RO/DI and drinking water

Firesole · 09/24/2008, 12:38 PM

I am planning on purchasing a RO/DI unit soon. I am thinking of a 5 stage setup with a 4 gallon reserve tank for drinking water. I have heard that it is not good for you to drink DI water. RO is the most that you want to drink. Is this true? If so, do the setups that come with a reserve tank split off before the DI filters for drinking water or is that something that I will have to do?

an411 · 09/24/2008, 12:49 PM

If its doesn't come with one all you need is a y splitter and a value and you turn the value open when you want to add water to the reserve tank

AZDesertRat · 09/24/2008, 12:54 PM

There is absolutely no medical proof drinking DI water is in any way harmful. You could not possibly consume enough to even start to do harm, you would drown internally first. Besides you receive such a small amount of minerals from water its no big deal.
It is expensive to make DI water for drinking and it really does not taste all that refreshing, kind of blah or bland in fact.
Some good reef quality RO/DI systems include a RO bypass valve so you can use RO for drinking and RO/DI for the tank.
www.buckeyefieldsupply.com has a 75 GPD Premium reef quality RO/DI system with a RO bypass valve for $169 complete or you can get the exact same reef quality system with a drinking water kit called the Reef/Residential for a little more.
Don't get hung up on "stages". For RO you need 3 and RO/DI you need 4. E-bay vendors play the "stages" game like its a big deal but the crud they include is right next to worthless in most cases. Two carbons before the membrane are not needed if you have a single Chlorin Guzzler type carbon. The small horizontal carbon taste and odor post filte ris not needed for a reef system but you may want it for drinking water. Two dinky little horizontal tubes with a small amount of outdated resin bobbing around in them does not take the place of a true vertical 20 oz DI filter.
Buy from a reputable vendor like here on Reef Central and stick with a full sized standard reef quality system and you can't go wrong.

jayco5 · 09/24/2008, 12:55 PM

What you described is exactly what I bought from filterdirect.com some years ago. Storage tank and split before the DI filter. Check them out.

AZDesertRat · 09/24/2008, 01:04 PM

Not even close to the quality of units found here on RC. You spend a lot more making it work right than if you had bought a reef quality system to begin with. This has been debated over and over and quality systems win out every time.

09/24/2008, 12:38 PM	#1
Firesole Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Athens, Ga Posts: 132	RO/DI and drinking water I am planning on purchasing a RO/DI unit soon. I am thinking of a 5 stage setup with a 4 gallon reserve tank for drinking water. I have heard that it is not good for you to drink DI water. RO is the most that you want to drink. Is this true? If so, do the setups that come with a reserve tank split off before the DI filters for drinking water or is that something that I will have to do? __________________ I'm not good enough to play by the rules!! Current Tank Info: 55g reef ready w/ 30g sump/fuge. 80+ lbs LR.

09/24/2008, 12:49 PM	#2
an411 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Derby CT Posts: 2,861	If its doesn't come with one all you need is a y splitter and a value and you turn the value open when you want to add water to the reserve tank

09/24/2008, 12:54 PM	#3
AZDesertRat Moved On Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NW Phoenix Posts: 16,621	There is absolutely no medical proof drinking DI water is in any way harmful. You could not possibly consume enough to even start to do harm, you would drown internally first. Besides you receive such a small amount of minerals from water its no big deal. It is expensive to make DI water for drinking and it really does not taste all that refreshing, kind of blah or bland in fact. Some good reef quality RO/DI systems include a RO bypass valve so you can use RO for drinking and RO/DI for the tank. www.buckeyefieldsupply.com has a 75 GPD Premium reef quality RO/DI system with a RO bypass valve for $169 complete or you can get the exact same reef quality system with a drinking water kit called the Reef/Residential for a little more. Don't get hung up on "stages". For RO you need 3 and RO/DI you need 4. E-bay vendors play the "stages" game like its a big deal but the crud they include is right next to worthless in most cases. Two carbons before the membrane are not needed if you have a single Chlorin Guzzler type carbon. The small horizontal carbon taste and odor post filte ris not needed for a reef system but you may want it for drinking water. Two dinky little horizontal tubes with a small amount of outdated resin bobbing around in them does not take the place of a true vertical 20 oz DI filter. Buy from a reputable vendor like here on Reef Central and stick with a full sized standard reef quality system and you can't go wrong.

09/24/2008, 12:55 PM	#4
jayco5 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Michigan Posts: 74	What you described is exactly what I bought from filterdirect.com some years ago. Storage tank and split before the DI filter. Check them out.

09/24/2008, 01:04 PM	#5
AZDesertRat Moved On Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NW Phoenix Posts: 16,621	Not even close to the quality of units found here on RC. You spend a lot more making it work right than if you had bought a reef quality system to begin with. This has been debated over and over and quality systems win out every time.