R/O unit

[Sean_Buckley]

I've decided on getting an R/O unit after reading Steelhealr's and various other reefers posts and talking to Navarre. What I'm wondering is this:
1: How many stages should I get?
2: Would a "bare bones" unit work just fine? (I believe this is a 2-stage)
3: What is a reasonable price to pay for each stage R/O unit?
Thanks!
Sean

 

[steelhealr]

You probably could get away with a 2 stage, but, IMO, the purer the water, the better off you are. An RO unit with a DI resin can get your water up to 99.8% pure. Read up and see what the unit you are looking at claims it can do. You can get a 4 stage unit on Ebay for about $79-89. You don't need the 4 gallon tank if you want to keep it portable and save a few dollars. Remember, minerals and ions don't evaporate.

In my opinion, there are a few things if you are 'going marine' that aren't worth skimping on:
1) Live rock
2) RO/DI unit
3) refractometer over a hydrometer
4) your weekly water changes.

SH

 

[Sean_Buckley]

I live in Canada, and on Ebay.ca, there's only a few (2 or 3, not counting the ones that do like 60 GPM, costing in the thousands). I might just have to order it from Ebay.com and get it shipped to our PO Box in the US, and pick it up. Then there's the border charges....
Sean
EDIT: I was just checking out ebay, and found this one: R/O D/I unit
Does it seem like a complete unit at a reasonable price? Does the shipping seem reasonable? I'm not buying that particular unit, because I don't have the money, but they seem to be an ebay store, so they should keep selling them. I would buy it now, but I don't have the money, as I am spending it on a lighting system. I am only 13, and have a part-time job, so it might take a while to earn the money for it, so could I have the live rock and possibly the cleanup crew (after cycling, of course) up and working before I have the R/O unit? I would only have the cleanup crew to clean up any algae blooms and to supply ammonia/nitrite for the bacteria to feed on. Thanks!

 

[fraservet]

that looks like a very good unit - if you can get it for that sort of price it is a bargain - not great on UK to US money conversions, but I think you would be looking at 150$ plus for that sort of system.

if you don't get an RO unit right now, you really should still use RO water - you can buy it from a lot of lfs for a reasonable price - of course in the long run it works out cheaper to make your own.

 

[welshy_2k5]

what about RO man .... 3 stage for £80 .. and i think they ship overseas