# Best RO/DI unit?



## thegrandpoohbah (Jan 6, 2016)

So we just discovered that Terrace still puts fluoride in the water which has set the stage for the wife approving the purchase of an RO/DI unit. This would be for general household/drinking water/aquarium use. The eventual goal would be to start up a FOWLR saltwater tank. Which unit on the market would be a good value? Anything I should watch out for or stay away from? Thanks.


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## Severum (Jan 4, 2012)

I have seen people swear up and down that the SpectraPure units are the best, but the ones I saw when I was looking for mine were well out of my price range. I ended up getting a vertex I paid about $200 for and it's been doing a great job for almost a year now. It's not the fastest thing on the planet, but you can get them with booster pumps that help quite a bit with that. I'm only using mine for a small tank so I didn't see the need, but if you're planning on using it for more than water changes it might be useful to you. Mine fills a 5 gallon jug in about 1.5-2 hours or thereabouts. Never actually timed it, lol. The boosters should about double the speed and reduce waste water.

A little caveat here - I don't actually own a TDS metre so I've never tested it. (Been on my need-to-buy list for a while but keeps getting bumped down) All I know is after I started using it for my tank instead of wasting money on grocery store machines that probably haven't had their filters replaced in years is that my algae problem all but disappeared and the couple little corals I have perked up, so it must be doing its job!

One thing I will add (that my health nut sister frequently drives into my head) is that acidic water isn't great for you as drinking water and for some weird science reason, adding lemon fixes that. Don't ask my why, seems backwards to me, but there you have it. (Point me at a fish tank and I will happily science the crap out of it, but not everything can hold my interest quite like my fish can...) Just thought I'd add that in since the fluoride in your tap water is clearly a concern for you on more than just an aquarium level!


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## thegrandpoohbah (Jan 6, 2016)

Thanks for the info Severum.

Is anyone here still using an Aquasafe unit? Looks like they used to be a site sponsor. I'm looking at this one here: https://www.aquasafecanada.com/products/maximus-ii-6-stage-ro-di-system-combo.html


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## thegrandpoohbah (Jan 6, 2016)

Also, are the filters interchangeable between different brands? As in if Aquasafe went out of business would I still be able to find replacement filters?


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## Severum (Jan 4, 2012)

Most are interchangeable and use 10 inch filters. I would probably contact them just to be sure though. Also need to correct myself, evidently ro/di water is base, not acidic. Not sure why I've always thought that?


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