When did RO water start to get used in home reef keeping?

[formallydehyde]

I'm just curious of what the history is behind RO water entering the home reef tank scene is and what spurred its use over dechlorinated tap to make artificial sea water.

 

[BeanAnimal]

It started to become a thing in the late 90s and by the early 2000’s had become fairly standard advice.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

i’m surprised it didn’t start in the 80’s. People must have had their hands full with algae

 

[snorklr]

don't know when it became popular but tapwater varies greatly all over the world and stuff thats considered safe for human consumption can contain any number of substances that aren't good for our tanks and will build up even more when used for evaporation topoff...rural wells can have fertilizer runoff that feeds algae blooms, etc

 

[Gumbies R Us]

It started to become a thing in the late 90s and by the early 2000’s had become fairly standard advice.

I think when my parents had a tank in the early 2000s they used Dechlorinated tap water over RODI

 

[BeanAnimal]

I think when my parents had a tank in the early 2000s they used Dechlorinated tap water over RODI

Many people still do.

i’m surprised it didn’t start in the 80’s. People must have had their hands full with algae

The hobby was insanely smaller and predominantly fish only in the 80's. There were no "forums" or "social media" to pass on advice (or nonsense) and there were very few publications, let alone SW LFSs. People used (gasp) library books written in the 60's and 70's during the 80s.

In the 1980's a small membrane would have been about $250 and a system easily $800 ... or about $3,000 in 2024 dollars. By the late 1980's that was down to maybe $2,000 in today's dollars and by 1990, closer to $1,1000 in today's dollars.

So not only was there exponentially fewer people in the hobby and far less access to information.. RODI systems were not sold or used by individuals for anything. The "new" technology was mostly used in scientific and industrial settings.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

I remember picking up deionized water and real ocean water from the lfs in the mid-nineties. I also would fill up jugs from the water vending machines outside the grocery store with deionized if I didn’t feel like driving all the way to the fish store, or if it was on a day they were closed.

 

[rhitee93]

I started my first tank in about 2001, and RODI water was the norm then. The filter system I bought back then was probably only second in cost to the t5 lights.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

Many people still do.


The hobby was insanely smaller and predominantly fish only in the 80's. There were no "forums" or "social media" to pass on advice (or nonsense) and there were very few publications, let alone SW LFSs. People used (gasp) library books written in the 60's and 70's during the 80s.

In the 1980's a small membrane would have been about $250 and a system easily $800 ... or about $3,000 in 2024 dollars. By the late 1980's that was down to maybe $2,000 in today's dollars and by 1990, closer to $1,1000 in today's dollars.

So not only was there exponentially fewer people in the hobby and far less access to information.. RODI systems were not sold or used by individuals for anything. The "new" technology was mostly used in scientific and industrial settings.

That's really interesting. I get it with the lack of info due to the internet but surprised that RODI is not that old.

 

[BeanAnimal]

That's really interesting. I get it with the lack of info due to the internet but surprised that RODI is not that old.

Not sure what is surprising or your age... but the "Reverse Osmosis Membrane" technology was developed around 1960 both at UCLA and I think somewhere on the east coast, likely as part of grants to develop seawater desalinization technology.

So in the 70's and 80's it was EXTREMELY expensive and was very inferior (rejection rate and lifespan) than a modern DOW or similar membrane. So they were used mostly for industrial and scientific water purification. They were not sized or designed for "home" use... that did not come until the 90's really and even then was expensive (see above).

 

[fishyjoes]

I remember picking up deionized water and real ocean water from the lfs in the mid-nineties. I also would fill up jugs from the water vending machines outside the grocery store with deionized if I didn’t feel like driving all the way to the fish store, or if it was on a day they were closed.

I did exactly the same thing back in 1996-1998

 

[jrill]

I bought my first R/O unit for reefing in approximately 1985. Reefing forums on Compuserve were active and started recommending it.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I bought my first R/O unit for reefing in approximately 1985. Reefing forums on Compuserve were active and started recommending it.

Sounds about right for early adoption. But due to cost and availability mainstream adaption, driven by forums and publications, did not get traction until the late 90's and early 2000's. Even in the early 2000's RO/DI was a luxury recommendation, not a must have for a reef.

I would guess that of 100 or so members in the Pittsbugh club in 2004 or so, that only a very small handful had RO/DI units. Calfo - Fenner... maybe Paletta and a few of us that were on the board. There was certainly still a barrier to entry (cost) even then.

AOL had a SW chat room as well but I spent most of my time on a USENET saltwater group and in an IRC reefing chat... that was actually a gateway to a repurposed a MUD (multi user dungeon)... a txt based interactive environment similar to modern RPGs.. that was simply SW fish people trading information.

The biggest argument there was VHO vs MH and the danger of getting burned on a MH lamp or starting a fire in the hood....

I had a prodigy account, but don't remember fish stuff there or on GEnie or Delhi - but did not use those as much.

There was also a private dialup fish hobby related BBS back then, but for the life of me I can't find the number. Yes I still have a list of a few dozen BBS systems that I used to dial into and for a short time me and another guy ran s 2 line BBS with various content, but it was primarily used for its "door" to the college server where "internet mail" could be sent and received (by syncing with our BBS) a few times a week. So you would send something.. and kind of like US mail... it would take days to get delivered and days for the response.

All of those combined did not have the footprint of RC and R2R, let alone social media. Most were real-time conversations (with the exception of the CompuServ SIGs and Usenet). But even then, people participated mostly real time and they were poor reference resources. The hobby in the 80's and 90's was very different than today.

Anyway....

 

[Mark Goode]

I bought my first RODI in the late 90s, a three stage I think. Nobody told me the membrane and filters needed changing, so they never got changed. That did not end well.

 

[SliceGolfer]

i’m surprised it didn’t start in the 80’s. People must have had their hands full with algae

We did, but in a different way. Back then, it was cool to have halimeda, gracilaria, caulerpa, and other varieties growing in the tank! I never really had any issues with gha or bubble, but did encounter turf often. Of course we used ocean rock over dry rock as it was readily available.

 

[chip shop]

I think roughly around 95 can remember the amount of waste was staggering and remember the waste buts overflowing in kitchen a few times

 

[edsbeaker]

I began a fish only saltwater tank in the late 80’s and used tap water. I would think RODI was around then, but I’m not sure a lot of people were using it for FO tanks at that time. I’m not sure when people began keeping corals, but, of course, RODI was a lot more critical for those reef keepers, especially in those days when protein skimmers and other more modern filtration methods were not available. This is just a guess, but I would think mid to late 90’s it was probably becoming the norm.

 

[BeanAnimal]

in the late 80’s and used tap water. I would think RODI was around then....

.....his is just a guess, but I would think mid to late 90’s it was probably becoming the norm.

See above - all answered.

Very few "reefs" in the 80' - mostly FO
RODI was very expensive and used mostly in science labs
Information was not exchanged in the same way it is now

... so yes very rare in the 80's - by late 90's awareness was gaining a lot of traction and by early 2000's pretty much mainstream advice, with pricing and availability making it more common.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I think roughly around 95 can remember the amount of waste was staggering and remember the waste buts overflowing in kitchen a few times

Membranes have become much better meaning less waste ratio for similar efficiency in membrane life.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

My tank setup was in 1992, and I used it from day 1.