RO/DI sytems

Anthony said:

I've been thinking of purchasing one of these as of late because of the tap water in my apartment. Can anyone explain how they work? Do these permanently plumb into existing faucets, or do you connect a hose to them, then transfer water into a water holding container to reconstitute it. The tap water is horrible, has a funny smell, and a horrible taste to it. I beleive it is ran through a water softener as my gH measures <1 degrees, and my kH measures 5.6 degrees. What brand would you recommend?

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IMO, DI is overkill, a RO unit will work just fine. You can connect them permanently or have a temporary connection. I use straight RO for my tanks, some add stuff to it. I see no need to add stuff plus I am using 300 gallons a week. There are several types available on ebay, just make sure you are getting a quality unit. I got mine at Premium Aquatics because they are local and I could touchy feely before I bought. I like the unit I have, pics in my links below.....DC

So would a unit run fast enough to fill lets say...20 gallons to top off after a water change, or would I need to fill a container first?

RO units are rated in Gallons Per Day (GPD). About the biggest you'll get is 100gpd.
So, that means roughly 4 gallons per hour, undre OPTIMUM conditions. Membranes are tested with the water pressure at 60 psi and 77 degrees. If your water pressure is lower, output is lower. If temp is lower, output is lower.

Here in Michigan, in winter when the water gets cold, I was getting somewhere around 40-50 GPD. Your water might not be as cold, so that would help.

Be cautious is the unit is rated above 100gpd, most of those membrane do not take out as much of the impurities.