RO unit on craigslist for $50

[Reefingman]

Alright so I was looking on craigslist and I saw this RO unit and it would be a great addition. So I dont have to go to get RO water from a local fish store. My question is whether or not its a good one. Guy says to get new filters, but better than spending more on a new unit. Heres a link to the unit from homedepot.

http://www.homedepot.com/Appliances-...atalogId=10053

Suggestions and your comments welcome. Want to know if its worth it to buy it.

[100%hydrophylic]

im not familiar with it, but your going to want to buy a DI canister for it. it doesnt look like it has one, but i may be wrong. something like this if you can get it plumbed:

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.co...6&pcatid=12096

[Reefingman]

Hm for the same price of buying it and buying the DI canister I could just buy this one from Foster and Smith.

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.co...3&pcatid=12093

[Reefingman]

Out of those you would have to go with the 4-stage unit correct? To use it for a reef tank.

[jvbeattie]

Originally Posted by Reefingman

Hm for the same price of buying it and buying the DI canister I could just buy this one from Foster and Smith.

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.co...3&pcatid=12093

I have had that RO unit from home depot for my first reef, but decided to "splurge" on a RO/DI unit from bulkreefsupply.com for my upcoming. It is a very nice piece of equipment and inexpensive (for 75gpd).

[Reefingman]

O those aren't that bad. Probably end up buying from there.
If i can get my roomates to agree and help (aka parents haha)
Any other good priced sites?

[Dino]

My concern from looking at the one in the OP is it looks like it only has two prefilters, the link says this "Makes up to 10 gallons of filtered water per day", and obviously no DI stage. All the ones I've seen in the hobby use 3 prefilters (mix of sediment and carbon blocks), the membrane would be questionable as "10 gallons a day" is ridiculously low. The typical RO membranes used in the hobby are 50GPD and 75GPD, and no DI stage. DI stage isn't all that expensive but it is additional cost on top of the $50 cost for the unit.

I'd pass and probably buy one of the cheaper units from Bulk Reef Supply or Buckeye, they're a little more expensive upfront but you'd know they setup correctly for this hobby and you won't have to worry about getting into them and finding out you need a DI stage and new prefilters, and a new membrane.

[zachfishman]

You'd need the 4-stager to get DI. Instead, go to bulkreefsupply.com - they have a 4-stage 75gpd unit on sale for $109! Currently out of stock, but for those savings backorder doesn't sound too bad. I just ordered a 5-stage BYO model from them (I have chloramines in my tap) myself.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/...my-system.html

[zachfishman]

Alternatively, BuckeyeFieldSupply has some 75 and 100GPD RODI systems for about $120 (and in stock). I've ordered from them before; they have great customer service.

http://www.buckeyefieldsupply.com/sh...ry=167&Sub=166

[Schoeny]

+1 on Buckeye Field Supply.

I got the 75GPD from them, they emailed back almost instantly, and had a tracking number to me within 10 minutes. And this was at 9:30 PM on a Sunday night.

Works great, I'd say it makes more than 75 per day, it was well worth the money. Cost $117 shipped.

The one you found on CL doesn't appear to fit your needs, I'm learning the same lessons you are right now. Save a little bit more the first time and you don't have problems with your equipment.

[Vin7250]

regardless of who makes the RO/DI unit, used ones are never a good idea because the replacement filter kits are usually around 75$ for the canisters and membrane. Plus you never know what membrane was in there to begin with and you may need a flow restricter as well. You will end up spending more to refurbish a used one. The only time it makes sense to buy replacement filters is if you put the inital investment in yourself. At that point its reasonable to spend 75$ on filters. Otherwise it is just a waste of your money.

[babarney]

That Home Depot RO filter is almost identical to the one that I have. It is a good filter but as many people have mentioned it is not the most ideal RO filter for the hobby and it doesn't have the DI stage. I will probably eventually upgrade to a better one but for now it works for me. The replacement filters are $45 for both of them and $50 for a new membrane. I just started my first tank with this filter and it's been up for about a month and a half and I have had minimal algae in the tank. I don't know if it's still too early for much algae but I haven't had problems yet. Mine also puts out about a gallon of water per hour so it takes a long time to fill up the aquarium as well.

[kareem314]

SpectraPure makes some nice units and they have great customer service. I received a very fast response to a call I made regarding flow rates on my unit.

[Vin7250]

remember babarney 90$ on filters is about 3/4 the price of a brand new RO/DI from bulk reef or filter guys.

[babarney]

Originally Posted by Vin7250

remember babarney 90$ on filters is about 3/4 the price of a brand new RO/DI from bulk reef or filter guys.

I know, I just use mine because I already had it set up for drinking water before I got into the hobby. Eventually I'll upgrade to a better one but for now the one I have works. I wasn't recommending using it, just simply sharing my experience with mine since they are the same unit.

[Reefingman]

Wow thanks for all the help guys.
We are going to go with the 75 GPD from bulkreefsuply or the 75 GPD from buckeye. We don't need an extreme one for we only have a 29 gallon biocube right now, and that i'm going to be setting up a 20 long soon.
Thanks for all the help, it was verryy appreciated.

[James404]

I bought my 100 GPD RO/DI from purewaterclub for around $63, its a great unit, I have used it quite a bit and still getting perfect 0 TDS water.