RO/DI filter system

[stifler51]

So finally broke down and bought a RO/DI 5stage from Bulk Reef Supply. I got it because the closest fish store that sells anything saltwater is about a 40min drive. When all said in done, if i drive there pick up water and back, id be out about 20-25$ between gas and water. Usually id have an excuse to be up in the cities so id just pick up water then, but winter is slowly showing its head as we had our first frost of the year this morning. Ahhhh yes now i remember what 28 degrees feels like .

 

Anyways on to my question. I only have a BC14 and WC about 2-3gal a week. What will i have to do in order to take care of the filters since i have such a low water use? (prolly 10-15 gallons a month) i dont want to ruin filters because of under use. I got the *plus kit with flush valve and whatnot since it was the same price as the non plus due to free shipping and a 10% code.

[AZDesertRat]

Wish you had checked here before purchasing, could have saved you money on a better system.

 

Anyway, a RO membrane should be used at least every 10-14 days at a minimum. With small reef systems thats not easy since they don't require a lot of water. On the other side to further complicate things you need to make sufficient water so you get a nice long filter run, at least 5-10 gallons at a time so you keep the membrane flushed, so called flush kits do nothing for this and truthfully are a waste of money.

 

 

I would suggest using the RO portion of the system for drinking water, cooking etc. so you get more use out of it. If you didn't get a DI bypass kit its easy to add, just a tee and ball valve or a three way valve so you can divert the RO water before it reaches the DI resin. You can fill water bottles or jugs with RO and it saves a ton on plastic throw away water bottles and landfill space too. When I bought my first RO/DI system 15 or more years ago it was easy to justify with the wife since we go through lots of drinking water in Arizona in the summer.

 

Make sure you leave the housings full of water when the system is not in use and try to make at least 5 or more gallons in one shot at least every 10-14 days. I store water change water in either clear plastic 5G drinking water jugs or the blue rectangular water storage jugs you find at WalMart in the outdoors section.

[Alkamist]

AZDesertRat what would be your opinion on an build your own rodi for BRS?

[Prodigal1011]

Glad I was checking on this thread. I was about to purchase the same kit. Does anyone have another recommendation for the price?

[AZDesertRat]

BRS does not offer anything I am interested in or recommend.

 

For me a reef quality system consists of a 0.5 micron absolute rated sediment filter. As an alternative no larger than a 1.0 micron sediment filter and again absolute rated instead of the less efficient and lower cost nominal rated. This is followed by a single 0.5 or 0.6 micron 20,000 gallon Chlorine Guzzler type carbon block. Then a 75 GPD Dow Filmtec RO membrane or better yet one of Spectrapures specially treated, hand tested and guaranteed to be better than 98% high rejection rate 90 GPD RO membranes. They start with 75 GPD Dows but improve upon them then test them either in a batch process or indivuidually with their Select series which is only $5 more and guaranteed in writing. Next is full size vertical refillable DI filter filled with Spectrapures SilicaBuster DI resin which is custom blended specifically for reef use and guaranteed to las tat least 30% longer than any other resin on the market. Then a capillary tube flow restrictor you trim and adjust yourself for an exact 4"1 waste ratio unlike fixed type restrictors that are only ballpark at best.

 

Last I checked, BRS does not treat nor test their membranes, do not guarantee their performance in writing like the Selects are, do not sell 0.5 or 1.0 micron sediment filters nor absolute rated filters and they do not blend their own DI resin based on thousands of hours of testing using both bench and real world beta testing nor do they use the better capillary tube flow restrictors.

 

Compare any of their systems to those on this sales flyer and you will see the differences.

http://www.spectrapure.com/email/customer-appreciation.html

 

The MaxCap is the undisputed best RO/DI in the world. The CSP-DI third one down the page is a killer system and the Refurbished system fifth down the page is an excellent buy at only $120 including a 0.5 micron absolute rated sediment filter, 0.5 micron 20,000 gallon carbon block, a treated and batch tested 90 GPD RO membrane and high quality mixed bed DI resin along with an inline pressure gauge and capillary tube flow restrictor. You won't find all those features anywhere else at any price.

The CSP-DI is pretty much the same but is new not refurbished and includes a SilicaBuster DI cartridge and a dual inline TDS meter for only $199.

[stifler51]

Well thanks for the product placement.......and if i really DID care spectrapure filters are interchangeable with BRS systems anyways.... so if anyone would like to add to my original topic that would be great.

[AZDesertRat]

There is a difference in quality which directly relates to cost of operation and ownership. Why buy something that will cost more to own and operate than something else that lasts longer, costs less and works better.

Do your research before buying and I am confidnt you will agree. Its sort of a pay me now or pay me later, and later, and later situation.

 

Yes, Spectrapure filters are a direct fit for most systems but why not start out with the best to begin with, especially when they are on sale to begin with? Make high quality water at about a nickel a gallon from day one rather than paying to replace things in the future.

 

Regardless of where you purchase them look for the micron ranges I have suggested and your membrane will last longer and perform better and your DI will also last longer no matter who supplies it.

