use NY as a test area for filter products. The 0.2 micron Zetasorb prefilter that Spectrapure sells now was a direct result of this type of testing. Normal prefilters and especially absolute rated poly prefilters plugged quickly but the Zetasorb is pleated so it has 10x the surface area and lasts much longer even when filtering to a 0.2 micron absolute.

[jmicky41]

I used to use the tap water filter. It would only produce about 10 gallons before the cartridge would become exhausted.

[Al]

AZDesertrat, I don't have any reason to doubt that you have been a "certified and licensed treatment plant operator for almost 34 years" but such expertise is not entirely relevant to the question of whether DI water is adequate for running a reef tank. It is.

[AZDesertRat]

I would have to argue with you on that one. I have had conversations with Anthony Calfo on this issue too and him and I disagree. Only in very specific conditions is DI only a viable option. Why subjst DI resin to high loading when a prefilter, carbon and a membrane can filter out 98% of the contaminants before hand? As I said before, weakly ionized substances still get through and some of them do not even register on a TDS meter. Sometimes its nice to have labs at my disposal to back things like this up.

[msu spartan]

chicago has some good water from lake michigan and the great lakes