Ro/di

[biogirl361]

How important is the "DI" part? Buying just the RO unit is much cheaper.

 

[OrionGirl]

RO is good for most applications--a lot will depend on what you're trying to remove from the source water.

 

[biogirl361]

does an RO unit last indefinitly (assuming it doesn't break), or does it need to be replaced every X years to continue giving pure water? or do you need to replace the membranes or cartriges or something?

also, I've heard all this talk about refugiums... can I get the same filtration benefits by just planting the macroalgae in the back of my main tank, to avoid spending extra $$ on a fancy 'fuge?

Thanks for the help... I was originally planning on setting up a cichlid tank to go with my community/plants tank, but I think I've decided to try dipping into salt water for the first time instead. everything about it is so new and confusing to me right now though!!

 

[slipknottin]

does an RO unit last indefinitly (assuming it doesn't break), or does it need to be replaced every X years to continue giving pure water? or do you need to replace the membranes or cartriges or something?

You need to replace the membranes, how often you need to do that depends on your source water, wether you backflush, and if you use carbon/micron filters before the RO unit.

also, I've heard all this talk about refugiums... can I get the same filtration benefits by just planting the macroalgae in the back of my main tank, to avoid spending extra $$ on a fancy 'fuge?

Technically, yes. But macroalgae can take over your entire tank rather quickly, and choke out other desirable animals and algaes.