Reverse Osmosis.

[Steve69]

Ok, I was recently chatting to a guy in my local shop and he was recommending using reverse osmosis water for my changes. At his prices it would cost a fortune so I was contemplating buying my own kit. My question is....how exactly does it work i.e. is it a permanent system which `taps in` (no pun intended lol) to my water supply so that all my water is RO or is it a `bypass` system like my filtered drinking water?
Oh and my 2nd question, can anyone recommend a good kit cos I haven`t got a clue what to look for Many thanks in advance

 

[Truck]

you only really need it for reef tanks and discus tanks. although in some marine fish only tanks, people use it because it should in theory have 0 nitrates and 0 phosphates, thus inhibiting in a marine tank. and discus are very sensitive fish and some will Use a 50% mix of RO and tap water. if its just normal tropical fish you have, dont bother

 

[OldMan47]

If you really want an RO system, they tap right into the cold water supply and the waste pipe. There is one inlet and 2 outlets on an RO. The inlet takes cold tap water to the filter. The first outlet, the one with all the flow, goes to waste. The second outlet, the one with only 20% of the flow, goes to the small storage tank. From the storage tank there is a line that goes to a separate faucet on the sink. The storage tank is needed because any RO produces water drops at a time and you won't want to wait for that while filling a water glass or a fish tank. In the US a typical system has a 3 gallon storage tank which is plenty if you only use it to make a pot of coffee now and then. If you use it for a fish tank, you will end up with containers to hold more water between water changes so that when it is time for a water change you have enough water on hand. I use RO to top off my tanks because it avoids concentrating minerals in the tank water. I also use an RO / tap water mix one one tank that I am using to experiment with breeding some cories that "need" very soft water. The RO lets me make a mix in any concentration that I want for that tank. All of my other tanks do not use RO for water changes even though my tap water is quite hard.

 

[BigC]

Oh and my 2nd question, can anyone recommend a good kit cos I haven`t got a clue what to look for, Many thanks in advance

Need to know the size of your tank and how much waterchanges you plan on doing...
OK
Heres where I got mine.
[URL="http/www.ro-man.com/shop/reverse-osmosis...50c44733f4ee38f"]http/www.ro-man.com/shop/reverse-osmosis...50c44733f4ee38f[/URL]
I used to have a smaller model at around £40
which may suit your needs.
My setup now would cost around £100

but you dont need to go that extravagant (I keep marines)

Also I have mine rigged up to the washing machine cold tap (rather than using the saddle method and spiking into the mains) see below for fittings
I use mine connected to a "Y" connector in conjunction with the washing machine cold tap.
I have ball valves so as I can turn the RO off when I dont need it (collect as much as you need then turn off)
I flush the system for 5 mins every other day.
I dont use the pipe puncture method.

Here is my old system which shows you how it fits together

Regards
C