Reverse Osmosis Units

[wedgee]

Hi guys, anyone using Reverse Osmosis units now? Where can i get one? Wat brand is better? How much will it cost approximately? Asked Petmart and they say no stock for now... I hope this thingy will help solve my water problems better...

[robe]

Go to Keong Seong at Havelock rd. They have a JBL unit selling for about $300.

Local companies also sell RO units for home use but their prices are ridiculously high ordering from online shops in the US is cheaper than them.

[Stenopus Hispidus]

Hi Robe,

Is the JBL you mentioned a true RO unit or just some fibrous filter? For $300 its a steal.

Do you know where I can go to check on the "ridiculously" high price ones for home use cos I am considering installing one for my home? Wifey will sure approve of it because its an investment to health, but really....

[hongqixian]

It all depends on the tank size. It would be a waste of cash to get an RO unit for 2 ft tank. Cheaper to get from other sources.

[wedgee]

Hmmm, sounds like true RO units are expensive! I searched the net and the brand AquaFX seems to be very popular...think plus shipping will cost well over a few hundred each...Then how come Petmart quoting $75 for an american brand (i cant recall wat it was), single cartridge unit? Issit one of those "fibrous filter" that Stenopus Hispidus was describing above? Sea Life sells DI units made by themselves, and its also $75 a piece. Which is better? An RO or DI? Wats the difference?

Btw, ROBE, is the JBL good value? How many cartridges does it have? Man, if i cant lay my hands on a decent one here, guess I'll have to resort to the NET...

[LiveRock]

Hi guys

I'm a distributor of a water purifier that uses a technology called 'Active Matrix'. Not only it is good for health, it is also excellent for fishes, plants, vegetables, etc..

I have analysis report of the purfifed water done by universities and the Pastuer Institute in France (which test Singapore's Newater).

The product has been improved over 30 years and is used not only in homes, but also in commercial organisations like airlines, UN Peace Corp., US Army, etc.

It is small, and easily installed, comes with 10 year warranty on the surgical steel.

It is able to remove the followings:

Virus, Harmful bacterial, cysts, chorine, dirt and sediment, pesticles, herbicdes, solvents, foul tastes and odors.

No other water purifiers including technologies using Charcoal Filter GAC, Pre-coat Carbon, Carbon block, Ulttraviolet Radiation, Distillation, Reverse Osmosis, are able to do all of the above simuntaneously.

Do PM me if you are interested. Thanks!

[Achilles Tang]

What's wrong with our tap water??

All these years people have been using tap water to make saltmix and I haven't heard of any difference to using that vs RO/DI.

Can someone with the experience share with us?

[derf]

i've got a diamond energy water filter at hm... my mom bot it for consumption, nw i use it for water top up...

[LiveRock]

The advantages of using water purifiers are that

(1) It removes chlorine from the water. Chorine, when consumed is harmful and even carcinogenic. I am not only talking about the marine lifes (which you use anti-chlorine/chloramine), I'm talking abt human beings like you and me. Drinking chlorinated water is NOT a good idea.

(2) It removes harmful parasitic cysts that affect both marine lifes and human. Gardia Lamblia and E. Coli are harmful to human and can even cause death.

(3) It removes heavy metals like copper, iron and lead that are harmful to humans too

(4) A good purifier will leave good dissolved minerals intact.

(5) It removes tainted colour, bad taste and odor

(6) It removes bacteria, protozoan disease organisms, chemical compounds, asbestos.

You may not know this but an ex-PUB staff actually told us that every year, the maintenance team removes drums and drums of sediments from the roof-top water tanks in HDB. The problem is not with PUB water. The water leaves the treatment plant good but by the time it reaches your house/flat, it has gone thru a lot of contamination. Just use a normal cloth to wrapped around your facet and observe it after just 1 week of use and you will know.

I really do not want to take risks with my family's health or my fishes'. Our kidney is our water purifier. Do we notice that when we drink black coffee, our urine is still colourless or yellow? Where did the colour go to? Yes, our built-in water purifier did a perfect job. Too much salt, not enough water, and toxificated water can all damage it. Don't take chances!

One last note: Just because we are not sick doesn't mean we are healthy. There are dangerous conditions that have absolutely no symptoms until it is too late.

Hope I didn't deviate too much .......

[Tanzy]

Drinking clorinated tap water increases the chances of developing bladder cancer in men by two times. Not drinking sufficient water increases the chance of bladder cancer by five times. Boiling does not get rid of all the chlorine, in fact, makes it worse by creating micro-bubbles that take ages to rise to the surface and disipate.

Coming from a microbiological point of view, the food we ingest are 'dirtier' than the water we drink. I believe the number of bacteria per mass difference is in the range of 10000. Our stomach is very good at killing bacteria. Singapore has no Giardia in the water supply.

How does 'Active matrix' work?

