Newbie question

[Aquarius Lady]

I have heard several members talk about being able to buy RO water at WalMart?? I have checked the one here, and have not seen it? (At least not the section I looked at)-The only water I saw was Distilled and Spring water. I read the bottle on the Distilled but it didn't say anything about "Reverse Osmosis" am I reading this wrong? Also is Distilled safe to use? (with appropriate salt added in?) Right now I get my RO from Tideline as they have fresh or salt. But it is a haul to drag all those little jugs down there ;)
Thanks in Advance (I'm in the Summerville, Ladson area)

[Troy182]

distilled is what I have been using. It's $.58 per gallon but it is really pure. the only complaint that I have ever heard about it was that some people thought it was too sterile to support life. To that I say, fooooey. I like it fine. Except that $ for $ it's more expensive than a RO/DI unit and what a pain getting all those cases of water home. I just bought a 100gpd Ro/DI unit off the internet so I don't have to make the trip to Wallyland (I never make the trip my wife always get it for me) in case I manage to aquirea much larger aquarium in January. My fingers are crossed.

[1SQ]

How many gallons of R/O will you be using? If its just a couple of gallons you might want to consider this water filtration system:

tap water filtration (http://www.petsolutions.com/cgi-bin/cgiitmls?m=ThisP&p=1026.100000&l=1)

[minfinger]

I used that tap water filter for a long time until I got my RO Unit hooked up. You can by the whole thing at Petsmart for cheap. Just keep up on your water changes.

You could also by water from Tideline, just get some 5G Plastic Gas jugs from Lowes or HD and get them filled, good stuff :D

[skipm]

Instead of the tap water purifier that Nader gave you the link for if you plan on going that route, check with some of the on-line RO dealers and get one of their countertop tap water purifiers, both units are just DI filters but the ones from the RO dealers use a larger cartridge so it will last alot longer plus if you really want to get fancy you can buy a refillable cartridge and get bulk resin and refill it yourself saving you quite a bit of $$$. Also if you buy an in-line carbon filter (available at Lowes,HomeDepot,etc) then you can use a regular DI cartridge for refills. I had one I bought from AquaFX that I used before I bought my RO unit and it worked out great. HTH, Skip

[minfinger]

Honestly, after all the mess you're going to go through. Try and find a used RO unit, at least 25GPD. Then buy a 50 or 75GPD membrane and flow restricter for it for about $50 total and then new filter cartridges for about $30 on a 4 stage. and your set. You might get out of it for $150 :D

[Troy182]

I just bought my 100gpd ro/di 5 stage (6 if final carbon counts) for $110 added a $25 tds meter plus shipping and $160. Plus mine is a dual flow system where I can have Just Ro water running to my house via a 3.2 gallon reservoir for drinking water. I liked the Idea of it, plus I needed to have a plumber out to the house for some other things so he is gonna hook it up for me if it gets here on time.

[Troy182]

RO water is usually availabe at grocery stores by the gallon from a vending machine you can either use thier containers (seperate purchase) or bring your own it is usually around $.25 per gallon. Not all stores have them but usally at least one does. I used to use the but again you end up luggung water to and from what a pain

[1SQ]

Mt Pleasant has several R/O stations in the city and the water is free

[Aquarius Lady]

Thanks for all the info and choices! :)

[DashHD]

I use Deer Park water from WM or the green label drinking water for mine . They both say in the description in the fine print purfied by reverse osmosis .

[Troy182]

The Only water that is regulated by Government for purity is distilled and that is why you are suppose to use it in car batteries and stuff. If it costs the same as distilled I would get the distilled. JMO