ro/di sub?

[tirtguyll]

im going to keep inverts. do i need to use ro/di water or could i use hand pumped filter water (like the one you use for camping trips)
heres one i might get
http://akamai.backcountrystore.com.edgesuite.net/images/items/medium/EXT0006.jpg

[tirtguyll]

would this filter the water enough for inverts? please answer. either a yes or no. thanks

[rsman]

I dont know for sure but my guess is unless you have a nano its not worth it, but what inverts??? corals or things like shrimp/crabs

[spleen93]

How big a tank? Anything bigger than a nano (10 gallons or less) and doing water changes, makeup water is really going to be a pain in the a** with all the handpumping involved. Not to mention that camping filters don't have a DI element so you're still going to have some residual TDS left behind depending on how bad your tap water is.

Of course, you don't specify what kind of inverts we're talking about. If you're talking about a lobster for instance, I'm sure it'd be perfectly happy with the algae growth. SPS corals, OTOH ...

Spleen

PS: after typing all that, I finally read what rsman wrote and discovered that I essentially wrote the same thing ... :D

[Devious Rhesus]

If you're trying to cheap out on an initial investment just start buying distilled if you can find a source.

So: no

[rsman]

to give the idea credit,

there are ppl that have nano's that are smaller than 5g and IF thats the only tank I had then I would give it a lot of thought. and as for cheap I thought they were cheap too, but you can geta a simple tap RO/DI unit for less than *some* of them.

[tirtguyll]

ya, id be keeping shrimp in a 10 gallon. do you think it would be ok to use? im not worried about all the pumping, i think it would just be more convient than having to go to the store whenever i want to do a water change.

[Steffish]

Those filters are designed to filter out microbacteria, so I don't know how it would do with elements that are in tap water.

[tirtguyll]

im thinking that i could not use one because chlorine kills the microbacteria and then it would just be useless. i have fw chlorine romover (drops) that claims to "reduce the toxinity of common heavy metals" think this will "reduce the toxinity" of copper?

also, is the water i need to buy at an albertsons in big jugs? or do i need to go to my lfs?

[spleen93]

If we're talking about shrimp, then you can probably just use regular tap water with chlorine/chloramine remover along with salt water mix. You probably don't even need purified water (though it certainly won't hurt).

But yes, you could get the distilled/filtered water at Albertson's - there's nothing special about LFS water.

Spleen

[revance]

Don't mess with it... it will be more expensive in the long run. Those cost at least $50 and their replacement filters (which don't last long) are fairly expensive too. I would also stay away from distilled... some companies use copper piping in their stils, thus leaving copper in the water. Not all do this, but there is no really good way to know for sure. I would just buy an RO/DI unit or buy RO water from the grocery store (out of the self serve dispensers).

I got a 6 stage 75gpd RO/DI unit from aquasafecanada on Ebay for $50. I got 4 sets of replacement pre/post filters for an extra $50. $100 shipped got me everything I need for the next 2.5 years. Unless my DI cartridge exhausts before then, then they sell 4 packs for $50 (they last a LONG time).

IMHO it's not worth it to find ways to half @ss it when you can get an RO/DI unit for this price.

[coachgail]

Or you find some one with a big RO tank. :) I have 80 gallons on hand most of the time

[sammiefish]

I have one of those for backpacking... they would certainly remove particulate matter down to the size of some virus' but wont remove chemicals like nitrates etc..

[tirtguyll]

ok, i wont get it. i think ill just use tap water because all im keeping is shrimp and i dont really care about algea.