Rowater At Lfs?

[jarmado]

i am thinking of using RO water for my fish tank?
how much is the per liter at your lfs?
where else can i get this type of water? is it only available from lfs?
thanks!

 

[andywg]

Most common place is an lfs, not sure on price.

I paid £12 for about 100 litres of RO+saltwater, so would expect the non salt version to be about half that price, if not less.

Other sources are Window cleaners (a number use RO as it dries less streaky), brewers or any friends who have marine tanks.

 

[jayjay]

some of my lfs sell it at 10p a litre....

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

10p a litre/45p a gallon here

 

[jarmado]

thanks people!

i have asked one of my lfs, and they have it for £3 per 25 litre.
is buying your own under the sink RO system work out to be cheaper?

 

[dgwebster]

average of 45p a gallon here.

 

[Mr Miagi]

is buying your own under the sink RO system work out to be cheaper?

Yes, of course it would. I dont know how much they go for in the UK, but say you bought 25L per week @ 3 pounds, thats 156 pounds a year. Even over the course of several years, with a cartridge replaced when neccessary, it would work out cheaper in the end. Its all about thinkin long term sometimes.

 

[jarmado]

is buying your own under the sink RO system work out to be cheaper?

Yes, of course it would. I dont know how much they go for in the UK, but say you bought 25L per week @ 3 pounds, thats 156 pounds a year. Even over the course of several years, with a cartridge replaced when neccessary, it would work out cheaper in the end. Its all about thinkin long term sometimes.

how about maintenance cost?
the cheaper ones might not work all the time during the 1 year period.
and the cost of water as well?
i read somewhere that you don't get more than 50% of the water you put in because of the contaminants, is this true?

 

[andywg]

You are lucky to get 25% of the water you put in. Having your own RO unit is not so good if you are metered, though you can reclaim the "waste" water and use it for flushing the toilet, bathing in etc. (anything you would normally do from a cold header tank) not to mention watering the garden.

From Osmotics (board sponser) you can get a 100GPD RO unit for around the £100 mark. If you plan on any sort of large system then it is generally a good idea to have your own RO unit.

 

[Fighterfish]

A friend of mine was saying that at his LFS you buy a big barrel full for £10 and then you can just go an top it up for free. I think that seems quite a good deal.

 

[jarmado]

A friend of mine was saying that at his LFS you buy a big barrel full for £10 and then you can just go an top it up for free. I think that seems quite a good deal.

definitely a good deal!

 

[SamUK]

do you use RO water if your tap water it not suitable for a tank?


i kno you use it for marine but is there any other reason to use it for freshwater?

 

[demonmagus]

A friend of mine was saying that at his LFS you buy a big barrel full for £10 and then you can just go an top it up for free. I think that seems quite a good deal.

thats crazily good, where is this LFS?

 

[dgwebster]

do you use RO water if your tap water it not suitable for a tank?


i kno you use it for marine but is there any other reason to use it for freshwater?

ive often wondered this too sam and my conclusion is I have no doubt that I do not require an RO unit for freshwater, but i suppose there must be people out there whose water supply would benefit it for both FW and marine? But for most FW users, using tap water with conditioner will work out roughly the safe, esp if you purchase your conditioner in large quantities. Just me own opinion on that one though.

 

[AMS]

do you use RO water if your tap water it not suitable for a tank?


i kno you use it for marine but is there any other reason to use it for freshwater?

As you know, Reverse Osmosis (RO) and Deionized (DI) water is mainly in marine tanks. This is becaused tap water contains nitrates and phosphates. Marine tanks should never have a reading of phosphates and nitrates should ideally always remain at zero and should not exceed 5 ppm. Unless your tap water is absolutely pristine, (which 99.9% are not) tap water should never be used in a marine aquarium. In freshwater aquariums, tap water is much more friendly. Ideally nitrates should be under 25 ppm in freshwater aquariums, but tests show that no ill health effects occur until roughly 90 ppm. Phosphates are also not an issue in freshwater aquariums as well.

Marine aquariums require pristine pure water through Reverse Osmosis or Deionization, freshwater aquariums do not. IMO remineralized Reverse Osmosis or Deionized water is a bit overkill for the average freshwater aquarium, but if you are willing to purchase an expensive RO or DI unit your fish will only benefit.