Canisters, PowerHeads and live Rock

Has anyone heard of RO/DI units made by H2O Science, available on Ebay. Do they stack up to the Coralife Ro/DI units?

REEF RO DI WATER FILTER 75GPD AQUARIUM REVERSE OSMOSIS - eBay (item 230380436294 end time Oct-22-09 05:42:36 PDT)

Also will any Filter replacement work for this unit? Say I went to the LFS and bought new filters/membrane from a Coralife? They look so similar, here is the coralife I was looking at. They are just canisters that you buy new cartridges so I would assume they are the same type?

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/StoreCat...-CAD-18144##0##d&queryType=0&hits=12&offset=0


That price on the H20 Science is pretty good. The big difference is it says the H20 Science is a 4 stage? not sure wha the Coralife is, and the H20 Science flows 25 more GPD than the Coralife. Which makes me wonder if its filtering as good...


Also my other questions if you guys could help?

1.) What PH range should a Mixed reef tank remain around?

2.) Does Seachem Prime have an expiration?

3.) Cycling proces - Generall you have ammonia increase, which is then turned to Nitrites, then to Nitrates correct? Is the only way the Nitrates are removed from the system by water changes?

 

H2o Science is the ebay arm of PurelyH20 who sponsors many of the reef forums.
Most anything is better than a Coralife unit, they are pretty low quality and get lots of horrible reviews.

At $129 the H20 unit doesn't come close to the $149 ProPlus found here:
SpectraPure Customer Appreciation SALE! 20% - 50% off

For the extra $20 you get a dual inline TDS meter, custom blended SilicaBuster DI resin, a tested 98+% rejection 90 GPD RO membrane and a business that has been around for 25 years in the same City.

They are also a Sponsor here on 3Reef and have a forum in the Sponsors section.

Don't worry about the number os stages. Thats an old ebay trick they use to make their units sound like the best thing since sliced bread. Stages don't mean a hill of beans! Its what each stage contains that matters not how many. For RO you want and need 3 stages and RO/DI you need 4. Many ebay systems tout 5, 6 and even 7 or mare "stages". What they don't dwell on is the stages contain junk, things like granular activated carbon, small horizontal DI with a tiny amount of outdated resin, a large micron or even unspecified micron size prefilter etc.
You want a single prefilter no larger than 1 micron is size, a single solid carbon block again no larger than 1 micron is size, a 75 to 90 GPD RO membrane and a single 10" vertical canister type DI. Thats it. If you want better treatment go to a dual DI but again with full size vertical canisters not horizontals.

Don't buy replacement filters at the LFS unless they carry name brands like Spectrapure, Matrikx or Puratek. Most sell low quality filters in comparison.

My pH ranges between 7.9 and 8.2, I think thats pretty common.

Can't help with the Prime question but Seachem does say its normal for it to smell like sulfur and have small black specks in it.

You have the nitrogen cycle correct. Other methods of export are using macroalgae like Cheatomorpha in a sump or refugium, turf algae filters, deep sand beds and chemical filters often referred to as denitrators. I try to stay natural myself so use Chaeto in the refugium and a 5" deep sand bed in the display.

 

Thanks for the info.
More Questions for everyone:
1.) On average how long do those filters last for the RO/DI units? I live in Canada so some of these places dont ship to Canada or its ridiculously expensive.


2.) On the Tap water issue right now. I get Live rock on Sunday, I have no way around it, I have to pick it up. So I have to use that Tap water for the temporary 55 galon tank. That Tap water shouldn't destroy my live rock should it? I have used Prime in it and thats it. Like I said all thats going to be in that tank is Live Rock for the next while. I can hopefully get an RO/DI for the 90.

3.) Also, Like I said I am bringing the tank and live rock back with me on Sunday. Its a 600 Km drive back, and it may be slightly cold outside. The tank is going in the box of my truck. My plan was to put a level of bubble wrap underneath it and then around it. Should this be sufficient to keep it from cracking etc. How cold can it get outside before I have to worry? Temp is most likley going to be plus or minus a few degrees around freezing.

4.) I just did a quick test of my tap water. PH seems to be 7.8-8.0 range, probably closer to 7.8-7.9. Everything else seems to be 0's.
With the PH, shoudl I be increasing this manually to be closer to the 8 to 8.2?
Or should I only need to do this in my 90 gallon when I set it up and the current PH should be fine for the temp 55 with just live rock in it?

5.) Salinity, I just added the salt to the 55 gallon temporary tank. My hydrometer is reading about 1.020 to 1.022 at the moment.

 

Not to hijack this thread...

but you guys mentioned not worrying about mechanical filtration....
I had plans on using my current FX5 for filtration along with a wet/dry and skimmer

I also have plans to purchase a Lionfish, which will probably eat my entire "clean up" crew if I were keep them together. Does this mean I would have to physically siphon out the food, crap with a python ?

if the lionfish is the only factor between me having to use a python...then I will have to leave him out i guess

sorry to the OP...hope this question helps in some way

 

Ray,
1. Prefilters and carbons are recommended to be changed every 6 months. Disinfect the system at the same time following the vendors directions. The membrane should last 3+ years and longer with the Spectrapure units since they use better prefilters and carbons than most. DI is dependent on how much water you make and how well the RO membrane is working, again Spectrapure outlasts all others due to efficiency and the custom blended DI resins. Not to sound like a broken record but its true.

2. Its should not hurt anything but its a big IF, you will never know?

3. Do you mean you are going to travel with rock and water in the tank? Not a good idea at all. I always put rock and inhabitants in ice chests or Gott/Igloo coolers and toss the old water. You could put some of the water in the coolers or just wrap the rock in wet newspaper, thats the way it comes from the wholesalers.

4. The pH should adjust itself pretty close with the new salt mix. It should not require any adjustment.

5. I run 1.025 or so usually for a reef system. I am not a fan of hydrometers but do own a few still. I always rinse them after each use with DI water so they stay clean then check calibration against my refractometer and mark the error on the side with a Sharpie.

 

Thanks for the info. No, I would never travel with anything in the aqarium heh. I mean empty. That tank sitting in the box of my truck empty, should it be ok with it being slightly cold out?

I plan on putting the live rock in a rubbermaid container and covering it with a wet towel for the trip home.

 

Temperature shouldn't effect an empty tank.Tie it down good so it doesn't shift.