Sal's Salty Questions

[jeasko]

Membrane should be replaced when your TDS readings go high it can be anywhere upto 18 months/2 years depending on how much you use the unit, just as a guide the membrane can be upto £40 with the pre filters being around £15 for both so with your £20 starting price your at about £75 even the your not sure that the waste valve is ok or set to your GPD so to air on the side of caution I'd replace that which while only about £5 brings your second hand RO unit to £80 (most likely under but can't be sure), then you might want to add a de ionising unit if not already fitted to bring down TDS further.

Also I would say that the prices I quote are for a standard RO unit from reputable outlets, you can get cheaper but I don't really have experience with the cheaper ones so can't comment on them.

 

[Salam]

Thanks Jeasko, all very helpful info. There was a thread a couple of hours ago regarding RO units, and there are some good ones linked on ebay, so will look into buying a new one instead. Sounds much better than piecing it all together to make the used one efficient again.

 

[jeasko]

That where I was really coming at as you can save a little bit of money by buying second hand but you could end up with a headache of trying to get everything together to make it worth doing

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Haveing your own RO is must IMO, tested the tds of some the local shop was shocking 50+ in some places, also the time and petrol alone can be a big plus

 

[Salam]

Thanks all, will definitely invest into a good, new one.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Thanks all, will definitely invest into a good, new one.

I can tell we're I got mine, not the cheapest but the customer service from the gent is second to none, he will talk you through set up on the phone and everything

 

[Salam]

Come on then, where?

 

[jeasko]

Either RO man or Osmotics I'm guessing

 

[Salam]

You are right with one of them

 

[jeasko]

Both are good for RO units and spares

 

[Salam]

I'm back with a new salty question. I knew it would be worth starting this topic because I got all the clever answers in one

First of all, I found a local (15 mins drive) marine only shop. It's a family run business and they have an amazing selection of healthy fish and invertebrates. They were very helpful, showed us around etc. and it is definitely the place where we are going to get everything. They were also very competitively priced

The thing is, we told them we have this 125 litre tank. I asked about lights and he said that LEDs would be better as they wouldn't need replacing as regularly as the T5s plus he said T5 gives away too much heat which can cause fatalities in this heat. Yeah, heat in England What put me off was the price. I obviously know that the initial outlay is going to be huge, but the LEDs were £300 odd for the smallest ones. That seemed very expensive to me.

Now, here is my stupid question: Can I not just get two of those, one on each side of the tank? Ebay link Are his expensive LEDs what we really need or is he just trying to make money? Coral and fish were greatly priced, but the equipment seemed so expensive which for his prices we might aswell get an all in one reef tank with sump etc. if you see what I mean.

 

[lljdma06]

Hi Salam,

LEDs are great, the bulbs last a long time, it's cool, it's energy efficient. My biggest detractor right now for you is cost and the electronics associated with hooking up an LED fixture. LEDs are expensive and having worked with an LED fixture for a while, I'll tell you, people are not always straight with you when they say that LEDS last forever. The bulbs may, but usually the controllers, drivers, and the actual power source don't. I'm struggling with mine and I've not even had it a year, and the controller itself is less than two years old.

IMO, unless you are prepared for the controller to go out, just stick with a nice T5 HO fixture or straight T5s if you're going for just softies. It's the cheapest option.

L

 

[Salam]

Ok, so LEDs don't last forever obviously, but are those cheap ones on ebay any good or not? Because if they are, I wouldn't mind replacing them every year or so.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Nope the flea bay one are a waste of money if you want any sort of corals in there, get some aqua ray 600 £144 for a pair regarded as one the best

 

[SaltNoob]

I got my light setups off ebay. I am looking to get another one as well. It will have a MH lamp with the T5 actinics though. T5's are great for most softies and some stony corals, but only if placed right up in the top 1/3 of the tank.

-Tyler