I am thinking of Building an RO......

[Spike89]

I am thinking of building an RO system, and have some questions....

What exactly does it do?

What will I need?

What does it take to maintain one?

Does it harm good bacteria, do I have to add it?

Thanks.

[stormhawk]

The RO system basically purifies your tap water, removing chlorine, chloramine and other metals and organic matter in the water, depending on the media and your requirements. You will need to speak to a company that deals with RO units, especially one that is located close to you. Maintenance of the RO unit would mean changing some of the chambers every few months, once a noticeable dip in the quality of the water produced is measured, and this might get expensive, especially since RO units will discharge waste water and it will add to your monthly utilities bill. The membranes used in the chambers will require replacement from time to time, and this will also make it expensive. You will have to reconstitute the water produced by adding in certain salts etc or mixing it with some tap water, which is pointless.

Read this bit on Wikipedia, so you understand better what RO is about: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_osmosis

It is not a necessity unless you are keeping sensitive fish that require very soft water. If you live in an area with hard water, you can try to mix it with some rain water or distilled water purchased from a supermarket. Most fish are fine with hard water as long as they are acclimatised to it. I had a friend in the States who once called his tap water "liquid rock", because it was quite hard and contained a lot of dissolved minerals.

[Spike89]

Thanks. My water is right at 147. I love the rain water idea, but it's illegal in the state of Ohio to collect rain water. (Such a stupid law)

[David]

Thanks. My water is right at 147. I love the rain water idea, but it's illegal in the state of Ohio to collect rain water. (Such a stupid law)

Are you serious?...collecting rain water is illegal?....why is it so?

[felix_fx2]

Are you serious?...collecting rain water is illegal?....why is it so?

also not legal to collect in Singapore. anything that falls from the skies of the state belong to the state.

[David]

Oh my goodness.....please lah....Soooo...based on what you say, sooner or later their is going to be 'Air Tax'.....because the air we breath is in state air space and that belongs to the state....!!!!!

[felix_fx2]

if anyone collects with a pail, the NEA can fine.

but.... can collect with equipment or fixture that follows certain rules laid down. from what I know the storage compartment need to be covered and need submit the design or something (I can't recall submit to who). it's with a good reason ma...it's a dengue hazard if not covered.

learnt this sometime back when someone asked and another guy who tried before shared with us.