[wedgee]

WOW! This post becoming a health thread! heheh...Actually, I HAVE one of those filters dat u talking abt, Liverock (or at least something similar...)Brand Multi-pure, has met several NSF standards, and has been giving my whole family good, clear water for years...the muck i remove every few months from the system is out of this world - if only they could clean or replace those water pipes into our homes once in awhile! But u know, when it comes to spending $$...sigh...

Hmm, until i lay my hands on an aquatic RO or DI unit, guess i'll make do with this power filter. Only problem is the water flow...rather slow cause the water goes thru 2 large filtration media (highly porous carbon, etc stuff i think)

[robe]

Wedgee,

Yes the JBL unit is an RO unit and I was surprised that the price is reasonable. The 3 stage unit has a prefilter, carbon and the RO unit itself.

The membrane should last at least 2-3 years as our tapwater is low in carbonates and other impurities.

I'm using a Kent Ro 25 GPD unit for almost 2 years now and the only filter cartridge you need to change is the prefilter and carbon around every 6-8 months. The carbon is very important as it removes the chlorine from the water. chlorine will damage the RO membrane if not removed.

My tank has been free from diatoms since I used an RO system. The drawback is that for evry gallon of filtered water it will produce 4-5 gallons of waste water. The waste water actually can be used for washing, flushing or watering the plants.

[robe]

So far RO unit is still the tried and true water filter system, wafer fabs uses RO/DI water to produce the ionically pure water to wash the wafers.

IF you couple the DI filter that the LFS are selling to the output of the RO unit then yo will produce very pure water almost 99.99% purity.

I tried DI unit from the LFS before and found it too costly as the resin beads exhaust itself very quickly if run tap water directly. To maximize its lifespan you need to connect it after the RO unit.

Good RO unit can remove 98% of the impurities in the water that means nitrates, silica, phosphates, pesticides and other stuff enumerated by liverock above. Typical RO unit has a 1 micron prefilter, 5 micron carbon GAC to filter the water prior to being processed through the membrane. Newater is produced through the use of multistage RO units.

[Achilles Tang]

Ok... so what's in the waste water then?

Is it still safe to use it for other purposes? eg. culture water for plankton, artemia breeding?

[optimus prime]

eh , my lab got DI water. tested on betta, seems more lively.

[hongqixian]

The waste water becomes 'mineral' water loh. It's perfectly safe to water the garden or for non-reef-tank purposes.

Optimus prime, DI water is too pure for the betta. Unlike your tank you are not mixing salts in!

[Achilles Tang]

Is there a reason why PUB won't sell Newater to the public as it is?

<_<

[hongqixian]

Smell????

And the general public feelings towards toilet water.

[Achilles Tang]

Well, as a reefer, I won't mind paying for premium Jamban Juice... I am sure the smell is no longer there once the impurities are strained off... I mean if wafer labs are using it... I am sure the factories don't smell like a sewage treatment plant right?

[LiveRock]

Hello tanzy...

agree with you that the food we eat is more 'dirty' than water.

Just consider all the growth-enhanced injected chickens, fat-reducing agents in pigs, pesticides coated fruits and vegetables, cynaide caught fishes, hardening agents in tofu, etc.......

hey... I still eat them (no choice) but I do a colon cleanse detox twice a year...

BTW, our body needs water for regulate heat, digestion, transportation of nutrients, discharge of waste matter, lubrication of body movement, eyes movements, skin protection. That is why drinking good water is important.

Back to your question: How does the 'Active Matrix' work?

It is a proprietory technology that was continually improved over that last 30 years. It is independently certififed by the EPA and the Pastuer Institiute in France, uses no electricity or chemicals. Basically, it involves 3 important processses:

(1) Ultrafine Microstraining

physically removes disease bacteria, pathogenic cysts like Giardia, Cryptosporidia, and other specific parasites and debris down to 0.1 microns (0.4 absolute)

(2) Broad Spectrum Molecular Capture

traps and captures specific organic and other chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides and solvents, as well as chlorine and other trace contaminants that can be toxi and/or carcinogenic, along with foul taste, odor, and colour.

(3) Electrostatic Removal

uses specially charged surfaces, essentially as magnets, to remove minute particles, molecues and colloids suspended in water.

All the above 3 purification mechanisms work together instantaneously with no waste water and fast throughput.

Hope info helps.

[chanbi]

An idea come to my mind!! It will be a good excuse to buy such a filter (for family health but at the same time can be use for water topup/change)? Btw, does any one has any "true" result after using such filter? eg: tank glass only showed up visible algae after 2 weeks from the initial one week and this help to reduce the amt of maintainence work?

[wedgee]

Wow! My previously mentioned drinking-water filter really is deadly! The protein skimmer output dropped tremendously when I replaced 10% of my tank water (had to turn up the water inflow way up), and the SG of the water from this unit was really difficult to catch! I guess cause it's very pure; i'd keep adding salt, then correcting with water, adding salt, adding water... Much more different than using plain tap water! Hope it'll help with my dino problem, sigh...