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RO DI unit. Question for the experts


Lowkeycoral

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Lowkeycoral

Hey everyone. Looking at several small units but I have a question about which is better for reef quality water.

 

Some units have 2 carbon and 1 DI canister and others have 1 carbon and 2 DI canisters at the end. Which is more important? I always thought carbon was a big one but I'm stumped by this. And some of the DI canisters are refillable which is cool.

 

And some units have only 1 of each media (4 stage) and one that has 2 carbon 1 DI AND a UV filter. ( 6 stages total ) is that overkill?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. The water around here is excellent quality some of the best in the nation. I haven't measured ppm from my tap yet but any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

:)

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I'd advise getting a unit that take the standard 10" size filters. Using standard sized filters also allows you to buy any replacement you want instead of a brand specific filter. When I researched I found the smaller units filters cost almost as much as the full size but were about 1/2 the size.That says to me they would need more frequent replacement and ultimately higher cost in filter replacements. I also prefer the clear housings to better see how dirty the filters are and monitor the color changing DI resin. A unit with a refillable DI cartridge can save you money as well. If your water is pretty good, a 4 stage (sediment, carbon, membrane, DI) will be good. I bought a 5 stage, 2 carbon, that is overkill. I also like the inline TDS meter I added. I monitor it to determine how well my various filter stages are working.

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Lowkeycoral

Okay cool the ones I'm looking at are standard size. They are the portable type which will hook up to a faucet which I need for being in an apartment. Does the UV do much?

 

I would love to have an inline TDS as well!

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i have a 5 stage ro/di. one sediment filter, 2 carbons, ro membrane, and di resin. My unit is from bulk reef supply (although i ordered it from a Canadian retailer who sold all of bulk reef supplies main products.) it is a very good unit producing 0tds water

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AZDesertRat

The amount of stages is not important, what each stage contains is very important.

 

Small portable type systems end up costing you much more money in the long run. The smaller replacements are harder to find, cost more than standard 10" replacements, do not filte ras well and do not last as long. They also do not come in the preferred micron ranges for reef use.

 

Inline TDS meters have many drawbacks such as not being as accurate since they are not temperature compensated and cannot be used portable so yo ucan only measure two spots. To troubleshoot a RO/DI you need 3 TDS readings, tap water, RO only and RO/DI.

 

I would recommend the Spectrapure system above for $130 then add a good handheld TDS meter such as the HM Digital TDS-3, TDS-4TM or AP-1, all are around $20-$30 most places, ATC temperature compensated so very accurate and all have a built in digital thermometer too so serve dual purpose.

 

4 stages. One good low micron sediment filter like 1 or 0.5 microns, one low micron 0.5 or 1.0 micron carbon block good for 12,000 to 20,000 gallons of normally chlorinated water, one 75 or 90 GPD high rejection rate RO membarne and one vertical refillable DI capable of holding 20 oz of fresh DI resin. No more is needed or wanted.

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