How important is RO water in a FOWLR tank??

Somebody needs to tone down the attitude a bit. If you can't offer constructive advice without getting smarmy, please don't post!

 

Go ahead and listen to nana,lol,and you keep on using tap water,the money you spend purifying your water will be 10x what an ro/di cost.With those big eaters and big crappers you got in there,I find it hard to believe that your "chemicals" won't get spent as soon as they hit the water.And good luck adding a clean up crew with the copper,other metals,phosphates,nitates,chlorine,chloramine,do i need to even go on,found in tap water. Not to mention,any cuc that would survive would quickly become fish food for your triggers.So when you're covered in gha and cyano,mabey nana will help you out.

These guys are only doing what the 3reef community does,and thats try to help you do things right so you don't lose your fish or can't stand to look at your own tank.Most of us add chemical filtration to our tanks even with using ro/di to combat the issues you are about to run into.All they want is for you to succeed in your hobby,not waste your money and livestock,and for you tank to not just get by,but thrive.

 

Sorry,i was typing when you posted ;D

 

Yes! This is what I was thinking. And get a Portable one like the ones they use for rvs.

 

No one said you even have to leave this in your house ? how about filling up a trash can with water leaving it in your gargage and run your RO/DI out there you could even have two 55gal trash cans you could filter one transfer it to the other and be filtering more to have a full time supply =)

 

RO/DI gives you consistencey and ultimate control of your water quality. You get the same pure water every time.

Tap water can and does change, say a strorm blows through, the treatment chemicals and technique change to account for the extra load on the plant. Or water demand goes up so they add additional sources or treatment contact times are reduced. Or they discover they have corrosion problems in the distribution system so they start adding orthophosphates or poly phosphates to protect the water mains. Or they add chemicals to change the pH. Way too many variables over which you have absolutely zero control and the utility does not have to notify you.

With RO/DI you take ALL these variables out of the picture and you have ultimate control, you don't depend on anyone else period.

I don't like faucet adapters either but there are many many options portable, semi permanent or permanent, the possibilities are almost endless for how you want to hook it up.
Personally I use a $5 brass garden hose wye with individual ball valves from WalMart or any hardware store and have it hooked to the washing machine cold water supply so one side feeds the washer and the other my RO/DI. It is semi permanent, can be removed in seconds with no evidence it was ever there or it can stay forever. There are also small feed water adapter valves which can be placed in the kitchen faucets cold water supply in a matter of minutes and does no permanent damage and is an excellent choice.
PLUMBING ACCESSORIES FOR RO

My thoughts are, fish only or full blown SPS reef, we as saltwater hobbyists have a duty to provide the very best care we can, no different than a dog or cat. Since water is the single largest ingredient in an aquarium and EVERYTHING depends on its quality why not spend the $120 and provide the best you can?
We worry about lighting, flow, the best live rock, substrate, fish and corals but in reality none of this means a hill of beans if you water goes south on you. Unfortunately it happens every day and discourages many new reef hobbyists who then unload all their expensive equipment and call it quits. It does not have to be that way........

 

That is exactly my point as well AZ. I do think some people need to calm down on here though.
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This is not going to work. I live in a condominium in the city. I have no access to gargen houses, garages, basements, etc..

 

When you look under your sink, there are usually two angled type shutoff valves coming out of the wall and leadin to the hot and cold water sides of the faucet. All you do is shut the cold water valve off and unscrew the compression nut holding the plastic, copper or sometimes chrome plated metal tube into the top of the valve with a crescent wrench, channellocks or usually a 5/8" wrench.
You then screw the feed water adapter on to the top of the valve and screw the compression nut back on top of that so it is now inline. The side outlet will feed the 1/4" line to the RO/DI and the faucet is still free to use anytime you want.

You can also get one of these feed water adapters at any Lowes, Home Depot or hardware store for a few bucks and they can explain it to you in detail.

When you move or decide to do something different you just remove the feed water adapter and screw the compression nut and cold water line back in its original position.