Water in the GVRD is supplied by 3 reservoirs so the water quality is quite similar. We get a TDS around 15-20ppm.

You can go RO and add the DI unit later or you can go with DI only.

Check any of the vendors and you will find something under $200 that fits your needs.

Cheers,
Vic

just snag one of these

http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/ro...er+Filter.html

I've used this for almost 8 years now with no issues whatsoever.


for the small tank or the frugal enthusiast.

That is a neat little unit, it doesn't say the GPD (Gallons per day) or how to replace the internals (or can you?)

Is this a disposable unit? Very neat.

You can replace the DI cartridge which is about 85% of the price anyway. It is essentially a DI filter and it works great on our low TDS Vancouver water. It is perfect for the smaller tank around the Lower Mainland. I used one for years on my 46 gallon. You'll need a bit of patience for anything larger.

Be aware, however, that unlike a full out RO/DI unit this thing cannot deal with turbidity and particulate matter very well. I often found that its output slowed even before the DI beads were exhausted because its small foam filter pad was clogged. And unlike a modular RO/DI unit everything is in one single cartridge that you have to replace in one shot.

I was also wary of the city injecting extra chlorine into the water after a heavy storm since it can ruin DI beads. On a full RO/DI unit you've got multiple layers of protection to deal with extra chlorine before it gets to the DI. On this unit all you've got is a thin layer of carbon, I think.

I know that OA used only DI filtration for quite a while when they started up, so this is a good way to go until you upgrade to a bigger tank.

they recently made some small improvements to the design, like thicker filter floss on both ends and slightly larger washers that seem to have resolved a lot of te issues with turbidity.

I actually use this thing for all my tanks...maybe 200 gallons in total and daisy chain 2 of them when the tds is up from the tap, which is rarely.

Est this at about 5 gallons and hour...lol

The replacement cartridges are http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/ro...Cartridge.html

That is a neat little unit, I live in calgary and run to the store to get my water, but lately iv been slipping and not wanting to change the water as often. Do you think one of those would work with Calgary's water, or should i just pay the extra for a full RO unit.

Sean........ I think RO/DI would work better for you because Calgary has harder water then Vancouver and you will be going through cartridges if DI quick.

Cheers,
Vic

Sounds good thanks!

technically, this unit IS and RO/DI unit and I would be very surprised if it didn't give you a better tds reading than water from the store...

I think what Vic means is that since the OP is in Calgary that has far higher TDS than Vancouver, the DI beads in the AP Tap Water Filter would exhaust far more quickly than on extremely soft Vancouver water. As a result, using that filter in Calgary would be less economical.