RO/DI unit ... Thoughts?

I found this unit on Ebay 0PPM Portable 50 GPD Reverse Osmosis RO+DI Filtration | eBayand it seems pretty inexpensive compared to one at my LFS or other online stores ... I only have a 24g Cube so I don't need a ton of water, for another 10 dollars or so I can get a 150 GPD unit ... I can also buy RO/DI water at my LFS for 60 cents a gallon but the LFS is about a 15 min drive and I don't pay for water so?! Thoughts?

Admin: If I'm in the wrong area please feel free to move.

 

There's a reason it's on ebay and cheap.

Go with spectra pure.

 

Id check and see how much refills are but spectra pure is a safe bet. Look at there refurb its what I got.

 

Not trying to sound mean, but I wasted money on a "cheap" RO unit. It now sits in the closet with all the other "money saved on cheap equipment pile".
I've been using Spectra pure unit for a couple of years and am very satisfied.

 

money saved on cheap equipment pile hahaha
like they say,
Buy once, cry once.

 

You get what you pay for with RO/DI systems and cheap is not where you want to be.
Just reading the extremely poor wording and the bogus claims makes me cringe.

The biggest problem with any "portable" or "mini" type system is the quality or more accurately lack of quality, availability, cost and lifespan of the non standard replacement filters. They cost more to replace, are harder to find, do not last as long due to their smaller capacity and size, do not filter as well so membrane and DI replacement costs will be more and the water quality will not be as good and do not come in the 1 micron or less ranges preferred by reef hobbyists.

You will be money ahead with a system like all the others have already suggested, look at the top of the page here, SpectraPure Water Purification Products , and compare them side by side. $128 for a real reef quality system that can be used portable or permanent or $62 on that cobbled up mess and much much more over time.

 

might be able to kill 2 birds with one stone. I read that you can't drink the ro/di water it's not good for you. Is there a system that has a line from the RO before the DI filter? I'd like to save $$ on bottled water and just drink my well water that's been filtered and have water that's safe for my tank.

 

There is no reason why you cannot drink RO/DI water but you will not want to since it contains no minerals and tastes very blah or bland and is more expensi ve to produce than RO only. Organizations like WHO have been trying to prove RO/DI is bad for you for years but their studies are inconclusive. You would drown internally or your cells would be waterlogged long before you could possibly do damage. Also we cannot survive on wate ralone so eating even one potato chip replaces the things removed in many gallons of water.

Any RO/DI can be used for drinking water with the addition of a 1/4" tee and ball valve. Some systems such as Buckeye Field Suppies 75 GPD Premium even include this standard as a DI bypass. It can be added to any system for less than $10 complete though. I did just this for many many years with past systems including Spectrapures MaxCap and MaxCap dual membrane systems.