thanks. i am going to get an RO/DI system...but i don't really have the money for a brand new one, so when i was looking on craigslist.com for a 20g tank i noticed that this guy in toledo had a gently used one for $75. i don't know if it would be ok....but i here is a picture of it. the guy said that he just didn't want to do saltwater anymore. but hey, if it works why not? haha. it include brand new filters for each of the 4 stages, a TDS meter, and two different sink attachments.

do you think this would be ok? (mainly talking to burks since he is going to hook it up)

Looks like a good deal to me, especially if all the inserts are brand new. Once a RO membrane gets wet and then dries out, worthless. So if they ar enew, great deal. A good membrane is $40-$60 alone.

It's even got a vertical DI chamber, which is fantastic. So many people still use horizontal ones which make no sense. Whenever you need more DI media just post up on here. I'm sure someone would be willing to split an order with you. Shipping is killer any more.

The only thing is, depending on what sink you hook this up to you may or may not have to take it down after using it (which is why I suggested making enough water for a whole week at once). My girlfriend goes nuts if I keep mine hooked up to the kitchen sink. Also don't forget that you will lose 3 gallons of waste water for every 1 gallon of "good" water you make. Depending on the size of the membrane, you may only make 2 gallons every hour.

Edit: I'm leaving for vacation in about 30 minutes so I won't be back until August 17th.

ok. you will have to explain the sink thing when you are back haha. are you going to set it up when you get back? where are you going?

thanks

I'm going to Gatlinburg, TN (anyone know some good LFS down there?). Family goes every year.

If you do get it, ask the person how they had it set up. It's simple to do. Looks like it has a faucet connection. Basically just unscrew the little cap on the faucet outlet, screw the adapter on from the RO/DI (make sure there is an o-ring in there), and turn on the water. You want to aim for a temperature of 78F which is where most membranes are the most efficient.

When you are done, you can either disconnect the adapter or just pull the line off the adapter, your choice. I think once you see the system you will understand what I am saying. Any problems, post up pictures! It's how I figured out the O-ring I needed was missing.

If you can, hook it up to a laundry water supply, run the waste water to the washer (and do a load when you fill it up)-- obvioulsy you will have to watch it, if not, run the waste water to the laundry waste drain... be sure to hook it to cold water... hot water and RO membranes don't mix.

Basements are a good second option.

They are designed to go under sink-- I find it kind of difficult to service them under a sink.

so you get the water from the sink and put it back on the tank? i'm confused lol...i'll look it up....

Sorry about confusing you... (I hate it when people do that to me)...

Those portable units are actually designed for going undersink for RO only (no DI stage)-- you plumb one of those little stainless steel spigots for drinking water. You shouldn't drink too much DI water.... I've used RO water for drinking for about 6 years now.

You don't have to put it under sink, I would maybe do it if you were going to run it for drinking water too-- if not, don't bother... to plumb it for drinking water it is a bit of a chore and you will have to plumb it up correctly.

I have mine mounted in my basement..... I have it Tee'd off so the RO will fill a pressure tank (3.5 gallon) for drinking water or suply my DI stage which then fills a 34 gallon trashcan with a float valve shut off. My basement has a floor drain that drains about 100 feet behind my house-- I live close to swan creek and the ground slopes off behind my house.

My pressure tank is on a shelf in my basement just below my kitchen sink. I tee'd off of this so it will supply either the spigot for my sink or my refridgerator where I can get drinking water or to make ice.

To convert my RO/DI to supply drinking water I needed some assorted tubing fittings (tees, couplers, check valves, the pressure tank, and an auto shutoff valve).... if you ever want to do this I should be able to walk you through how to do it.

Back to your algae issues... it could be a combination of things... I had some problems even after switching to RO/DI.... I was not able to control my nitrates until I added a large refugium growing chaeto to my system-- I have had 0 ppm nitrates since Novemember of 06 now. That isn't to say I haven't had some algae issues in tank... unless I keep some algae grazing snails in the display tank, I'll get algae growth due to the higher intensity lights I use.

Her nitrates tested out around 20-40ppm (Red Sea kit) and phosphate around 1.0 (Red Sea Pro kit).

i don't know how i am going to do it yet, what would be the best way?

How are you going to do what?? Refugium???

My point about 0 nitrates and phosphates was you can still get algae growth in tank-- the algae growth consumes them as they are produced--