Newbie looking for RO advice

I'm new to the hobby and also to 3Reef, was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on RO systems. I've been keeping freshwater tanks for the past year and am looking to venture into the Saltwater hobby. Unfortunately the water in my apt is not the greatest and I was hoping to look into getting a RO system before I make the move to Saltwater. Currently I use a Brita Filter to filter the water before adding it to my 10 gal tanks.. Awful I know but didn't know where else to turn.

Thanks for the help

 

Spectrapure.com is the best way to go IMO.Be sure to get a ro/di and not ro only.Spectrepure uses very good quality filters and membrane.A unit that includes a water pressure guage (most do)is good as having the guage can be a help to determine if your prefilters need replacing.A TDS meter is a must to be able to determine if the unit is performing properly.A dual inline meter is good if properly installed,a handheld meter can be more accurate and versatile.

 

BTW, very smart move starting out with your own ro/di,it can lessen the chances of water quality problems in your salt water system greatly and improve your chances of having a successful reef tank a lot,it is also a really nice convenience not having to buy water and carry it home.

 

Look at Bulk Reef Supply units. I'd get a 5 stage with pressure gauge and upgraded TDS meter.

 

thank you very much, there is no lfs near my area to ask for advice and I didn't want to just buy something that wasn't going to do me any good.

 

I'm in an apartment so space is an issue. Bought a refurbished Spectre Pure RO/DI system, just hit year 1 with the system and it works great. I keep it under my sink and just connect the line to my faucet when I need more water.

 

No other vendor comes close to Spectrapure for quality and cost of operation and ownership. They are the only vendor to specially treat and either batch or individually test all their RO membranes, to use the much better absolute rated sediment filters, to include inline pressure gauges even on their basic $130 systems, to use only capillary tube flow restrictors and to custom blend every ounce of their DI resins in house based on tens of thousands of hours of research and testing. There really is a difference.

Don't fall into the more stages is better trap, 4 good stages will outperform and cost you less than 5 or more mediocre stages. This is an old ebay trick that wore out years ago. Also get a good handheld TDS meter, not an inline since it is more accurate and more versatile than the inline. You need to monitor a minimum of 3 places with an RO/DI and the inline limits you to two places.

 

+1 Just purchased a Maxcap and this thing is a beast.In a good way.lol;D

 

Spectrapure! Great systems with a ton of options and available parts. Their support is great and, at least in my case, provided a superb resolution to my issue. For example, I bought a Spectrapure auto-topoff from a seller on eBay. When it arrived the 1Lb. check valve was missing. I called spectrapure, explained that I own their RO/DI and that the ATO's check valve was missing from the dude on eBay. The support person sent me the valve for free. Was the valve expensive? No. Did the support guy have to help me for free? No. But he did, and that little gesture earned them a loyal customer. HTH.