[thadscottmoore]

I just went with a RODI from the filterdirect. A friend who owns several car washes and several large reef tanks swears by their products and service. paid 190.00 for 6 stage setup with two outputs and a 4 gallon pressure tank and a dual inline TDS meter delivered to my door. Spectrapure is a nice setup too! If I hadnt ordered what I got- Spectrapure was my alternative choice (actually, my first choice until my friend talked me into purchasing the other)_ He has been running his RODI units for years for both private and commercial use and never had really any problems. 0 TDS

[AZDesertRat]

Your friend must be quite a salesman. Filters Direct/Water General is the absolute bottom of the barrel as far as quality. They use non name filters, often of unknown micron sizes, still use chap granular carbon in many of their systems, little dinky horiziontal tubes for DI that channel and short circuit and more. In the past 15 years I have probably helped hundreds of users modify and upgrade them so they actually work as they are supposed to. Talk to any of the name brand filter companise like Buckeye, PurelyH2o, AWI, Spectrapure, and others and they can tell you horror stories. You get what you pay for with RO/DI thats why I suggest doing your homework well. Compare not only filters but also housings, fittings and other components too. No one uses old compression fittings anymore nor do they use granular carbons and most of the major players use only a single high quality carbon block since carbon technology has progressed tremendously over the past several years. GAC only lasts about 300 gallons per cartridge, a 0.5 micron carbon block lasts 20,000 gallons if protected with a good low micron sediment filter.

[Rocket]

Well thanks for the product placement.......and if i really DID care spectrapure filters are interchangeable with BRS systems anyways.... so if anyone would like to add to my original topic that would be great.

 

 

I have 2 RO systems in my house. Both are dedicated systems, for house, for reef.

 

The Reef is a maxcap 90. Both systems tie into a single booster pump ( I am on my own well)

 

As to your question. You need a storage water system. Such as a Brute (they are food rated) trash can. I hooked my RO/DI system into the Brute with a float valve and a ball valve. I Y-ed the waterlines to also fill my ATO. The RO/DI reef system is used about once a month. I have a ASOV on it, but lately it has been giving me problems. I think its defective.

 

The house system is a pressurized tank, with a permeate pump and has no DI.

 

For the record the Maxcap puts out 4-6 TDS and the generic house system (both are 4 stages) has never dropped below 9 TDS, Usually hovers around 13, Before the maxcap, I would burn through DI resin.

 

From the softener TDS measures 763 consistently.

 

I don't know what spectrapure does to their membranes and filter media, but it works. Saves me money over time in replacement costs.

[thadscottmoore]

well, apparently he knows his stuff-

 

 

I dont think he can get that kind of growth with crappy components- and did I mention that he makes his living owning car washes that demand alot out of RODI systems. several years run and he still gets 0 on his TDS.

 

Your friend must be quite a salesman. Filters Direct/Water General is the absolute bottom of the barrel as far as quality. They use non name filters, often of unknown micron sizes, still use chap granular carbon in many of their systems, little dinky horiziontal tubes for DI that channel and short circuit and more. In the past 15 years I have probably helped hundreds of users modify and upgrade them so they actually work as they are supposed to. Talk to any of the name brand filter companise like Buckeye, PurelyH2o, AWI, Spectrapure, and others and they can tell you horror stories. You get what you pay for with RO/DI thats why I suggest doing your homework well. Compare not only filters but also housings, fittings and other components too. No one uses old compression fittings anymore nor do they use granular carbons and most of the major players use only a single high quality carbon block since carbon technology has progressed tremendously over the past several years. GAC only lasts about 300 gallons per cartridge, a 0.5 micron carbon block lasts 20,000 gallons if protected with a good low micron sediment filter.

[AZDesertRat]

There are always exceptions but in general those are not theresults you see from their units. Take a look on many of the forums, you will find hundreds of complaints about their systems not living up to their inflated claims. Heck just their poorly translated and worded website was enough to turn me off and raise a big red flag for me. If a company does not have enough pride in their products to tell me the brands and models of membranes and other components then I am hesitant to do business with them, I want to know what I am buying, no secrets, no surprises.

[thadscottmoore]

ok, that unit is hooked straight up as his ATO for this tank. direct feed for years- and the only problem he ever had was a booster pump failed him after a year of service- and they swapped him out no questions asked- over-nited him a new pump at their cost. his argument is simple- "if it works- is it not that what is suppose to do?? how can you argue with 0 TDS???"

 

I look at it this way, I drive a Toyota and my friend is a die hard Nissan Titan owner- he thinks nissans are better than toys- and I believe the toys are better than nissan- even though, they both produce a product that does the same thing- get you from point A to point B. Sure you will have people talking crap about any product made- that is their opinion. case in point- I took the time to random pick a forum discussion about filterdirect products- not a clue if it was a positive or a negative-and everyone was very pleased with them. filterdirect discussion on randon reef website.

 

There are always exceptions but in general those are not theresults you see from their units. Take a look on many of the forums, you will find hundreds of complaints about their systems not living up to their inflated claims. Heck just their poorly translated and worded website was enough to turn me off and raise a big red flag for me. If a company does not have enough pride in their products to tell me the brands and models of membranes and other components then I am hesitant to do business with them, I want to know what I am buying, no secrets, no surprises.

[AZDesertRat]

The true test of a RO or RO/DI system is the long term cost of ownership. Better components and filters last longer and work better, saving you money in the long run. It has been shown time and again on this and many other forums. Talk to those who own an ebay system then talk to those who own a real reef quality system and they can explain it better. I have owned both over the years and there really is a difference, its hard to explain without both sitting side by side but I keep logbooks showing replacements and costs and it is pretty dramatic.