Reverse Osmosis...

[Armstrong]

When getting my R/O water unit system, do I fill my WHOLE 40 gallon aquarium with TAP WATER from my sink?
And then after that I set up my R/O unit system and let the R/O system filter the tap water and remove the toxics and chemicals so it is pure?

When you get you're R/O system what do you fill you're tank with?
ThanX!

 

[mikeconstable]

Tap Water?

Reverse osmosis relies on a pressure difference to force pure water though very fine pores in a filter, impurities running to waste with the water that does not flow through the filter. Therefore the mains pressure is used to purify the water before it is added to the aquarium.
It has been said "If all else fails, read the instructions" but better advice could be "Read the instructions before all else fails".
Seriously, you need to know how to get the best out of your particular piece of equipment, and its limitations.

 

[Armstrong]

umm, can someone else reply?
I don't get it. Im confused...

So whats the point of an R/O unit system? I thought it was a machine or something were you could put Tap water OR well water into you're tank and then put the R/O system installed onto you're tank. Then I thought it would filter out all the harmful toxins and chemicals put in the tap water. Then it ould turn into Pure water.

can someone help me?

 

[mikeconstable]

A reverse osmosis system feeds a high-pressure water supply to what is in effect a very fine filter. Pure water goes through the filter and comes out of one outlet at low pressure and is collected in a container. The impurities remain in the rest of the water, and more incoming water flushes them out through the waste pipe, and they run to the drain.
Then you take the pure water and add salt, making it more impure than it ever had been since it left the sea (but hopefully without any of the chemical contaminants that would cause problems for the forms of life you wish to keep!)
Another amusing thing is the types of chemical used to make the fine filter - probably not the sorts that we would let near our aquaria! (Originally used to be cyanide based(?), don't know what they use now)

 

[rrtanton]

Hiya! Mike's quite right, that's how they work...maybe I can also put it another way. To fill up your tank (or to top off your tank later on):

Step 1: Hook up your Reverse Osmosis system to your sink, garden hose, or whatever other water spigot you decide to attach it to. Directions will tell you how.

Step 2: Get a big bucket (preferably one you've premeasured to know how big, I use 5-gallon buckets), turn on your faucet attached to the RO system, collect the water from the "filtered" end in the bucket and drain the water from the "waste" end. Shut off when bucket is full.

Step 3: Mix the appropriate amount of salt (again, directions) into the full bucket. You should give it a good stir and let it sit for a good time to fully dissolve.

Step 4: Add your newly made saltwater to the tank. Repeat as necessary. If your tank has evaporated water away and you're replacing it, don't add salt--just add your RO freshwater to the tank.

Thus, your RO filter is pretty much your first step. It does make your tapwater pure, but you wanna do that before you add it to the tank. It isn't a filter that runs constantly on your tank or anything like that--it is, in fact, pretty much just a VERY fancy drinking water filter like many people use on their kitchen faucets.

rusty

 

[Armstrong]

Hiya! Mike's quite right, that's how they work...maybe I can also put it another way. To fill up your tank (or to top off your tank later on):

Step 1: Hook up your Reverse Osmosis system to your sink, garden hose, or whatever other water spigot you decide to attach it to. Directions will tell you how.

Step 2: Get a big bucket (preferably one you've premeasured to know how big, I use 5-gallon buckets), turn on your faucet attached to the RO system, collect the water from the "filtered" end in the bucket and drain the water from the "waste" end. Shut off when bucket is full.

Step 3: Mix the appropriate amount of salt (again, directions) into the full bucket. You should give it a good stir and let it sit for a good time to fully dissolve.

Step 4: Add your newly made saltwater to the tank. Repeat as necessary. If your tank has evaporated water away and you're replacing it, don't add salt--just add your RO freshwater to the tank.

Thus, your RO filter is pretty much your first step. It does make your tapwater pure, but you wanna do that before you add it to the tank. It isn't a filter that runs constantly on your tank or anything like that--it is, in fact, pretty much just a VERY fancy drinking water filter like many people use on their kitchen faucets.

rusty

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!
I like the way YOU explained it. I didn't wanna know what the R/O water is used for, I wanted 2 know how to use it to get frssh water!.

THANKS RRANTON!!!!!
AnywayZ, I saw a filter like that on a commercial were u hook it up to you're faucet and when you turn the tap water on it filters it and turns it pure.

TahnX again!

 

[rrtanton]

No problem, I just guessed you were wondering more how to use the filter. But the other comments here are important too...it's good to know how RO filters work, that's why they're your best choice. Most commonly advertised filters aren't RO. If you saw a commercial, especially for one that hangs on the end of your faucet, it prolly wasn't RO--was it a PUR or Brita filter? Those are good filters for drinking water (I THINK some PUR models even use DI...anybody know for sure?) but basically they're just good carbon filters with some anti-biological components. Safest bet for your tank is still a dedicated RO or RO/DI filter, which should run you at least $100, and closer to $200 (or more) for a quality one.

rusty